Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [practical-ethics]

82 questions
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Can cruelty and suffering be justified if it might lead to social transformation?

Slavoj Žižek is generally viewed as controversial. But in watching a recent video made by him, he had a good point about us lengthening the pain of others. For example, he argues that "good" slave owners created more of a problem because they did…
Matt
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Why should an atheist care about what happens to the world after his/her death?

Consider someone who doesn't believe in any kind of reincarnation or perfect punishment after death, an atheist. That is, nothing in the world can impact him/her after his/her death, because, as he/she believes, he/she will completely ceasing…
BsAxUbx5KoQDEpCAqSffwGy554PSah
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Is it possible to act unethically against oneself?

Usually discussions of practical/applied ethics (which this site really needs a tag for, by the way) discuss matters in which a person's actions will have an effect on others. However, is there ever a case where a person can act unethically towards…
That Guy
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Does Sartre ever talk about irrelevance?

Does Sartre ever talk about authenticity in terms of irrelevance? I think that authenticity means (amongst other things) both being irrelevant and failing to act: that membership of a group which cannot achieve its goals despite having (relevance)…
user6917
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Is it wrong to fly on holiday?

I have the impression that more and more colleagues disapprove of me flying for holidays. That made me ponder, but I'm not convinced that I'm making a moral mistake. I argue that my actions cannot be causally associated with harm. I am aware that…
user14511
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Is there still a place in modern philosophy for qualitative or non-mathematical philosophy?

Modern philosophy seems to have an inclination to mathematics and other scientific disciplines. Even moral philosophy is being "mathematized". Some peer-reviewed articles on the mere addition paradox, for example, utilized complex mathematical…
user9196
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Why did Kant condemn masturbation?

That such an unnatural use (and so misuse) of one's sexual attributes is a violation of one's duty to himself and is certainly in the highest degree opposed to morality strikes everyone upon his thinking of it. Furthermore, the thought of it…
user22051
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Compelling example of difference between intended consequences and foreseen but unintended consequences?

I am trying to get inside the head of individuals who believe that there is a difference between acting in such a way that someone's death foreseeably results from your actions, but that this was not your intention, and in acting in this way when…
Maths That Imo
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Is it moral to obey the law?

To be clear, I am not asking if laws are moral, or even a good approximation for a moral system. We understand that there can be moral laws and immoral laws. For example, the law prohibiting murder is considered, by almost everyone, to be moral. On…
Bridgeburners
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Is it unethical, according to Kant, to break copyright and pirate books online?

I live in Bangladesh. In my country, I don't get authentic, high quality foreign books about science, philosophy, psychology etc. Even if some bookstores sell those books, the price due to import tax is too high to afford. For this reason, it has…
Mockingbird
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Ethics when breaking non written rule occurs

Breaking non written rules happens all the time. This happens mostly in our private lives and close social circles, which is main source of anger for common peoples. For example, mother gives a promise to a child and not keeping it and vice versa,…
user25449
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Evaluating between seemingly logical, yet contradicting, arguments

I sometimes find myself in a situation where I am trying to evaluate a statement to which there seem to be logically valid, but yet contradicting, arguments on both sides. The statements may be an ethical, political, moral, etc. problem, like ''you…
Nikolai Opdan
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Morality of perpetuating a "bad" system by doing something "good" within it

I could live and marginally improve other people's lives in a country with an authoritarian, oppressive regime. While doing so, I will pay taxes and will generally increase the chances that this regime will last for longer (this might not be…
leventov
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Does antinatalism carry the seeds of its own destruction?

Antinatalists claim that it is immoral to procreate. For instance: David Benatar argues there is an asymmetry between pleasure and pain, which means it would be better for humans not to have been alive: 1) The presence of pain is bad; 2) The…
christo183
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Within a utilitarian framework, how should I handle research where I don't know whether it is ethical?

Let me start with an example. Let's assume I'm a computer scientist working on autonomous, human-like (at least in some aspects) artificial intelligence, which is expected to interact with humans, make important autonomous decisions, etc. Not…
machaerus
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