On the 13th October a two tear old girl was run down in China by a hit and run driver. These things happen you might say but what happens next is hard to believe. Over the next minutes, 18 people walked past the small child and did not help; another van ran over the child's legs and did not stop. What kind of society do we live in when people do not stop to help an injured baby?
The story has led many people in China to question their morality. There had been occasions lately where people had helped those in distress and then been held accountable for their actions. Is this why no one helped? Should China now introduce a Good Samaritan law making it a legal requirement to help those in need?
What ever the outcome of this event, it is too late for the little girl. She was taken to hospital in a coma and has now died of her injuries.
Read the full story using the links below to the BBC and consider your own views. What would you have done in the situation? What was the morally right thing to do?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15398332?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15386700?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Showing posts with label A2 ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A2 ethics. Show all posts
Friday, 21 October 2011
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
For all A Level Students
If you haven't visited rsrevision.com recently follow the link below to view all the new resources. These include new ethics revision cards and students essays to read and mark.
http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/contents/help.htm
Also very useful for ethics revision both at AS and A2 is philosophicalinvestigations. Check out the revision whizz throughs for a quick reminder of the topics.
http://philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk/
http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/contents/help.htm
Also very useful for ethics revision both at AS and A2 is philosophicalinvestigations. Check out the revision whizz throughs for a quick reminder of the topics.
http://philosophicalinvestigations.co.uk/
Can Mill's Utilitarianism be saved?
Talking Philosophy offers a fresh look at one of the favourite ethical theories amongst Abbeyfield students - Utilitarianism. The linked article takes a good look at Mill's utilitarianism but concludes perhaps that Mill's utilitarianism is still tarred with the same brush as Bentham's and therefore falls to the same weaknesses. Again useful food for thought ahead of A level exams.http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=2751
Is targeted killing ethical?
Further to our discussions today about the greater good, I urge Y13 A2 students to read this article from Talking Philosophy. It poses the question whether targeted killing of an individual is ethical in the light of Bin Laden's death. Y12 students can also link this discussion to the war topic and is it ever right to fight.
http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=2810&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CombinedTpmBloggingFeed+%28Combined+TPM+Blogging+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=2810&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CombinedTpmBloggingFeed+%28Combined+TPM+Blogging+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Friday, 25 February 2011
How to ... answer an ethics question
Handy hints from rsrevision.com on how to answer an A level ethics question using an interactive diagram.
http://www.rsrevision.com/diagrams/a_level_exams.html
http://www.rsrevision.com/diagrams/a_level_exams.html
A Level Suggested websites
Begining to revise? Looking for sites with up to date stories relating to philosophy and ethics? Looking for some different points of view? Try some of the sites below to help broaden your understanding of philosophy and ethics.
Christian Medical Fellowship http://www.cmf.org.uk/publications/
Cardiff Centre for Ethics and Law Society http://www.ccels.cf.ac.uk/news/index.html
PBS in America http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/
News Now (Searches for key words in current news stories) http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/?search=euthanasia&searchheadlines=1
BBC Ethics http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/
Christian Medical Fellowship http://www.cmf.org.uk/publications/
Cardiff Centre for Ethics and Law Society http://www.ccels.cf.ac.uk/news/index.html
PBS in America http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/
News Now (Searches for key words in current news stories) http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/?search=euthanasia&searchheadlines=1
BBC Ethics http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Is morality relative? Depends on your personality
Philosophers who think everyday morality is objective should examine the evidence, says Joshua Knobe
Imagine two people discussing a question in mathematics. One of them says “7,497 is a prime number,” while the other says, “7,497 is not a prime number.” In a case like this one, we would probably conclude that there can only be a single right answer. We might have a lot of respect for both participants in the conversation, we might agree that they are both very reasonable and conscientious, but all the same, one of them has got to be wrong. The question under discussion here, we might say, is perfectly objective.
Imagine two people discussing a question in mathematics. One of them says “7,497 is a prime number,” while the other says, “7,497 is not a prime number.” In a case like this one, we would probably conclude that there can only be a single right answer. We might have a lot of respect for both participants in the conversation, we might agree that they are both very reasonable and conscientious, but all the same, one of them has got to be wrong. The question under discussion here, we might say, is perfectly objective.Read the rest of the article at the TPM website http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=1795
The human race needs elephant mothers, not tiger mothers
An interesting article by Preference Utilitarian Peter Singer about parenting.
Peter Singer guardian.co.uk, Sunday 13 February 2011
Many years ago, my wife and I were driving somewhere with our three young daughters in the back, when one of them suddenly asked: "Would you rather that we were clever or that we were happy?"
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua Buy it from the Guardian bookshop Search the Guardian bookshop
I was reminded of that moment last month when I read Amy Chua's Wall Street Journal article, Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," which sparked more than 4,000 comments on wsj.com and over 100,000 comments on Facebook. The article was a promotional piece for Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which has become an instant bestseller.
Chua's thesis is that, when compared with Americans, Chinese children tend to be successful because they have "tiger mothers," whereas western mothers are pussycats, or worse. Chua's daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to watch television, play computer games, sleep over at a friend's home, or be in a school play. They had to spend hours every day practising the piano or violin. They were expected to be the top student in every subject except gym and drama.
Chinese mothers, according to Chua, believe that children, once they get past the toddler stage, need to be told in no uncertain terms when they have not met the high standards their parents expect of them. (Chua says that she knows Korean, Indian, Jamaican, Irish, and Ghanaian mothers who are "Chinese" in their approach, as well as some ethnic-Chinese mothers who are not.) Their egos should be strong enough to take it.
But Chua, a professor at Yale law school (as is her husband), lives in a culture in which a child's self-esteem is considered so fragile that children's sports teams give "Most Valuable Player" awards to every member. So it is not surprising that many Americans react with horror to her style of parenting.
One problem in assessing the tiger-mothering approach is that we can't separate its impact from that of the genes that the parents pass on to their children. If you want your children to be at the top of their class, it helps if you and your partner have the brains to become professors at elite universities. No matter how hard a tiger mom pushes, not every student can finish first (unless, of course, we make everyone "top of the class").
Tiger parenting aims at getting children to make the most of what abilities they have, and so seems to lean towards the "clever" side of the "clever or happy" choice. That's also the view of Betty Ming Liu, who blogged in response to Chua's article: "Parents like Amy Chua are the reason why Asian-Americans like me are in therapy."
Stanley Sue, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, has studied suicide, which is particularly common among Asian-American women (in other ethnic groups, more males commit suicide than females). He believes that family pressure is a significant factor.
Chua would reply that reaching a high level of achievement brings great satisfaction, and that the only way to do it is through hard work. Perhaps, but can't children be encouraged to do things because they are intrinsically worthwhile, rather than because of fear of parental disapproval?
I agree with Chua to this extent: a reluctance to tell a child what to do can go too far. One of my daughters, who now has children of her own, tells me amazing stories about her friends' parenting styles. One of them let her daughter drop out of three different kindergartens, because she didn't want to go to them. Another couple believes in "self-directed learning" to such an extent that one evening they went to bed at 11pm, leaving their five-year-old watching her ninth straight hour of Barbie videos.
Tiger-mothering might seem to be a useful counterbalance to such permissiveness, but both extremes leave something out. Chua's focus is unrelentingly on solitary activities in the home, with no encouragement of group activities, or of concern for others, either in school or in the wider community. Thus, she appears to view school plays as a waste of time that could be better spent studying or practicing music.
But to take part in a school play is to contribute to a community good. If talented children stay away, the quality of the production will suffer, to the detriment of the others who take part (and of the audience that will watch it). And all children whose parents bar them from such activities miss the opportunity to develop social skills that are just as important and rewarding – and just as demanding to master – as those that monopolise Chua's attention.
We should aim for our children to be good people, and to live ethical lives that manifest concern for others as well as for themselves. This approach to childrearing is not unrelated to happiness: there is abundant evidence that those who are generous and kind are more content with their lives than those who are not. But it is also an important goal in its own right.
Tigers lead solitary lives, except for mothers with their cubs. We, by contrast, are social animals. So are elephants, and elephant mothers do not focus only on the wellbeing of their own offspring. Together, they protect and take care of all the young in their herd, running a kind of daycare centre.
If we all think only of our own interests, we are headed for collective disaster – just look at what we are doing to our planet's climate. When it comes to raising our children, we need fewer tigers and more elephants.
Peter Singer guardian.co.uk, Sunday 13 February 2011
Many years ago, my wife and I were driving somewhere with our three young daughters in the back, when one of them suddenly asked: "Would you rather that we were clever or that we were happy?"
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua Buy it from the Guardian bookshop Search the Guardian bookshop
I was reminded of that moment last month when I read Amy Chua's Wall Street Journal article, Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," which sparked more than 4,000 comments on wsj.com and over 100,000 comments on Facebook. The article was a promotional piece for Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which has become an instant bestseller.
Chua's thesis is that, when compared with Americans, Chinese children tend to be successful because they have "tiger mothers," whereas western mothers are pussycats, or worse. Chua's daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to watch television, play computer games, sleep over at a friend's home, or be in a school play. They had to spend hours every day practising the piano or violin. They were expected to be the top student in every subject except gym and drama.
Chinese mothers, according to Chua, believe that children, once they get past the toddler stage, need to be told in no uncertain terms when they have not met the high standards their parents expect of them. (Chua says that she knows Korean, Indian, Jamaican, Irish, and Ghanaian mothers who are "Chinese" in their approach, as well as some ethnic-Chinese mothers who are not.) Their egos should be strong enough to take it.
But Chua, a professor at Yale law school (as is her husband), lives in a culture in which a child's self-esteem is considered so fragile that children's sports teams give "Most Valuable Player" awards to every member. So it is not surprising that many Americans react with horror to her style of parenting.
One problem in assessing the tiger-mothering approach is that we can't separate its impact from that of the genes that the parents pass on to their children. If you want your children to be at the top of their class, it helps if you and your partner have the brains to become professors at elite universities. No matter how hard a tiger mom pushes, not every student can finish first (unless, of course, we make everyone "top of the class").
Tiger parenting aims at getting children to make the most of what abilities they have, and so seems to lean towards the "clever" side of the "clever or happy" choice. That's also the view of Betty Ming Liu, who blogged in response to Chua's article: "Parents like Amy Chua are the reason why Asian-Americans like me are in therapy."
Stanley Sue, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, has studied suicide, which is particularly common among Asian-American women (in other ethnic groups, more males commit suicide than females). He believes that family pressure is a significant factor.
Chua would reply that reaching a high level of achievement brings great satisfaction, and that the only way to do it is through hard work. Perhaps, but can't children be encouraged to do things because they are intrinsically worthwhile, rather than because of fear of parental disapproval?
I agree with Chua to this extent: a reluctance to tell a child what to do can go too far. One of my daughters, who now has children of her own, tells me amazing stories about her friends' parenting styles. One of them let her daughter drop out of three different kindergartens, because she didn't want to go to them. Another couple believes in "self-directed learning" to such an extent that one evening they went to bed at 11pm, leaving their five-year-old watching her ninth straight hour of Barbie videos.
Tiger-mothering might seem to be a useful counterbalance to such permissiveness, but both extremes leave something out. Chua's focus is unrelentingly on solitary activities in the home, with no encouragement of group activities, or of concern for others, either in school or in the wider community. Thus, she appears to view school plays as a waste of time that could be better spent studying or practicing music.
But to take part in a school play is to contribute to a community good. If talented children stay away, the quality of the production will suffer, to the detriment of the others who take part (and of the audience that will watch it). And all children whose parents bar them from such activities miss the opportunity to develop social skills that are just as important and rewarding – and just as demanding to master – as those that monopolise Chua's attention.
We should aim for our children to be good people, and to live ethical lives that manifest concern for others as well as for themselves. This approach to childrearing is not unrelated to happiness: there is abundant evidence that those who are generous and kind are more content with their lives than those who are not. But it is also an important goal in its own right.
Tigers lead solitary lives, except for mothers with their cubs. We, by contrast, are social animals. So are elephants, and elephant mothers do not focus only on the wellbeing of their own offspring. Together, they protect and take care of all the young in their herd, running a kind of daycare centre.
If we all think only of our own interests, we are headed for collective disaster – just look at what we are doing to our planet's climate. When it comes to raising our children, we need fewer tigers and more elephants.
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Ethics Conference Feb 2011
Last week I had the opportunity to attend one of Peter Vardy's A level conferences in Oxford. Set in the town hall it was fantastic to be surrounded by so many students all keen to expand their knowledge of ethics. The day began with a fast paced lecture on Kantian ethics which my students found took them beyond what they already knew yet simplified their existing knowledge into easy to use bytes. Next came a fascinating look at Utilitarianism looking in detail at how Mill's upbringing affected his attitude to Bentham's utilitarianism and inspired him to look beyond pure quantity of pleasure. It looked at the influence of emotion on his work - especially the poetry of Coleridge and his love for a woman.
After a short break Peter Vardy continued with a look at diversity in modern ethics. He suggested a whole new way of viewing the spectrum of ethics with all the traditionally studied ethical theories on one side and post modernism on the other. His rational was that all the traditional theories have an aim or look for a common humanity i.e. love, reason or perhaps happiness. He felt that post modernism offered a real alternative to these theories as it was truly relative - moral decisions were made without a need for an aim or reference to a common nature. Everything was led by circumstance.
The final lecture of the morning was led by Bob Bowie who looked at the implication of human rights legislation for medical ethics. An interesting discussion in times of economic hardship and the need for cuts.
The day was finished off in the afternoon by a debate led by Peter Vardy "This house believes that assisted suicide should be legalised in the UK". He introduced interviews from Mary Warnock and David Alton which can be viewed at http://www.candleconferences.kk5.org/ethics/4537101747 The debate gave the students a chance to air their views on the issue and many students took part speaking eloquently on the topic. The vote at the end was a surprising even split between those in favour and those against.
Overall the day was excellent and really helped move student understanding of the ethical theories forward. this will be an important stepping stone as we move onto practical ethics over the next term.
After a short break Peter Vardy continued with a look at diversity in modern ethics. He suggested a whole new way of viewing the spectrum of ethics with all the traditionally studied ethical theories on one side and post modernism on the other. His rational was that all the traditional theories have an aim or look for a common humanity i.e. love, reason or perhaps happiness. He felt that post modernism offered a real alternative to these theories as it was truly relative - moral decisions were made without a need for an aim or reference to a common nature. Everything was led by circumstance.
The final lecture of the morning was led by Bob Bowie who looked at the implication of human rights legislation for medical ethics. An interesting discussion in times of economic hardship and the need for cuts.
The day was finished off in the afternoon by a debate led by Peter Vardy "This house believes that assisted suicide should be legalised in the UK". He introduced interviews from Mary Warnock and David Alton which can be viewed at http://www.candleconferences.kk5.org/ethics/4537101747 The debate gave the students a chance to air their views on the issue and many students took part speaking eloquently on the topic. The vote at the end was a surprising even split between those in favour and those against.
Overall the day was excellent and really helped move student understanding of the ethical theories forward. this will be an important stepping stone as we move onto practical ethics over the next term.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Should companies pay to pollute?
Should companies pay to pollute? Great thinkers like Aristotle have mulled such questions for centuries, says philosopher Mark Vernon in the final part of the BBC series on modern ethical dilemmas. Again Utilitarian, Kantian and Virtue ethics are discussed to try and shed light on this modern problem.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12298424
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12298424
Should victims have a say in sentencing criminals?
A2 Ethics students have been considering predestination and free-will and the effect this might have on whether a person is blameworthy and should be punished. this topic was picked up by the BBC's series of articles by Mark Vernon when he discusses victims of crime and whether they should have a say in how criminals are punished.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12277696
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12277696
What would Kant say to social climbers?
Getting on in the world is a priority for many. But is social mobility good? As the BBC researches the class system, philosopher Mark Vernon says thinkers like Kant have mulled over such questions for centuries.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12279627
More from the BBC's series of articles from Mark Vernon
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12279627
More from the BBC's series of articles from Mark Vernon
Bankers bonuses
More from the BBC's series on Aristotle and modern ethical dilemmas. In this article Mark Vernon looks at the approach theories such as Utilitarianism, Kant and Virtue ethics might take to banker's bonuses.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12250405
Justice on the BBC
Available on BBC iplayer and BBC 4 are a series of programmes where Professor Michael Sandel presents a series of lectures from his Harvard undergraduate course in Political Philosophy. "How to measure pleasure" compares the merits of Shakespeare and The Simpsons to explore John Stuart Mill's theory. This programme will be shown on Feb 9th and 10th. "The case for cannibalism" asks the question can cannibalism be justified if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number? also available on iplayer is "The moral side of murder" which explores the morality of murder.These programmes are essential watching for AS and A2 Ethics students and link directly to many strands of the syllabus.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
When ethical view collide in the modern day.
The BBC News has created an interesting article looking at what happens when different peoples ethical views collide, and who's takes precedence.
It specifically looks at the example of a Christian couple refusing a Gay couple in a civil partnership a room at their B&B. This was ruled unlawful last week by Bristol County Court.
See how it is compared to different ethical theories including Bentham's Act Utilitarianism, Kantinian Ethics and even Mr Aristotle himself!
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Pope condones condom use in exceptional cases
Pope Benedict XVI has said the use of condoms is acceptable in exceptional circumstances, according to a new book.
This seems to be a revisionary step forward by the current Pontiff considering traditional Catholic views on contraception, especially when we look deeper into the HIV/AIDS pandemic around the world and how often Catholicism's strict anti-condom message may have hindered progress of reducing this.
See the full article on the BBC LINK
Also look at how the Vatican is keen to play things down... who knows how liberal the Church is prepared to go?
Thursday, 20 May 2010
'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists
Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell.
The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell.
The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA.
See the story here...
Is this the ultimate in intelligent design? What are the ethical implications here?
Monday, 19 April 2010
The famous violinist or Whose body is it anyway?
Remember Judith Jarvis Thomson's violinist? Test out the consistency of your views on personhood and abortion by trying this quiz from Talking Philosophy.
http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=1730&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CombinedTpmBloggingFeed+%28Combined+TPM+Blogging+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Also of interest - Should you kill the fat man? which tests Utilitarian beliefs.
http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=1730&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CombinedTpmBloggingFeed+%28Combined+TPM+Blogging+Feed%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Also of interest - Should you kill the fat man? which tests Utilitarian beliefs.
Will the proposed corporate governance laws improve a company's ethics?
Corporate governance rules and business ethics
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article7096628.ece
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article7096628.ece
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