Richard Weikart: In this [Darwinian ] view ethics is merely a tool—some evolutionists even say an illusion—that helps humans survive and reproduce. It is neither objective nor universal nor immutable.
Ethics
Logic & First Principles, 16: The problem of playing God (when we don’t — cannot — know how)
In discussing the attempted brain hacking of monkeys, I made a comment about refraining from playing God. This sparked a sharp reaction, then led to an onward exchange. This puts on the table the captioned issue . . . which it seems to me is properly part of our ongoing logic and first principles reflections. […]
What are the implications of Julian Assange’s arrest in London?
Yesterday, a prematurely aged-looking Assange (he is 47) — a founder of Wikileaks and Australian — was arrested by UK Police after the Ecuadorean Embassy he has sought asylum in since 2012 withdrew its protection. The arrest raises questions on dissidents, privacy, protection of legitimate secrets, the public’s right to know more than officials, power […]
Have Scientists in China “brain hacked” monkeys?
. . . By inserting human genes? The UK Daily Mail summarises news reports making the rounds: The report details: A new study into the unique evolution of human intelligence has raised ethical concerns after Chinese scientists implanted human brain genes into monkeys to boost their development. Researchers inserted human versions of MCPH1, a gene that […]
Did complex societies predate moral gods?
Sometimes an argument from Naturalism Inc. becomes too complex to follow. Here’s just such an argument: The appearance of moralizing gods in religion occurred after—and not before—the emergence of large, complex societies, according to new research. This finding upturns conventional thinking on the matter, in which moralizing gods are typically cited as a prerequisite for […]
Can we program morality into a self-driving car?
software engineering professor tells us why that’s not a realistic goal.
The problem of anti-conscience, anti-theistic prejudice driving opinion, views and policy
In a current thread on the morality or otherwise on the Pagan practice of infanticide, frequent, objecting commenter BB gives us a summary of a common prejudice of our time: BB, 69: ” The fact that we no longer blindly accept discrimination based on the justification of freedom of conscience or freedom of religion is […]
Why neither weak nor strong scientism can ground ethics
Paul Copan: Science has built-in limitations, but some moderns have placed a burden on science that it cannot—and was never meant to—bear. Theology, philosophy, and other sources of knowledge not only help supplement what science can show, but they can also enrich our study of science.
Scientific quest for morality ends in moral nihilism
One outcome of morality becoming an uninspiring talkshop is that massive breaches of ethics are more difficult to address except in terms of the commotion they create, as opposed to the truths they violate or the individuals they harm.
The junk science of the abortion lobby
Pediatric neurosurgeon Michael Egnor : Fetuses not only experience pain but experience it more intensely than do adults: “Much of pro-abortion advocacy is science denial—the deliberate misrepresentation of science to advance an ideological agenda. Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University, wrote a misleading essay on that theme in the New York Times, […]
Logic and First Principles, 10: Knowable Moral Truth and Moral Government vs. Nihilistic Manipulation
One of the issues we must face is whether there is enduring moral truth that can be warranted to such a degree that it rightly governs our thoughts, words (especially in argument) and deeds. Where, given that we have an inner voice (conscience) that testifies to duty under moral law, as well as an inescapable […]
Darwinian Jerry Coyne muses on hashtag hate
These are deeply sick media. They no longer care about getting stuff right. I read recently about a thousand journalists losing their jobs and I wonder, how much worse is that than a thousand bartenders losing their jobs? Will society really be worse off?
Maybe “genetic superbabies” is the junior version of the Fountain of Youth
The CRISPR babies scientist has been fired. (If not worse.) From the news: “CRISPR-baby scientist fired by university” Investigation by Chinese authorities finds He Jiankui broke national regulations in his controversial work on gene-edited babies.” “He provoked international outcry last November when he revealed that he had used the gene-editing technique CRISPR– Cas9 to modify […]
But if humans are meat machines, how do ethics come into the picture?
Montanez: The AI and ML systems we have in place today are not sentient, but they are still dangerous. I am not worried about the future of AI, but I am concerned about the dangers artificial learning systems currently pose.
Science op-ed: Humans should get over the idea we are exceptional
Op-ed here. Further to the benefits of human extinction, there is the need to see humans as nothing special: Environmentalism is growing darkly anti-human. That misanthropy has also seeped into science. Vivid case in point: Science, one of the world’s most prominent scientific journals, just published a screed directed against human exceptionalism. The author, Eileen […]