Nothing as It Seems

The article was originally published in Balls.ie  Most fans of sport think that performance-enhancing drugs should be prohibited, and that any athlete who gets caught taking them should be suspended or even banned from competition. Some of the most notorious villains in sport, down through the years, have been involved in high profile drugs scandals: Ben Johnson, Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Justin Gatlin. Fans and critics alike have also long suspected that the use of performance enhancing drugs are widespread. A few weeks ago, the Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD published a joint investigation on doping in athletics, which suggested that around a third of medallists at the Olympic Games and World Championships between 2001 and 2012 have recorded suspicious tests. There are, of course, other reasons to suspect that doping is widespread: of all the podium finishers in the Tour de France between 1996 and 2010, around 80 percent are suspected ...

My forthcoming peer commentary in the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics : “ Two Concerns About The Medicalization of Love ” The commentary considers two points relating to the ethical and social implications about the medicalization of love. The first is one that Earp et al broached in their paper, where I examine further the role and influence of pharmaceuticals in society. The other is one they don’t consider – that is, the effects neurotechnologies could have on some non-Western cultures. In the end, I claim that in spite of these concerns, it does not mean we should abandon neurotechnological interventions or a medicalized point of view; yet a more detailed understanding of how potential forms of misuse could emerge needs further examination. To read the article, click HERE

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...

A version of this article was printed in  Humanism Ireland , March-April, Vol. 145 (2014)   Should we legalise performance-enhancing drugs in sport? In July this year, American Tyson Gay and Jamaican Asafa Powell (the second and fourth fastest men of all time over 100 meters respectively) tested positive for banned substances.  Other athletes, such as Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson and 31 Turkish athletes also failed drugs tests just prior to the Moscow World Championships in August. Further recent drug scandals include the conviction of the sports-doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes , who claims to be associated with top Spanish football league clubs, a long list of professional cyclists, tennis players, and past London marathon winners. The ruling of the Spanish court to destroy evidence from the Fuentes trial, however, means that we may never ascertain who was involved with his clinic. Over the past few decades, there have been several doping scandals i...

Should terminally ill patients have a right to die? A version of this article was printed in  Humanism Ireland , Sep-Oct, Vol. 142 (2013) Suppose you have just discovered you are suffering from multiple sclerosis, a disease of the nervous system. This condition, you learn, is progressive and, in time, you’ll become fully paralysed; most likely, as a result, you’ll be entirely dependent on the care of others. Worse still, you realise you’ll no longer be able to look after yourself and will not be capable of swallowing the food somebody else placed in your mouth. To avoid dying from hunger, you’ll have to be fed through a tube inserted into your stomach. Fortunately for most, the chances of suffering from multiple sclerosis are rare. This is not the case, however, for 59-year-old Marie Fleming who is terminally ill with the condition. Although it has no impairing on her cognitive facility, she suffers frequently from severe and at times intolerable pain. She has fough...