ethics
TagNew Ethics Research Center Opening in Cameroon
The Ethics and Public Policy Laboratory (EthicsLab) is a new research center at the Catholic University of Central Africa that is officially launching this week. (more…)
Who’s Down With QPPs? (Questionable Publication Practices) (guest post by Mark Alfano)
The following is a guest post* by Mark Alfano (Australian Catholic University & Delft University of Technology).
Bringing Ethics Into Computer Science at Harvard
Computer scientists and philosophers are working together at Harvard to bring ethics into computer science courses. (more…)
An Online Trove of Ethics Case Studies
The Media Ethics Initiative at the University of Texas, Austin “exists to promote and publicize research on the ethical choices involved in media use.” One of the ways it has done this is by creating a large, varied and free online collection of ethics case studies. (more…)
It’s Complicated
I’ve been criticized for saying that the issue behind the attempt of some students at Oxford to stop having John Finnis teach required courses* is “morally and practically complicated.” How strong a criticism is this? (more…)
Philosopher Involved in Hoax Investigated by University
An institutional review board (IRB) at Portland State University has found that Peter Boghossian, an assistant professor of philosophy at the school, ought to have obtained IRB approval before conducting a project of submitting hoax articles to academic journals. (more…)
Multi-Million Dollar Funding for Philosopher-Led Project on Machine Intelligence
Seth Lazar, associate professor of philosophy at Australian National University (ANU), is leading an interdisciplinary project on machine intelligence that just received a funding commitment from its university of AUD$1.65 million (US$1.17 million) per year for up to five years. (more…)
$1.5 Million Grant for Ethics of Neurotechnology Project
Philosophers at the Univeristy of Washington have won a $1.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a project on neurotechnology, human agency, and ethics. (more…)
MIT Launches Billion Dollar Ethics-Oriented AI Initiative
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is establishing a new college focused on the development and “ethical application” artificial intelligence. (more…)
High School Teacher Placed on Leave for Moral Problems Quiz (Update: Teacher Resigns)
A high school teacher has been placed on administrative leave (with pay) after a parent complained about a lesson in which students were asked to morally reason about some provocative situations, according to The Columbus Dispatch last week. (more…)
Digital Maps of Spinoza’s Ethics
John Bagby, a PhD student in philosophy at Boston College, has created multiple visualizations of the argumentative structure of Spinoza’s Ethics and put them online for the philosophical community. (more…)
$860,000 Grant to Study Kantian Ethics
What is the “political-theoretical background” of the central concepts of Kantian ethics? Pauline Kleingeld, professor of philosophy at the University of Groningen, was just awarded a €745,000 (approximately $860,000) grant to find out. (more…)
An Ethics Bowl Inside San Quentin State Prison
In February, in the chapel of San Quentin State Prison, seven philosophy undergraduates from the University of California, Santa Cruz faced off against a group of prison inmates—in an ethics discussion. (more…)
Philosophers Appointed To High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence
The European Commission (EC), which proposes and administers European Union (EU) law and policy, has created a new High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, the aim of which is to advise on the crafting and implementation of the EU’s strategy on artificial intelligence. (more…)
Medical Ethics Journal Infected by Anti-Vaxx Fraud (guest post by Christian Munthe)
Resurrecting Brains: Philosophical Questions and New Ethical Territory (guest post)
A team of scientists led by Nenad Sestan (Yale) have “restored circulation to the brains of decapitated pigs and kept the reanimated organs alive for as long as 36 hours,” reports MIT Technology Review. The method used to keep pigs’ brains alive outside the body will work on other animals, including primates, Sestan said. The following is a guest post* by Carolyn Di..
Philosopher to Chair Board Advising UK Parliament Commission on Technology Ethics
Member of Parliament Darren Jones has announced the creation of a Parliamentary Commission on Technology Ethics run by him and fellow MP Lee Rowley. The Commission will work with an advisory board chaired by Luciano Floridi, Oll’s Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at Oxford University. (more…)
Ubermess: Philosophers Discuss the Self-Driving Car Crash
On March 19, 2018 a self-driving Uber car-for-hire struck and killed a pedestrian, Elaine Herzberg, in Tempe, Arizona. This was not the first trouble Uber has had with its self-driving cars, nor was it the first fatal crash involving a self-driving car (for example). (more…)
Project to Develop Code of Publishing Ethics for Philosophy Awarded $75k
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $75,000 grant to a a team undertaking the development of a code of publishing ethics for philosophy. (more…)
Philosopher Will Be First “Atheism, Humanism, and Secular Ethics” Chair
Anjan Chakravartty, currently professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and director of the school’s John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, will be moving to the University of Miami to be the first holder of its “Atheism, Humanism, and Secular Ethics” chair. (more…)
Computer Science Ethics: A Growth Area for Philosophy?
An increasing number of universities across the country are beginning to offer courses in “computer science ethics,” The New York Times reports.
Ethics Announces New Editors and Gender Data
The well-known and highly-regarded academic philosophy journal, Ethics, has announced its new editors. (more…)
Philosophers Write In Support of Compensating Plasma Donors
A group of philosophers and economists have published an open letter to Expert Panel on Immune Globulin Product Supply and Related Impacts in Canada opposing legislation that would make it illegal to pay people for blood plasma donations. (more…)
Philosophers On The Art of Morally Troubling Artists
The news over the past several months has been full of revelations of sexual harassment and assault by men involved in arts and entertainment and other fields (for lists of recently revealed cases, see here and here). The cases have brought to the public’s attention a variety of questions concerning power, justice, gender relations, privacy, business practices, and ..
Philosophers Awarded Over $500,000 To Study Autonomous Vehicles
A group of three philosophers and a civil engineer have been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to “construct ethical answers to questions about autonomous vehicles, translate them into decision-making algorithms for the vehicles and then test the public health effects of those algorithms under different risk scenarios using computer modeling..
Philosophy Goes Hollywood?
Check out the trailer to Downsizing, the upcoming movie starring Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, and others:
Heyd Wins EMET Prize
David Heyd, professor of philosophy at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is the winner of the 2017 EMET Prize for Art, Science and Culture in the Humanities category. (more…)
New Public Philosophy Award from Environmental Ethics Group
The International Society for Environmental Ethics (ISEE) has given its inaugural Public Philosophy Award to Andrew Light, professor of philosophy, public policy, and atmospheric sciences at George Mason University, as well as director of the school’s Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy. (more…)