Forum: Philosophy, Ethics and Behavioral Studies

Ronin..do you think it is 'death'--the dying that scares ppl or is it the uncertainty of the unkown after death that scares ppl? This isn't intended to disparage your encounter, and I am glad to read you were in control of your faculties during said encounter. It takes strength and extreme discipline to stand while aware of the imminent potential for your death. Sometimes ppl stand and later brag about their strength..I've always wondered about a few of them and their courage because I know that a few of them were not keen enough to grasp the finality of it all. I don't get that vibe from you. If you don't mind sharing...were the mental games during your recovery difficult to sort through or were they more 'reflective'?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3764874.stm As the UN starts to debate the pros and cons of cloning what are the feelings of members on this board? Is this all morally wrong or does it offer essential health benfits? Do you think it's just an opportunity for humans to play God? I haven't as yet done enough research to be swayed totally in one direction, we can see from the link that there is an outright ban on total human cloning but as far as medical benfits is concerned, I'm not so sure that finding a medical cure for everything would necessarily be such a great idea anyway? I know that if my son was taken seriously ill and they found the cure through this research I would be jumping for joy, but isn't that a totally selfish attitude to have? Is it right to obstruct research in the name of morality? This issue is apparently hitting hard on the political front, the religious front, the science front and the moral front, so it seems the perfect debate for this board, I decided to place it here...

I want to know your thoughts on this style of social philosophy. What is wrong or right with this concept? Society is run as per Capitlism because everyone needs incentive to work and rewards to work harder. Then just before extreme Capitalism comes in the form of Multinationism for profit over social responsilities you bring a personal wealth cap. Let´s say 50 million dollars. You cannot exceed this cap in personal wealth so anything that you make over this must be spent in services eg charity, travel, benevolence whatever and not material wealth. You are not taxed on this 50 million. This hopefully would create a larger wealth class and allow the more menial workers a larger income. Penalties of asset stripping for anyone found guilty of hording wealth and more communal interest in larger wealth properties. EG instead of buying a 100 million dollar boat you get together with a 100 investors and buy a share of it. Excessive wealth is a sin ( even if you got it honestly) and leads to a burgoise attitude. At...

Those wacky japs with their animation, schoolgirl uniform obsession and suicide pacts...

In the political forum you regularly see people posting links to info they found on the web. When people post stuff that they get from sources that are NOT western, the general reaction is that this info gets discarded as being "biased". What exactly is "biased" information? Isn't information coming from US government sources biased? Isn't info from left or rightwing orientated newspapers biased? Is not in fact ALL information biased in some way or another? And - if this is true - is this a problem? Personally I think that underlining and strengthening my information and POV with sources I agree with is no problem at all. Why are some members reacting so irritated when this happens? When I want to make a point about the rainforest being destroyed I see no harm in referencing to a greenpeace article.. Should I be referencing an article of a teakwood factory in stead? :evlol: Thoughts please...

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/11/saudi.women.ap/index.html "Saudi women have limited freedoms. Without written permission from a male guardian, they may not travel, get an education or work. Regardless of permissions, they are not allowed to drive, mix with men in public or leave home without covering themselves with black cloaks, called abayas." :gtfo: I know we should be tolerant of other cultures and there's probably a number of issues that can be brought up with respect to our own ... but I just can't fathom these people who can't respect another human being because they are of different sex. These are BASIC freedoms for goodness sake. ... had to get that off my chest ... phew :bondage:

All the NDE experiences I've ever heard of can be explained by chemical changes within the dying brain. Is there any reliable evidence that seems to hint at "something" surviving death ? Heck, even a good reincarnation story might qualify. Anyone have any link that deal with this subject in a more or less scientific way ? Thanks

He is the conservative bastion of the US supreme court, a favourite of President Bush, and a hunting partner of the vice-president. He has argued vociferously against abortion rights, and in favour of anti-sodomy laws. But it turns out that there is another side to Justice Antonin Scalia: he thinks Americans ought to be having more orgies. Challenged about his views on sexual morality, Justice Scalia surprised his audience at Harvard University, telling them: "I even take the position that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged." It seems unlikely that this is what President Bush meant when he promised to appoint more judges like Scalia to the court, should the opportunity arise. Crucially, Justice Scalia is one of the judges in favour of overturning Roe v Wade, the landmark judgment protecting abortion as a constitutional right. One audience member also asked the judge "whether you have any gay friends, and, if not, whether you'd like to be my friend," the Harvard...

I'm a bit bemused that they would offer counselling to pedophiles simply because they can't deal with the fact they've been caught and as a result, off themselves. Is this a fair option for these people do you think? http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10961620%255E421,00.html

This topic came up in my english class and so I thought it would make a nice addition to AO. The more I think about it, the more I believe there is no such thing as a completely selfless act. I think this is especially true in a capitalist society. Capitalism works because of the oppurtunity. There is freedom for those to make their own fortune for themselves, to better themselves. Almost every action can be traced back to a self driven motive. Hence, a society based on greed. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but there are always those that will lose out. There are those in our world that constantly donate/work for charities and don't seem to get anything out of such. This seems to be selfless, doesn't it? Then again, they may be getting something out of it. It may not be a physical gain, but I'm sure most of you have heard about people just feeling good about themselves after doing something for charity to help the less fortunate. Obviously, this is not a selfless act. These people are still doing...

There have been many threads in which one central theme is either hinted at or discussed, and that's the topic of civil rights and security measures. We had a really good thread going on this, but it became cluttered with cut n paste articles/hijacked and instead the points were ignored and/or weren't countered. I'll post some of the posts from the thread to refresh peoples' memory. Quote: Everywhere you go, you are looked at, questioned, poked, prodded. ______________________________________________________ You try to demonize the actual reality of why these things take place, and attempt to compare us to cattle or some other kind of animal, without even giving a plausible alternative to how to go about things effectively? Bravo... Quote: Do you not care that you are being watched, even in the most mediocre of your daily tasks?

Should we be admistering IQ Tests in our schools? Is it beneficial or harmful to our children's mental and emotional growth? I knew this girl in High School that scored in the 90s (That's pretty low) on a IQ Test given to us in Psychology class. She was a straight "A" student but she was devastated when she received her score. She took it again and scored just about the same. After that she considered herself "Retarded" (Her words). She continued to get straight "As" but she always seemed depressed.

No its not. I think it is pure ignorance when

Carrying on from another post, I thought this would make a good ethical debate. Us Aussies are legally allowed at 16, as I gather, it differs in the American states. I personally think this age limit is fine, of course my situation creates certain biases. :grin For those of you that think it should be higher, how do you propose to enforce such? It is not something that can be monitored without invasion of personal privacy. Not to mention arresting two people on the charge of having consented sex is plain ridiculous.

This can turn out really interesting if we allow ourselves to be open minded, morally,and ethically conscious. Lets keep in mind that Scientific research says one thing and religion says another. Does anyone care to give their opinion on this subject?