I’m not suggesting that we should prioritise the preservation of artefacts over the saving of human lives. If I had to choose, I’m sure I’d pull a person from a burning building before a Picasso. But that does not mean to care about the destruction of our heritage is to care about things more than we do people. Rather, it is to care about people as more than just biological things.
ReadBristol’s Maitreya Social would seem to be the ideal location to talk to Pater Singer, author of Animal Liberation and one the the world’s most famous moral philosophers. Vegetarian and organic, it is impeccably ethical. You can even settle your bill with Bristol Pounds, the local currency designed to keep wealth out of the hands of multinational businesses and big banks. But according to my guest’s austere utilitarian principles, there is no justification for spending £10.95 on a summer vegetable gallette when people on the other side of the world are dying of malnutrition.
ReadThe rise of both Bournemouth and its football club club reflects the values and aspirations of a nation. You could call it the English Dream.
ReadPhilosophers have tended to have an inflated sense of their ability to “follow the argument wherever it leads”, as Plato’s old saw has it. What matters is the argument, not the arguer, which means there is no need even to think about gender or ethnicity. Philosophers have thus felt immune to the distorting effects of gender bias. Logic is gender-neutral, philosophy is logical, ergo philosophy is gender-neutral. I suspect this has led to complacency, a blindness towards all the ways in which, in fact, gender bias does creep in.
ReadIt’s official. “Left-wingers can’t control themselves as well as conservatives.” It’s not the first headline like this appear in the Daily Mail, but this time they have proper scientific research to prove it. This is uncomfortable reading for many on the left, who generally attribute lack of success in life more to social forces than weakness of will. But if you look at the source research more carefully, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a credible progressive response to the conclusions begins to emerge.
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