By David Hunter On the 23rd of October I attended a workshop at Keele University (where I am based) focused on the topic of Conscientious Objection. This is a topic which I have some interest in (in 2001 I wrote a short dissertation on the topic within the context of euthanasia) however this workshop interestingly […]
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Does Medicine – and Medical Ethics – have a Pro-Life Bias?
There’s an essay by Diego Gracia called “Palliative Care and the Historical Background” that I frequently use in classes about Care ethics, and there’s a passage in it that always gets a fascinating reaction from students. In this passage, Gracia claims that the true goal of medicine has always been curing, rather than taking care of […]
Knowing the Enemy in the “War on Drugs”
If you’re going to fight a war, you need to know whom you’re fighting. You also could do with knowing when to stop fighting. Johann Hari is eloquent in this piece on the so-called “war on drugs”: the time to stop is now. Yes, it is shocking that he was ditched for pointing out the […]
“Ethics” and PEA Soup to Link
Reproduced from the PEA Soup blog: We are very pleased to announce a new partnership between PEA Soup and the distinguished journal, Ethics. In addition to our regular postings, PEA Soup’s editors will select one article from each issue of Ethics to be the focus of a featured discussion on our blog. Ethics, in turn, will make an on-line […]
David Nutt Speaks
Damn. I thought I’d published this a couple of weeks ago. Anyway… David Nutt tells his side of the cannabis sacking story in The Guardian, based on a longer piece here. A sample – or, if you will, a ‘teenth: What we can say is that cannabis use is associated with an increased experience of […]
Progress in Medicine Conference
Bristol, 13-15 April. The aims of this conference are: To examine the nature, scope, causes, and grounds of progress in medicine. To provide a forum for developing the unified study of the history and philosophy of medicine, and in particular raising the profile of the philosophy of medicine in the UK and its engagement with […]
When the Witch Asks a Question, I Can’t Resist
In the replies to this thread, The Witch Doctor asks this: A Scenario: Apparently there are some sites on the web just now claiming that the world is going to end in 2012. Some teenagers are becoming agitated. I don’t want to be around when the world ends, so I’m going to drink some poison […]
Biomedical Ethics Film Festival
Edinburgh, 20-22 November Details here […]
David Nutt and Unpopular Science
I’ve noted David Nutt’s unhappy relationship with the government that employed him before now – it was he who was told by erstwhile Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to apologise for having the temerity to point out that Ecstasy is probably safer than equestrianism; apparently facts play, and ought to play, no significant role in discussion […]
Research Debunks “Promiscuity Objection” to HPV Vaccine
One of the objections to the HPV vaccine was that it might encourage promiscuity, and so should not be administered. There was a number of reasons why the objection failed. […]