“Zepps asked deGrasse Tyson to respond to comments from another recent HuffPost Live guest, pastor Joel Osteen and who talked about his faith and science.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/09/neil-degrasse-tyson-joel-osteen_n_5474231.html
“What happens when two monkeys are paid unequally? Fairness, reciprocity, empathy, cooperation — caring about the well-being of others seems like a very human trait. But Frans de Waal shares some surprising videos of behavioral tests, on primates and other mammals, that show how many of these moral traits all of us share.”
Is it ethical for the government to run a lottery? Is the government profiting from people’s ignorance? If so is that unethical? What about how the lottery is advertised?
Is it unethical to take advantage of people’s mathematical ignorance? What about casinos?
“Government should not be in the business of exploiting the cognitive deficiencies of its citizens for monetary gain. Right? But state lotteries do just that.”
http://www.philosophyetc.net/2006/01/ethics-of-state-lotteries.html
https://philosophynow.org/issues/14/Lottery_or_Lootery
http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2006/01/the_moral_degen.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/business/07lotto.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
“Genetic testing of embryos has been around for more than a decade, but its use has soared in recent years as methods have improved and more disease-causing genes have been discovered. The in vitro fertilization and testing are expensive — typically about $20,000 — but they make it possible for couples to ensure that their children will not inherit a faulty gene and to avoid the difficult choice of whether to abort a pregnancy if testing of a fetus detects a genetic problem.”
“From emails sent last year, purportedly to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, by Lamis Omar, a Ph.D. student working as his translator. The emails were among hundreds recovered by WikiLeaks and released in July.”
Should an artist’s personal views affect how you interact with his artwork? What if those views you object to are not present in the work itself? In this particular case, Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game (a personal favorite), had his book turned into a movie and many people who object to his political views are suggesting you boycott the movie to protest the author’s political views. Three articles linked below about the issue.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emma-rubysachs/call-off-the-enders-game_b_4140087.html
Much to the surprise of the art world, Moses found that “the more expensive the purchase price, the lower the returns.” In other words, those old masterpieces that sell for astronomical sums are not very good investments.
While it would be sacrilege in art circles to question the value of old masters like Peter Paul Rubens and Gustave Courbet, Moses points out that from a purely profit-making perspective, they are “big name underachievers.”
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/05/31/153914132/is-art-a-good-investment
“Why a dead shark costs $12 million, and a photo of steel wool that looks like a tornado costs $1,265.
In other words, we wade into the economics of the art world.”
Who decides how much art is worth?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/10/09/230950901/episode-189-why-a-dead-shark-costs-12-million
“Literary circles were abuzz after three previously unpublished short stories by American author J.D. Salinger showed up on the Internet this week.
“Salinger was known to fiercely guard his writings and only allowed a relatively small number to be published before his death in 2010 at age 91.”
Is it unethical to release these stories? Does the author’s intent matter after he’s died? What if they’re great pieces of art? Once leaked, is it unethical to read them if the author never intended them to be read?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/29/showbiz/salinger-unpublished-stories/
What is the value of artwork? How do we determine? Why did it matter whether people knew or didn’t know whether these were original works?
“For his 13th day in New York, Banksy pulled a fantastic prank on unsuspecting passersby in Central Park yesterday by setting up an unannounced art stall with dozens of 100% original signed canvases. In a world where copies of unlicensed Banksy works are available for a dime a dozen, it’s not inconceivable for somebody to peddle cheap knockoffs for $60 apiece. To further camouflage the artwork the booth was labeled simply “SPRAY ART” and manned by an unsuspecting old man who seemed completely uninterested in what he was doing.”
Banksy Has Unannounced Art Sale with Genuine Signed Canvases in Central Park, Sells Almost Nothing
Similar to the case of Joshua Bell who played his violin at a busy train station and because no one knew who he was people didn’t pay any attention.
TOK Topics 