What place does hunting have in our urbanized society? Is it acceptable to kill for fun? For conservation? Philosophy doesn’t have all the answers, but it can help us understand opposing views.
A billboard of US president-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Danilovgrad, Montenegro.
Reuters/Stevo Vasiljevic
Voters in Massachusetts passed a ballot measure that assumed so. But a philosopher of animal welfare suggests the ethical issues involved are trickier than a yes/no vote would suggest.
Does including torture or other human rights violations in video games trivialize the actions? Or might it force us to think more critically about them?
Does what’s most usual seem inherently good to you?
Fish image via www.shutterstock.com.
It’s a common quirk of human psychology to make the mental leap that the way things are is the way things ought to be. New research into how we explain the world around us sheds light on the phenomenon.
Lost in the fog? How the fraudsters got their morals.
Shreyans Bhansali/Flickr
Locavore, freegan, kangatarian, flexitarian … what we eat has become a moral minefield. Religions have long enforced food-related prohibitions, but in a secular context we could do with a little less moralising at the kitchen table.
Should people with brain disorders receive different punishment for crimes?
Shutterstock
It helps society function when people punish selfish acts, even at a personal cost. A new theory suggests third-party punishment also confers some benefits on the punisher.
With moralistic gods watching, it’s easier to be fair and cooperative.
Olivier
For human groups to grow from small, intimate communities to the huge interconnected societies we know now, people needed to be willing to cooperate with strangers. Religion might have played a big role.
All people have duties to their sexual partners regardless of their HIV status.
miker/Shutterstock
While children from religious households may seem less generous according to one piece of research, seen in another light these traits may be a good thing.