[ weird things ] | ethics
articles tagged: ethics
the scientific and ethical disaster that is the chinese crispr scandal
# health

the scientific and ethical disaster that is the chinese crispr scandal

He Jiankui tried to create two human beings resistant to HIV. Instead he triggered an international scandal with his methods and work experts describe as amateurish and shoddy.

a terrible reason to oppose life extension
# tech

a terrible reason to oppose life extension

A popular philosophical objection to life extension is that it would allow terrible people to live longer. The problem is that there will always be terrible people.

how think tanks could buy themselves a study
# science

how think tanks could buy themselves a study

Mark Regnerus’ study of homosexual parenting is rife with cherry-picking, misrepresentation, and baseless assertions. This is why he's being so harshly criticized.

how a nice idea would quickly fail in practice
# tech

how a nice idea would quickly fail in practice

A moral test for new technology is a fine idea. But if its implementation is too strict, it might leave us without any real innovations at all.

why we’re more evil than you may think
# science

why we’re more evil than you may think

Researchers show that far more of us than we'd admit would harm a stranger for the promise of cold, hard cash.

ratzinger finds a new scapegoat for his troubles
# politics

ratzinger finds a new scapegoat for his troubles

According to the pope, his senior advisers, and ardent supporters, the Catholic Church molests kids because... atheists were literally Nazis?

when priests resort to insidious scare tactics
# oddities

when priests resort to insidious scare tactics

Someone should tell Reverend Robert Barro that "believe what I say or God will smite you" is not a logical or morally upstanding argument in favor of one's religion.

yes, i’ll take the embryo on the left, please…
# science

yes, i’ll take the embryo on the left, please…

We often worry about parents customizing their children into their warped idea of perfection. But what if the future parents want to put a limitation their kid's abilities?

trying to defend the indefensible
# politics

trying to defend the indefensible

What the Catholic Church allowed its priests to do to children without consequence is monstrous and inexcusable. But the priests and their amoral henchmen are trying to find excuses anyway.

why morality came before religion
# science

why morality came before religion

Evolutionarily speaking, ethics and morality before we even had a written language made humans the species we are today.