Suggested readings, 4 October 2020

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week that I think are worth checking out.

James Harold, “Is it rational to condemn an artwork for an artist’s personal immorality?” 3 Oct, OUP Blog.

Should we appreciate art created by bad people?

Shane Timmons, “The pandemic isn't down to one reckless group - it's because of the contagiousness of Covid-19.” 2 Oct, Journal.ie.

"Social disapproval of non-compliance is important for maintaining the high levels of cooperation we’ve seen in Ireland, but it should be proportionate to the transgression and come from appropriate sources."

Jeff McMahan, “How Britain and the US became trapped in the nationalism of decline.” 2 Oct, New Statesman.

Philosopher Jeff McMahan argues that the contempt shown by Britain and the United States for international law is a betrayal of the postwar order they both helped to create.

Mariana Mazzucato, Reda Cherif and Fuad Hasanov, “How to End the Pandemic This Year.” 1 Oct, Project Syndicate.

Even without a vaccine, the Covid-19 could be ended within months through an effective universal testing programme.

Tom Chivers, “Has Covid become less dangerous?” 30 Sep, Project UnHerd.

The virus hasn't really changed, but death rates have declined largely because doctors are dealing with it better and it is now mostly infecting younger people.

Fintan O'Toole, “My father wanted to die and I promised to help him.” 29 Sep, Irish Times.

"Many people are instinctively repelled by the idea of legalising assisted dying – but if you ask them what they want for themselves if terminal illness makes their lives unbearable, they too want this choice."

Comments

Should We Use Neuroenhancement Drugs to Improve Relationships?

A version of this article was printed in Humanism Ireland , July-August, Vol. 147 (2014) L ove, it is fair to say, is probably the strongest emotion we can experience. It can come in many different forms: love of one’s parent, sibling, or child. Though most people consider romantic relationships—which include companionship, sexual passion, intimacy, warmth, procreation and child-rearing—as the most significant component of one’s life; and it is probably the thing we find discussed more than anything else in novels, films and music. Committed romantic relationships tend to occur within the institution of marriage—something that is ubiquitous to most, if not all, cultures. Indeed, relationships today, which are primarily love-driven, are not just confined to marriages, as many couples sustain relationships outside of wedlock. Being in a love-driven relationship is considered important for most people, as it contributes to happiness—something we a...

Is Adult Incest Wrong?

An version of this article was printed in Humanism Ireland , March-April, Vol. 151 (2015) Incest is something most people find morally objectionable and it's one of the most common of all cultural taboos. The British Medical Association’s Complete Family Health Encyclopaedia (1990) defines incest as “ intercourse between close relatives,” that usually includes “intercourse with a parent, a son or daughter, a brother or sister, an uncle or aunt, a nephew or niece, a grandparent or grandchild.” The Oxford English Dictionary ’s definition is a little broader: it doesn’t confine incest to just intercourse, but to “sexual relations between people classified as being too closely related to marry each other.” Most countries have some kind of law against incest—though consensual adult incest is not a crime in France, Spain, Russia the Netherlands, and a host of countries in South America. In England and Wales, however, t he Sexual Offences Act 2003 ...

The Case for Physician-Assisted Suicide in Ireland

In light of the large public support and recent international trends, it seems more likely to be a matter of when, and not if, there will be legislation One topic that has received increasing public discussion in recent years is the issue of voluntary physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia. PAS and euthanasia are not limited to contemporary societies: the Athenian poet of the 5th century BC Cratinus referred to euthanasia – roughly translated as ‘good death’ – as a fast, gentle, painless death; the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca thought it was preferable to choose death than to live with excruciating, incurable pain. Christianity, however, viewed voluntary death more negatively. The Catholic Church, for instance, regards suicide as intrinsically wrong. The Christian position on PAS has been the dominant viewpoint for several centuries, but it is no longer universally shared. The Ethics of PAS The UK public healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), defines ...

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