Suggested readings, 6 September 2020

Here are a small number of interesting articles I’ve read over the past week that I think are worth checking out.

Daniel McConnell, “Dignity law would have allowed Marie Fleming die in peace.” 5 Sep, Irish Examiner.

Ireland should introduce legalised assistance in dying: "The time has come to extend that debate to consider allowing people to determine how they leave this earth with a meaningful degree of dignity. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand".

Barry J Whyte, Aaron Rogan and Killian Woods, “Mask hysteria.” 30 Aug, Business Post.

Very good piece on what can happen when extremist movements and conspiracy theories move into the political mainstream during a pandemic.

Emily Oster, “How the media has us thinking all wrong about the coronavirus.” 25 Aug, Washington Post.

Economist and author Emily Oster argues that in evaluating the risk of Covid-19 spreading, we should follow the trend lines, not the headlines. She also reminds us of our common cognitive biases, including the negativity bias and the availability heuristic.

David P. Barash, “Just Because It’s Natural Doesn’t Mean It’s Good.” 19 Aug, Nautilus.

"Given a choice, most people gravitate toward the natural over the artificial. After all, natural environments are preferable to garbage dumps, natural foods are nearly always healthier than stuff concocted in a chemistry lab. Yet it needs to be said loud and clear: Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s good. 'Smallpox is natural,' Ogden Nash noted. 'Vaccine ain’t.' Gangrene, acne, hurricanes, earthquakes, COVID-19 -- all bona fide natural".

Peter Singer and Joanna Masel, “How (Not) to Fight COVID-19.” 3 Sep, Project Syndicate.

Philosopher Peter Singer and biologist Joanna Masel argue that more flexible rules and the use of new technologies can help us reduce the spread of the virus.

Tom Chivers, “Let’s all meet up in the year 3000.” 2 Sep, UnHerd.

Science writer Tom Chivers makes the bold claim that aging may not be inevitable, and in the future could be curable like other diseases and illnesses. If we could slow down the aging process in humans and live to be, say, 1,000 years old,

is that something we'd personally want, and is it socially practicable?

For a more philosophical discussion, you can listen to Francesca Minerva talk about the ethics of cryonics and life extension here.

Comments

Should We Use Neuroenhancement Drugs to Improve Relationships?

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Not many ethical issues are as vigorously fought over as abortion these days. Unsurprisingly, the standpoint of the different sides—put simply, those who are in favour of abortion and those that are against it—have not achieved much in shifting the beliefs of their opponents. Abortion was illegal in almost all western states until the late 1960s; in 1967 Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) changed its laws to permit abortion on broad social grounds. In the Row v Wade 1973 case, the United States Supreme Court held that women have a constitutional right to abortion in the first six months of pregnancy. Many other western nations like France and Italy have subsequently liberated their abortion laws. Ireland and Northern Ireland, however, have held out in opposition to this movement. Abortion in Ireland remains illegal under the 1861 Offences against the Person Act and in 1983 an amendment to Ireland's constitution states that an embryo, from the p...

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