Ethics 5: recent ethics real life situations and
knowledge questions
The Boston Marathon Bombing
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: Can the death penalty ever be justified? Is 'eye-for-an-eye' justice appropriate when
such a horrific atrocity has been committed, or does this only serve to escalate violence?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/surviving-boston-bombingsuspect-dzokhar-tsarnaev-faces-death-penalty-over-weapon-of-mass-destruction-charge8583627.html
Description: Assuming he is guilty, should Dzhokhar Tsarnaev face the death penalty? The
Independent discusses the ways in which charges are being carefully constructed in order to
ensure that Tsarnaev faces the ultimate punishment for his crime.
Source: The Independent
Medicinal drugs
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: Should illegal drugs be available to people for medicinal purposes or research? Are the
laws of a land the same as moral laws?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/07/magic-mushrooms-treatdepression
Description: Professor David Nutt - scourge of all drug 'hawks' - claims his research into
treatment for depression has been halted due to the difficulty in getting supplies of illegal
narcotics.
Source: The Guardian
Profit versus care
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: Should certain companies have extra ethical responsibilities? Should capitalism be
controlled within healthcare? Should life-saving drugs be owned by the state?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-real-cancer-killer-ripoffprices-for-drugs-set-by-profiteering-big-pharma-giants-8591825.html
Description: A chilling article highlighting the dangers of what happens when extremely
powerful corporations are free to charge whatever they like for life-saving drugs.
Source: The Independent
Internet wars
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences, language
KQs: Is the battle to control the internet a question of government oppression versus cyber
freedom fighters, or a simple matter of upholding the law against criminals? Who should
control the internet? To what extent should information on the internet be free to all?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/may/04/security-alert-war-incyberspace
Description: This long but very insightful article interviews various people who are facing
long prison sentences for hacking. They like to see themselves as freedom fighters
combating oppressive and unfair laws; the article examines to what extent this is true.
Source: The Guardian
Blowing the whistle
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: Who should what's in the public interest: the public, or the publicly-elected
government? Can infringing personal freedoms be justified if we're being protected from
harm? To what extent should we be allowed to have a private life?
Category: Video
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5yB3n9fu-rM#!
Description: This is the big story of the month (/year/decade): a former NSA worker blowing
the whistle on the extent of that agency's monitoring of of social media sites.
Source: Youtube
Social censorship
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: sciences To what extent should we be allowed to freely express ourselves? Should the
social media/internet be governed by the same rules as real society? Who should decide
what constitutes 'offensive'?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22701082
Description: The article discusses the significance of Facebook's announcement that they
will begin tackling 'hate speeches' on their social media site - in other words, they will begin
to censor content they consider offensive.
Source: BBC
Terminators
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: To what extent can the waging of war be meaningfully regulated? Should a non-moral
entity be allowed to make a moral decision? By devolving the decision to kill other people
will we become more or less morally minded?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/may/29/killer-robots-ban-un-warning
Description: The newest generation of weapons are machines that can make autonomous
decisions on whether to engage (ie kill) the enemy (ie human beings). Human rights workers
within the UN have identified this as a dangerous precedent.
Source: The Guardian
Choose death
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: Should euthanasia be legal? What are the implications of legalising it? Is life - as most
religious organisations believe - 'sacred'? Should every individual have the right to decide
how their life comes to an end?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jul/09/assisted-dying-paul-chamberlaindeath-motor-neurone
Description: Paul Chamberlain has motor neurone disease, and has determined to end his
own life at a time of his own choosing. This article examines his belief that assisting him to
bring this about should not then lead to the those responsible facing prosecution.
Source: The Guardian
Progressive or misguided?
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: Should 'drugs' be legalized? Who should have control over what we put into our
bodies?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23516966
Description: Uruguay looks set to become the first state in the world where marijuana
production, supply, and consumption all becomes legal. This article looks at the reasons for
this, and its possible consequences.
Source: BBC
Embarrassment of riches
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences
KQs: To what extent should wealth be shared? Do richer members of society have a
responsibility to look after more unfortunate members of society? Does wealth ensure
happiness?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
Description: Despite the world recession, the richest 400 people in America are wealthier
than ever. Their combined assets are bigger than the GDP in Russia. This article leads us on
to a lot of questions about wealth and inequality.
Source: Forbes Magazine
The right to be veiled
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences, religion, indigenous knowledge systems
KQs: By banning the veil, will we liberate Muslim women, or infringe their personal rights?
Should religious and cultural laws override national laws?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/fully-veiled-women-hinderprogressive-islam-8817963.html
Description: France and Belgium have already banned the wearing of the veil in public, and
now the UK is seeing a battle over the right to wear it/not have to wear it. The article argues
that the veil infringes women’s rights, and points out that there isn’t one reference to it in
the Koran.
Source: The Independent
Planet versus profit
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences, indigenous knowledge systems
KQs: Which should be a government's priority: the planet, or its own economy? What is
more important: safeguarding cultural and natural resources, or creating jobs and wealth?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/09/20139685837115845.html
Description: The Ecuadorean government has just announced that it will go back on a
previous promise, and begin drilling for oil resources in part of its rain forests. Although this
will create wealth and jobs, it will also destroy vast swathes of primary rainforests.
Source: Al Jazeera
A healthy trade in weapons
AoKs/WoKs: Ethics, human sciences, language
KQs: Can arms dealing ever be justified? Do developed countries have any responsibility for
promoting weapons cuts? Is wealth or human compassion more important?
Category: Article
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/defence-secretary-weaponspriority-britain
Description: The UK is one of the world’s biggest weapons exporters, and its arms industry is
very important to the economy. This article looks at the way in which politicians promote
their ‘responsible defence exports’.
Source: The Guardian