Do-Gooders, philanthropists, humanitarian people, the ones who care; gotta love ’em. But is it always good to care? I’d like to relay a story my principal related to the school long ago: Once upon a time there was a caterpillar stuck in its cocoon and a goodly well-meaning stranger grabbed his scissors and clipped the … Read more
With millions of copies of violent games like Grand Theft Auto and Halo, should there not be an epidemic of violence, if there is a direct causal link between violence and video games? Are kids slowly but surely giving into the violence of the the game and will they/we start committing violent crimes? Fingers have … Read more
We should not always trust our various authorities. All the Yes points: Authorities: politicians/scientists/experts/etc should be questioned and not trusted blindly because there is no suh thing as a pefect authority in any area or subject We are fallible Authority All the No points: To much information doesn’t get heard. Why is the authority figure … Read more
We keep being told contradictory things about foods, particularly controversial foods that we like such as wine and chocolate. One minute they help us fight a disease and the next there is another headline saying they are bad for us in new ways – in this case depression. So on balance is chocolate good or … Read more
The latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) has seen more classifications of mental illness than any previous edition. Does this mean that we are developing more mental illnesses, or are we simply finding new labels for types that have already been around for centuries? All the Yes points: Mental … Read more
Utilitarianism as an ethical philosophy can simply be defined as a system in which ‘the theory that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its usefulness in bringing about the most happiness of all those affected by it.’ (http://plus.aol.com/aol/reference/utilitar/utilitarianism?flv=1&flv=1&icid=algo.encyclopedia.M.xml). There are various versions of utilitarianism. For instance, the original formulation by Jeremy … Read more
