Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [ethics]

For questions about ethics, a branch of philosophy dealing with morality, justice, virtue, vice, good and evil.

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What are the ethical problems with flipping a coin to decide in the trolley problem?

My understanding is that John M. Taurek suggests that, in the trolley problem we should flip a coin when deciding between saving 5 lives versus 1 life (assuming we do not know any of these people). He says that this gives everyone an equal chance of…
user32889
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What are the ethics of having children today?

Please receive this question as having come from a young person who wants to have children, but given the state of affairs (climate change, growing costs of living and wealth inequality, "technology", the human condition, etc.) is considering to not…
TCP
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I work from home as a software engineer and my job is happy with my performance. But I'm putting in little effort. Am I a bad person or employee?

I used to be a Senior Software Engineer at another company but recently I took a lower level 2 position at another company remotely. I am very good at what I do. I can usually take a well groomed agile story in any tech stack and complete it way…
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Is the golden rule considered childish in philosophy?

The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a moral maxim or principle which may appear as either a positive or negative injunction: One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself (positive or directive form). One should not…
user2683
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Is it ethically correct to be proud of one's country?

It is a very well known phenomena that people feel pride for the country where they were born and/or live, even though the effect seems to be declining slightly nowadays. Frequently, governments also try to instill a sense of national pride in their…
eflorico
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Why is nepotism considered immoral?

It is generally considered acceptable to prioritize the well-being and safety of oneself and one's family over the well-being and safety of strangers. On the other hand, offering a job to a family member over a more qualified stranger could be seen…
user63509
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What are the present views on genetic selection and modification of humans?

A medical ethicist recently proposed that selecting (and possibly engineering) certain traits into our children is not just morally permissible but desirable: Professor Julian Savulescu said that creating so-called designer babies could be…
Rex Kerr
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If a person is discriminated against, and they are not aware, is it truly discrimination and/or unjust?

I began discussing whether sexism was independent of culture, and the topic moved on to women in middle-eastern countries that may be required to wear some type of veil. Someone argued, if they were accustomed to such behaviour, they may not…
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Do human rights exist?

What is the basis for believing that there is such a thing as human rights? I am all for human rights but it could be argued that the notion of human rights is imaginary and reducible to absurdity (that humans by virtue of being born are magically…
musingsofacigarettesmokingman
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Ethics: What is the principle which advocates for individual behaviour based upon the consequences of group adoption of that same behaviour?

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is almost upon us. The bid for this year's tournament was awarded to Qatar, a country with a poor human rights record, a record further blemished by reports of deaths and injury to many migrant workers who have been exploited…
Futilitarian
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Are there moral objections to a life motivated purely by money? How to sway a person from this lifestyle?

Let’s say there’s a person, Z. Z has decided that his goal in life is to get as much money as possible, and at the end, to upload his consciousness into a robot/computer to live forever in his fortunes. Hence, he eschews all romantic relationships…
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If eating in vitro animal meat is morally acceptable to vegetarians, does it follow that eating in vitro Human flesh is morally acceptable?

Several research groups around the world are attempting to perfect techniques for growing animal flesh for human consumption, without requiring the killing of a complete intelligent organism. This is known as in vitro meat. Vegetarian groups are…
Bogdanovist
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Does hiding a truth constitute lying?

I am expected to tell the truth if asked. But sometimes I hide the truth. For example once , although I have diabetes, I ate sweet in a shop and then I withdrew money from atm. My wife called me and asked me what am I doing outside ? I said I am…
Dheeraj Verma
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If you kill someone who is committing suicide, are you culpable for their death?

If a person were committing suicide by jumping off a building and you shot them on the way down, killing them, are you culpable for their death? Legally, you may or may not be, depending on the jurisdiction. But what would the philosophical…
user20
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Is indifference to ethical dicussion by definition unethical?

Eg. Person A: Do you think abortion is morally wrong? Person B has two morally acceptable answers to this question, they can either say "Yes, I believe abortion is morally wrong" or "No, I don't believe abortion is morally wrong." Both of these…
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