Category: Ethics

Radiolab Podcast: Mau Mau. Reconstructing history in Kenya

July 5, 2015

“When professor Caroline Elkins came across a stray document left by the British colonial government in Nairobi, Kenya, she opened the door to a new reckoning with the history of one of Britain’s colonial crown jewels, and the fearsome group of rebels known as the Mau Mau. We talk to historians, archivists, journalists and send our producer Jamie York to visit the Mau Mau. As the new history of Kenya is concealed and revealed, document by document, we wonder what else lies in wait among the miles of records hidden away in Hanslope Park.”

What does this podcast tell us about the way in which we construct knowledge in History? What role does corroborating documentary evidence play? Can we solely rely on oral history to construct knowledge about the past?

This podcast also raises many interesting questions about ethics and responsibility. Does Britain’s government have any responsibility, moral, ethical, or legal, to acknowledge past crimes? Does it have to make amends for these actions?

http://www.radiolab.org/story/mau-mau/

The right to die

June 28, 2015

“Doctors should be allowed to help the suffering and terminally ill to die when they choose.

“One fear is that assisted dying will be foisted on vulnerable patients, bullied by rogue doctors, grasping relatives, miserly insurers or a cash-strapped state. Experience in Oregon, which has had a law since 1997, suggests otherwise. Those who choose assisted suicide are in fact well-educated, insured and receiving palliative care. They are motivated by pain, as well as the desire to preserve their own dignity, autonomy and pleasure in life.”

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21656182-doctors-should-be-allowed-help-suffering-and-terminally-ill-die-when-they-choose?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/st/therighttodie

Can an Algorithm Hire Better Than a Human?

June 25, 2015

“Hiring and recruiting might seem like some of the least likely jobs to be automated. The whole process seems to need human skills that computers lack, like making conversation and reading social cues.

“But people have biases and predilections. They make hiring decisions, often unconsciously, based on similarities that have nothing to do with the job requirements — like whether an applicant has a friend in common, went to the same school or likes the same sports.”

The American Medical Association is finally taking a stand on quacks like Dr. Oz

June 15, 2015

The issue of has taken on increasing significance of late. Wrapped up in this issue are several key issues:

  • What is the role of professional organizations and authorities in enforcing certain practices and ethical standards?
  • How do we define and distinguish between science and pseudoscience?
  • What does “evidence based” practice mean?
  • How do we determine “truth” in the natural sciences and in particular, the medical sciences?
  • Upon what should ethical standards in medicine be based? How should those standards be enforced? Who should do the enforcing?

“The AMA will look at creating ethical guidelines for physicians in the media, write a report on how doctors may be disciplined for violating medical ethics through their press involvement, and release a public statement denouncing the dissemination of dubious medical information through the radio, TV, newspapers, or websites.”

http://www.vox.com/2015/6/13/8773695/AMA-dr-oz

When It’s O.K. to Pay for a Story

June 9, 2015

“Modern news media organizations must develop new codes of ethics that embrace the best of the Internet’s potential for citizen journalism and information sharing. They should not rule out paying sources, but it should happen rarely and be transparent when it does. The guiding idea is not just what’s in the public interest, but what serves democracy.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/opinion/when-its-ok-to-pay-for-a-story.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=opinion-c-col-right-region®ion=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region

Peter Singer: On Animal Rights and Human Rights

May 27, 2015

“Speciesism is an attitude of bias against a being because of the species to which it belongs. Typically, humans show speciesism when they give less weight to the interests of nonhuman animals than they give to the similar interests of human beings. Note the requirement that the interests in question be ‘similar.’ It’s not speciesism to say that normal humans have an interest in continuing to live that is different from the interests that nonhuman animals have.”

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/peter-singer-on-speciesism-and-racism/

Should Authors Shun or Cooperate With Chinese Censors?

May 27, 2015

“A report by the PEN American Center, which found some books were expurgated by Chinese censors without the authors even knowing it, called on those who want their works published in the lucrative Chinese market to be vigilant, and recommended a set of principles in dealing with publishers.

“But each author may approach the problem differently. How should Western authors and artists deal with Chinese government censorship? Accept or negotiate changes, or decline to have their work published at all?”

Maligned Study on Gay Unions Is Shaking Trust

May 26, 2015

How do we create knowledge in the social sciences? What constitutes proof? What methods do social scientists undertake?

When we hear conclusions and findings of studies we often don’t question or think about how those conclusions were arrived at. This article about a particular study highlights some of the challenges and limitations of producing knowledge in the human sciences.

What methods are appropriate? How reproduceable are findings in the human sciences? What are the ethical limits of experimentation? How do the structures of our institutions (universities, scientific journals) promote or inhibit the production of knowledge?

“The scientific community’s system for vetting new findings, built on trust, is poorly equipped to detect deliberate misrepresentations. Faculty advisers monitor students’ work, but there are no standard guidelines governing the working relationship between senior and junior co-authors.

“The reviewers at journals may raise questions about a study’s methodology or data analysis, but rarely have access to the raw data itself, experts said. They do not have time; they are juggling the demands of their own work, and reviewing is typically unpaid.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/science/maligned-study-on-gay-marriage-is-shaking-trust.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/upshot/pollings-secrecy-problem.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&abt=0002&abg=1

Texas hunter shoots endangered Namibian rhino for $350,000

May 21, 2015

“A US hunter who paid $350,000 to kill a black rhinoceros in Namibia successfully shot the animal on Monday, saying that his actions would help protect the critically-endangered species.”

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-hunter-shoots-endangered-namibian-rhino-350-000-000807061.html

Here is an article arguing in favor of that policy.

http://www.ozy.com/immodest-proposal/save-the-animals-by-hunting-them/39349?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=05202015

Lotteries: America’s $70 Billion Shame

May 13, 2015

“People spent more money playing the lottery last year than on books, video games, and tickets for movies and sporting events combined.

“In an age of rising income inequality, it’s pernicious that states rely on monetizing the desperate hope of its poorest residents. State lotteries take from the poor to spare the rich, all while marching under the banner of voluntary entertainment. Banning lotto games will not make our poorest communities suddenly rich. But these neighborhoods have lost enough lotteries in life even before they touch a penny to the scratch-off ticket.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/lotteries-americas-70-billion-shame/392870/?utm_source=SFTwitter