Ethics – Page 9 – Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.

On accepting government grants, paybacks, subsidies (and the PPP in particular)

5 Comments / Ethics, Politics / Stephen Hicks

A number of free-society individuals and organizations I’m involved with have been arguing about whether it’s appropriate to participate in the US government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), devised in response to the Covid-19 disruptions, shut-downs, and lockdowns. That particular program’s issues raise also more general issues of government funds. So: my thoughts. (Speaking only for […]

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J.S. Mill on Covid-19 lockdowns

Leave a Comment / Ethics, Humor / Stephen Hicks

“Many a person remains in the same town, street, or house from January to December, without a wish or thought tending towards removal, who, if confined to that same place by the mandate of authority, would find the imprisonment absolutely intolerable.” Source: John Stuart Mill, Collected Works of John Stuart Mill: Principles of Political Economy

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Index of Moral Freedom

Leave a Comment / Ethics / Stephen Hicks

Countries ranked in five areas of moral freedom: Category A. Religious indicators. How free is the practice of any religion or none, and how religious-controlled is the state. Category B. Bioethical indicators. How free is individual decision making on matters posing bioethical questions. Category C. Drugs indicators. How free is the production, trade and consumption

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Senator Duckworth / Jane Addams inverted morality

1 Comment / Ethics / Stephen Hicks

Even making allowances for politicians’ blabbermouthing … … this is inane and the opposite of morality. * I earn $100 for myself. But earning $100 for my employer is more important? And infinitely so? * I do a good job mowing my lawn. But mowing my neighbor’s lawn is more important? * I successfully find

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Should racists get medical care?

2 Comments / Ethics / Stephen Hicks

* An angry atheist shows up at a Catholic hospital needing treatment. * A sexist says he prefers not to have a woman doctor. * A surgeon realizes that his patient is a suspected pedophile. Medical ethics for professionals: Does one treat even blasphemers, misogynists, and perverts to the best of one’s abilities? And the

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Either God or the State??

4 Comments / Ethics / Stephen Hicks

Read this WSJ article reporting on Attorney-General Bob Barr’s speech at the University of Notre Dame, and then ask: Are these the premises shared by both left and right? 1. People need morality. 2. Morality can come only from either Church or State. The current right then argues that the government’s doing a bad job,

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The Stain of Slavery [Open College]

3 Comments / Ethics, History / Stephen Hicks

A new episode of my podcast series, produced by Possibly Correct out of Toronto. Audio: iTunes Stitcher YouTube Topics and times: The decline of slavery as a moral achievement // History: Slavery practiced everywhere before modernity // The internal African slave society and trades // The Atlantic trade and where the slaves went // Early

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Abortion is not a men-versus-women issue

6 Comments / Ethics / Stephen Hicks

Three data points: 1. The 1973 Roe v. Wade case was decided 7-2 by an all-male court. 2. A 2018 Gallup poll showed statistically small-to-trivial differences between men and women’s beliefs about whether abortion should be legal in all cases, illegal in all cases, or legal/illegal in some cases. 3. A 2018 Pew survey also

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