Mississippi adopts anti abortion legislation
Mississippi is the latest state to introduce new anti-abortion legislation. This could shut down its one remaining abortion clinic thus ending the possibility of abortion in that state. This action on the one hand “ensures the lives of the born and unborn are protected” (Governor Phil Bryant) yet on the other it appears to go directly against a womans basic right to an abortion as enshrined in the Roe vs Wade ruling of 1973. Click here for the link to the article in the LA Times
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Abortion - Who decides?
Recent press interest on abortion has ranged from doctors signing off abortions for women they have never met to whether ‘After Birth Abortion’ can be morally justified.
BBC Moral Maze discusses abortion, considering the issue from all angles.
Click here for BBC Moral Maze - The morality of abortion.
The Killing of Osama Bin Laden
Should we worry about the niceties of the judicial system when it comes to terrorism?
Click here for the link
When is War Justified?
What, if anything should Britain do about Libya? Or Syria? Although events have moved on in Libya much of the discussion is still relevant when it comes to considering what could make war just.
Click here for the link to BBC Moral Maze
The Absolutist
The Absolutist, John Boyne (author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas)
Quite apart from the fact that it is BRILLIANT, it also ties in nicely with the AS syllabus.
Are we good or evil?
Horizon asks the question ‘Are we born good or evil?’
BBC Horizon looks at genetics and brain function to establish if there is a ‘moral molecule’ inside of us. Click here for the link to BBC Horizon If we all have a general sense of morality, as the scientific research cited in this episode seems to suggest, then was Plato right in suggesting that we are born with an innate sense of ‘good’ and ‘right’? Should we be looking towards a moral absolute? Is relativism still relevant if morality has a genetic basis and linked to brain function? Is Sam Harris right? Can science answer moral questions and provide us with objective and absolute results?
read more...»Justice
Michael Sandel has produced an excellent series on Justice. As well as being generally pretty interesting, it also contains some really useful descriptions of Virtue Ethics, Kantian Ethics and Utilitarianism.
Is religion bad for women?
A conference in Newcastle this week has posed the question “Is religion responsible for keeping women in their place?”. Daphne Hampson, Professor of Divinity at the University of St Andrews argues that religion has proven to be hugely damaging to the equal rights of women. Last week Cheri Blair argued that over the years modern religion has fallen foul of fallible, masculine interpretation of key texts. However, Hampson argues that it is not simple a question of reinterpreting masculine versions of faith, but religion itself that is the problem. A transcendent, male divinity and a gendered hierarchy reflect all that is wrong with the patriarchal ideologies presented by the Abrahamic faiths. In her view religion has been central to modern day culture and has legitimized patriarchy.
Does Spider Man have Free -Will?
Imagine that you are Spiderman and have just discovered that you have special powers. Do you have a moral obligation to use your new found powers to help other people?
Is Spiderman a consequentialist? Does Spiderman really have to use his powers to do good? Why is he considered to be good? Could he choose any other course of action? Click here for the link to the complete article.
A2 Conscience Prezi
These are useful summaries of all the key players in the A2 topic on Conscience.
click here for no1 and click here for no 2
