It’s a psychological quirk that when something becomes rarer, people may spot it in more places than ever. What is the ‘concept creep’ that lets context change how we categorize the world around us?
Once a niche market, sustainable finance is now expanding and accelerating, yet too few universities have committed their finance programmes to these issues. The time has come for change.
In many legal jurisdictions of the world, including Australia, an offender’s remorse is a mitigating factor at sentencing. And yet how judges evaluate such expressions is unclear.
In democratic political systems, public officials are accountable through the media to the people. That responsibility to be accountable comes with public office. It is not a marketable commodity.
In choosing not to ban the live export trade even in the hottest northern months, the federal government is allowing animals to be put in conditions where they cannot possibly escape suffering.
Recent controversies associated with the impact, privacy and security of new technologies signal that we need better governance. The government alone can’t fix this. This is a job for everyone.
While codes of conduct in banking may help, the tsunami of financial regulation over the past few decades has swept aside much of the sense of personal accountability.
‘Mini brains’ can be grown in the lab, and brains of decapitated pigs were recently ‘kept alive’ for a day and a half. But what makes a conscious brain?
Protesters have urged a boycott of Sydney’s current Real Bodies exhibition, over claims that it could display remains of executed Chinese political prisoners.
Essays on Air: can art really make a difference?
The Conversation26,8 MB(download)
Art has always depicted the crimes of our times throughout centuries of wars and humanitarian crises. Can we really expect it to truly make a difference in the real world?
Ethical review is often seen as a barrier to research and innovation within universities, but it can be constructive. More attention should be paid to the potential benefits of the process.
Where does responsibility lie if a person acts under the influence of their brain implant? As neurotechnologies advance, a neuroethicist and a legal expert write that now’s the time to hash it out.
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney