Should we consider this project art? Who gets to decide whether it is or isn’t?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041702519.html
http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2008/04/17/for-senior-abortion-a-medium-for-art-political-discourse/
Article about the controversial cartoons published in a Danish magazine whose goal was to insult or mock Muhammad. The cartoons were met with threats of violence and protest.
Do artists have a responsibility not to offend people? Can it be their goal to offend? What are the ethical limitations on what artists should be able to do to create art? How do we define art?
“There are few musical moments more well-worn than the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. But in this short, we find out that Beethoven might have made a last-ditch effort to keep his music from ever feeling familiar, to keep pushing his listeners to a kind of psychological limit.”
What is the relationship between an artist and the art he creates? Does the artist have a monopoly on how the art is performed or interpreted? Are we doing something wrong if we perform and listen to Beethoven’s music far slower than he intended it?
http://www.radiolab.org/story/269783-speedy-beet/
Here is a shortened version of the podcast I made:
How do you balance human reproductive freedom with the greater good of society? What if individual choices add up to lead to catastrophic consequences for society? Is it unethical to choose to have a child of one gender versus another?
“A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.”
A great movie that delves into interesting aspects of the ethics and consequences of genetic engineering.
Is it ethical to make artwork if the process kills other living things? Does it matter that those things that are dying are ants? What if we gain scientific knowledge in the process? Take a look at the videos below. Consider those questions.
Video of the process
Pictures of the various casts he has made
http://www.ebay.com/blogs/stories/aluminum-anthill-art-fever-hits-ebay
Here is a link to an amazing document written in the early 2000’s by Republican strategist Frank Luntz to help Republican politicians frame the debate about the War on Terror, the Iraq war, security and other related issues. This document helped communicate and sell to the public ideas that may not have been true. Without actually saying things that were false, they left people with the impression of false information. Members of the Republican party were amazingly effective at being on the same page as each other and really used a lot of the same language as laid out in this document.
How does language help us communicate? Is it unethical to mislead your audience without ever uttering something untruthful?
Is it ethical for magazines and advertisers to digitally manipulate photos? What if these images have a negative impact on people’e self image and lead to various disorders? Do these companies have any responsibility? What about the fact that these are companies trying to profit and if their advertising is not effective they would not be profitable? What if the magazines sold fewer copies or advertisers sold fewer products if they didn’t retouch their models so drastically? Is it appropriate to tell people that if they don’t like what magazines or advertisers are doing then you don’t have to look or buy?
Below are a few links to interesting stories and websites on the issue.
http://idealbite.com/100-percent-of-what-you-see-in-fashion-magazines-is-retouched/
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/on-women/2009/03/16/negative-body-image-blame-photoshop
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/fashion/28RETOUCH.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-matlins/post_2329_b_932086.html
Though it is common, easy, and usually anonymous, is it unethical to download music from the web without paying? How can we decide?
Here is a DirecTv ad that makes is what is called a slippery slope fallacy in its reasoning. It’s intentional in order to be funny. You’ll notice that each step in the argument is only loosely related to the one before which takes you from one event to a very different place in the end.
TOK Topics 