Suggested readings, 28th March 2021

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

Tony O'Brien, “We must get the mix right in a post-virus working world.” 21 Mar, Business Post.

"Those who think that all will revert to the old status quo are likely to be in for a shock. These young (and not so young) professionals know well what can now be done. They will not easily be convinced of either the need or the desirability to give up the advantages they have now become used to; and in a post-pandemic world those advantages will significantly increase in value."

Diarmuid Torney, “Revised climate Bill is a step forward but now comes the hard part.” 25 Mar, Irish Times.

"The most important thing now is for the Government -- and society -- to get on with the business of delivering decarbonisation. The 2015 climate act was eight years, and two governments, in the making. We are now nine months into the lifetime of the Government. There is an opportunity to strengthen some of the Bill’s language as it passes through the legislative process, but it is also important that it be enacted soon."

Tom Chivers, “The cost of vaccine caution.” 23 Mar, UnHerd.

"Perhaps, after a year of this pandemic, we finally ought to realise that when it comes to vaccines, the real danger is in being too cautious."

Toby Ord, “Covid-19 has shown humanity how close we are to the edge.” 23 Mar, The Guardian.

"There is a real danger that the legacy of Covid-19 does not go beyond preparing for the next naturally occurring pandemic, neglecting the possibilities of a human-made pandemic that keep experts up at night."

Julian Savulescu, Dominic Wilkinson, Jonathan Pugh, and Margie Danchin, “There’s no need to pause vaccine rollouts when there’s a safety scare. Give the public the facts and let them decide.” 25 Mar, The Conversation.

"Governments should not be nannies, nor nervous ninnies. Suspending vaccination fails to respect people’s right to make their own choices. It also threatens to cause much more harm overall."

Michael Huemer, “Daryl Davis: American Hero.” 27 Mar, Fake Nous.

"Over something like 30 years...[Daryl Davis] has directly converted 40-60 people away from white supremacist ideology, and indirectly caused about 200 to leave the Klan. One of the keys is that he is completely unflappable, no matter what offensive thing they say. He patiently listens to people explain their beliefs, then offers his own knowledge and insights."

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 ...

Nothing as It Seems

Search This Blog