Ethical Debate Research Articles

The Moral and Aesthetic Debate inStrange Fruit: Coexistence of Violence and Beauty in Human Nature in Works of Art

In the contemporary era, philosophers have debated the homogeneity of arts moral and aesthetic values. As far as musical works are concerned, in contrast to traditional music ethics, contemporary musical works are increasingly charaterised by the integration of aesthetic and moral values. However, it is important to note that aesthetic and moral values are not always unified and that there may be instances when there are differences and even conflicts between them. When such a conflict arises between the aesthetic and moral values of a musical work, it becomes necessary to consider how its overall artistic value should be evaluated. This paper employs a case study methodology to analyse the song Strange Fruit in depth. Discussing the formal aesthetics of the work, which has been the subject of considerable controversy due to its depiction of violence, is set against the moral value of the work, which reveals the problem of racial discrimination and prompts a deep reflection on justice in society. The conflict and balance between the two are explored in light of the claims made in the philosophy of art to date. In such instances, the value of art is profoundly affected by the conflict between moral values and aesthetic concepts.

We need to talk about Jus ad vim

This Review Essay looks at the two recent book-length publications on the emerging topic of Jus ad vim − justice of limited force: Brunstetter’s Just and Unjust Uses of Limited Force: A Moral Argument with Contemporary Illustrations (2021), and Braun’s Limited Force and the Fight for the Just War Tradition (2023). I argue that although both authors offer insightful and original contributions to the debate surrounding the ethics of limited force, their theorisation of jus ad vim provides the moral backing to military actions conducted by powerful Western states, rather than scrutinising them. Importantly, moreover, the project of jus ad vim, theorised in this manner, follows the Western conceptualisation of just war theory which has historically been used to further the interests of Western states at the expense of weaker nations.

Rediscovering the ‘Meaning of Science’? Hans Morgenthau and the ethics debate in quantum IR

Rediscovering the ‘Meaning of Science’? Hans Morgenthau and the ethics debate in quantum IR

Can you hear me? The inclusive advertising and its representation

Inclusive advertising represents an important change that is taking place. Issues that in the past were part of social communication are finding their way into commercial communication strategies and fuelling the ethical debate. The brand image is conveyed through emotional storytelling that involves the consumer. The keywords are changing: inclusion, ethics and values are replacing the “aspirational dimension” typical of advertising. In the digital age, the image of the testimonial is increasingly built on socially relevant topics. It is a transversal phenomenon that involves different targets and products. A new aesthetic paradigm is subverting the canon of communication strategies: new models, new families, new age groups, new bodies are appearing on the scene. Focusing on the representation of disability, this paper observes how advertising can contribute to changing the perception of socially relevant issues by new strategies.

High‐status versus low‐status stakeholders

AbstractThe literature on stakeholder theory has largely ignored the difficult and central issue of how judges and firms should resolve disputes among stakeholders. When the issue is addressed, focus has largely been on the potential for management to use stakeholder theory as cover for rent‐seeking or on disputes between classes of stakeholders. Sharply underappreciated is the potential for disparate interests within a stakeholder class. That potential is particularly acute due to a (largely education‐driven) stark and growing class divide in the United States. There is a substantial difference between the interests of a highly educated professional and managerial elite and a pink‐collar and blue‐collar working class who mostly do not hold 4‐year degrees. Despite their smaller numbers, the professional and managerial elite will frequently win out in intra‐stakeholder disputes with working‐class stakeholders due to their greater status, power, and influence. Because this class divide is cultural, social, and political, as well as economic, these disputes will go beyond financial pie‐splitting to culture war issues. This threatens to be destabilizing for both the republic and individual firms and undermines both the practical and ethical arguments for the stakeholder theory.

Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Moral Foundations in Argumentation

This paper introduces moral argument analytics, a technology that provides insights into the use of moral arguments in discourse. We analyse five socio-political corpora of argument annotated data from offline and online discussions, totalling 240k words with 9k arguments, with an average annotation accuracy of 78%. Using a lexicon-based method, we automatically annotate these arguments with moral foundations, achieving an estimated accuracy of 83%. Quantitative analysis allows us to observe statistical patterns and trends in the use of moral arguments, whereas qualitative analysis enables us to understand and explain the communication strategies in the use of moral arguments in different settings. For instance, supporting arguments often rely on Loyalty and Authority, while attacking arguments use Care. We find that online discussions exhibit a greater diversity of moral foundations and a higher negative valence of moral arguments. Online arguers often rely more on Harm rather than Care, Degradation rather than Sanctity. These insights have significant implications for AI applications, particularly in understanding and predicting human and machine moral behaviours. This work contributes to the construction of more convincing messages and the detection of harmful or biased AI-generated synthetic content.

The ethical debate about the use of autonomous weapon systems from a theological perspective

The ethical debate about the use of autonomous weapon systems from a theological perspective

Impact of policy change on late-term abortion: a two-decade analysis.

Advances in ultrasound and molecular genetics have changed the field of late termination of pregnancy (LTOP), sparking ethical debates worldwide. In 2007, Israel updated its LTOP policies, requiring a 30% or higher probability of severe handicap for approval of LTOP after 24weeks' gestation. In this retrospective study, we compared LTOP indications and approval rates before (Group 1: 1998-2007) and after (Group 2: 2008-2021) this policy change. Shamir medical records from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2021 were examined and yielded 4047 abortions, of which 248 were identified as LTOP preformed after 24weeks' gestation. These cases were then categorized into two groups. Data including maternal age, obstetric history, indications for abortion, diagnosis, week of termination, and genetic/sonographic findings were analyzed. The approval rates and indications pre- and post-policy change were compared. Group 1 (LTOP 1998-2007) comprised 95 cases (10.6%), and Group 2 (LTOP 2008-2021) was composed of 153 cases (4.9%). Fetal structural anomalies remained the dominant indication for both groups (67.4 and 65.3%, respectively), with a slight increase in confirmed genetic anomalies from 26.3% (Group 1) to 28% (Group 2). Our findings indicate a decrees in the proportion per year from 10.6 to 4.9% LTOP. Technological advances in genetic evaluation and sonography may have contributed to the early increased detection and decrees in cases reaching LTOP. These results highlight the importance of ongoing ethical reviews and adherence to strict protocols for early detection and termination before 24weeks' gestation.

Ethics of tourism: a Horizon 2050 paper

Purpose This paper is part of Horizon 2050 series of papers. This paper aims to highlight the importance of stronger engagement with ethical philosophy in tourism. A number of potential research streams are identified. Design/methodology/approach The paper first introduces several theories of ethics. It then reviews the history of tourism’s engagement with ethics, especially within academia. Subsequently, several themes for the future of research on tourism ethics are discussed according to four scales: the tourist, tourism business, tourism destination and the tourism system. Findings At the individual tourist level, future research should focus on better understanding tourist (un)ethical behaviour by considering the hedonic and cross-cultural nature of tourism. At business level, motivations to be ethical, ethical corporate models should be studied. Endurance of tourist products that are deemed unethical needs further analysis. At destination level, further understanding of stakeholder relations, stakeholder values and dissemination of those values is required. Fair and just options to sustainably manage visitation merit further discussion. At tourism system level, a stronger engagement with political philosophies and more creative alternatives for the current global tourism system require exploration. Originality/value While several reviews of ethics of tourism research exist, this paper is oriented towards opportunities for future research. The paper does not intend to cover all current ethical debates; however, it provides a number of topics within the tourism ethics field that merit further exploration in hope to inspire new research.

The Father of the School Choice Movement

ABSTRACT Milton Friedman is widely considered the intellectual father of the school choice movement. While Friedman deserves much credit, Father Virgil Blum stands out as an influential figure in the nascent school choice movement. Using archival research, this paper examines Blum’s contributions to the movement. From his 1954 doctoral dissertation, which made the legal case for funding religious schools, to his 1958 book, Freedom of Choice in Education, and his decades-long career as a professor, Blum was a tireless advocate for educational freedom. While Friedman made the market argument, Blum made the legal, moral, and religious freedom arguments for school choice.

Bioethical assessment of embryo donation for research

Background: The present study aims to assess, from the bioethical tool, the use of embryos for scientific research and its impact on society. The research question is posed: "What bioethical aspects are related to the donation of excess embryos from cryopreservation laboratories?". The secondary objectives include determining the level of knowledge of the population about assisted reproduction techniques, identifying knowledge about the possible destinations of cryopreserved embryos and evaluating the positioning capacity of the population regarding ethical and moral issues. Methods: Observational study of a statistical nature through a questionnaire with relevant questions on the subject of bioethics in the investigation of surplus embryos from cryopreservation. The study population was composed of people of different sex and age, who are interested in gynecology issues. Results: The survey reveals that 55.8% knew about assisted fertilization techniques, 80.8% knew what IVF was, 69.2% were unaware of related laws, 84.6% understood informed consent in cryopreservation , 46% would not sign a long-term consent, 80.4% knew about cryopreservation, 82.7% support embryo freezing, 72.5% support embryo research, and there are divided opinions about its status : 60.8% cells, 51.9% human beings. Conclusion: The survey reveals that the participants have a general knowledge about assisted fertilization techniques and support the cryopreservation of embryos for research. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the laws that govern these techniques. Opinions are also divided on the nature and status of the frozen embryos. These results are relevant for the ethical debate and the regulation of practices related to embryos.

Ethical challenges in health care during collective hunger strikes in public or occupied spaces.

Public collective hunger strikes take place in complex social and political contexts, require medical attention and present ethical challenges to physicians. Empirical research, the ethical debate to date and existing guidelines by the World Medical Association focus almost exclusively on hunger strikes in detention. However, the public space differs substantially with regard to the conditions for the provision of health care and the diverse groups of healthcare providers or stakeholders involved. By reviewing empirical research on the experience of health professionals with public collective hunger strikes, we identified the following ethical challenges: (1) establishment of a trustful physician-striker relationship, (2) balancing of medico-ethical principles in medical decision-making, (3) handling of loyalty conflicts and (4) preservation of professional independence and the risk of political instrumentalization. Some of these challenges have already been described and discussed, yet not contextualized for public collective strikes, while others are novel. The presence of voluntary physicians may offer opportunities for a trustful relationship and, hence, for ethical treatment decisions. According to our findings, it requires more attention to how to realise autonomous medical decisions in the complex context of a dynamic, often unstructured and politically charged setting, which ethical norms should shape the professional role of voluntary physicians, and what is the influence of the hunger strikers'collective on individual healthcare decisions. Our article can serve as a starting point for further ethical discussion. It can also provide the basis for the development of potential guidelines to support health professionals involved in public collective hunger strikes.

An Ethical Debate in the Philosophy of Information: Is It Possible to Combine or Reconcile Multiple Ethical Theories in a Common Perspective in Artificial Intelligence?

We live in a cyber-universe created by millions of data sets. This universe, where there are almost no time-space constraints, allows people to perform activities in the intercardinal direction in a comfort they could not imagine before. At the same time, this multicultural and global world (infosphere) is a source of ethical challenges. While living in our unique culture, is it possible to share common ethical values in our world, which is becoming more global with each passing day? Or is it getting more and more impossible in this complex cyber universe? This article draws attention to Bynum's Emerging Ethics theory, which carries the umbrella concept that has the potential to unite people around some common values in ethical practices developed for intelligent systems such as artificial intelligence, even if we have different ethical approaches. The main purpose of this article is how, although different approaches they are, theories based on the common nature of human beings can be combined for the same purpose and Thanks to the 'ethical family unity' structure they have created under the ethical umbrella, it is questioned how they will determine the ethical components that can be applied to intelligence systems like AI for the solution of the common problems of the information age.

Acceptance of relativism in normative ethics and the relativism debate in virtue ethics

Acceptance of relativism in normative ethics and the relativism debate in virtue ethics

Open optimism as an "embodied-health" ethic for the information era.

This article forms part of a series on "openness," "non-linearity," and "embodied-health" in the post-physical, informational (virtual) era of society. This is vital given that the threats posed by advances in artificial intelligence call for a holistic, embodied approach. Typically, health is separated into different categories, for example, (psycho)mental health, biological/bodily health, genetic health, environmental health, or reproductive health. However, this separation only serves to undermine health; there can be no separation of health into subgroups (psychosomatics, for example). Embodied health contains no false divisions and relies on "optimism" as the key framing value. Optimism is only achieved through the mechanism/enabling condition of openness. Openness is vital to secure the embodied health for individuals and societies. Optimism demands that persons become active participants within their own lives and are not mere blank slates, painted in the colors of physical determinism (thus a move away from nihilism-which is the annihilation of freedom/autonomy/quality). To build an account of embodied health, the following themes/aims are analyzed, built, and validated: (1) a modern re-interpretation and validation of German idealism (the crux of many legal-ethical systems) and Freud; (2) ascertaining the bounded rationality and conceptual semantics of openness (which underlies thermodynamics, psychosocial relations, individual autonomy, ethics, and as being a central constitutional governmental value for many regulatory systems); (3) the link between openness and societal/individual embodied health, freedom, and autonomy; (4) securing the role of individualism/subjectivity in constituting openness; (5) the vital role of nonlinear dynamics in securing optimism and embodied health; (6) validation of arguments using the methodological scientific value of invariance (generalization value) by drawing evidence from (i) information and computer sciences, (ii) quantum theory, and (iii) bio-genetic evolutionary evidence; and (7) a validation and promotion of the inalienable role of theoretic philosophy in constituting embodied health, and how modern society denigrates embodied health, by misconstruing and undermining theoretics. Thus, this paper provides and defends an up-to-date non-physical account of embodied health by creating a psycho-physical-biological-computational-philosophical construction. Thus, this paper also brings invaluable coherence to legal and ethical debates on points of technicality from the empirical sciences, demonstrating that each field is saying the same thing.

Is Moore’s Moral Objectivist Argument Sufficient Against Moral Relativism?

This study aims to expose certain weaknesses in Moore’s moral objectivist argument against moral relativism and subjectivism. It suggests that a moral objectivist argument has to explain moral diversity against moral relativism. Moral relativism is one of the most critical debates in metaethics, and it can be interpreted in two different ways: one as moral realism and the other as moral anti-realism. Moral realism, when reduced to moral objectivism, excludes moral relativism and subjectivism beyond moral realism. I will refer to this interpretation as narrowed moral realism. But moral realism can be extended in an inclusive way such as moral subjectivism and relativism. I will refer to this as extended moral realism. Due to the focus of the study, I will introduce both extended moral realism and narrowed moral realism in the introduction section. Then, I will address G. E. Moore's narrowed moral realism. I will criticize his arguments for their failure to explain the diversity of moral codes. Finally, I suggest that moral subjectivism and moral relativism can be appropriately addressed within extended moral realism. Contrary to Moore's claims, I contend that moral relativism and moral subjectivism would be claims within moral realism. I also evaluate the two main claims from a moral realist perspective. Moral subjectivism claims that moral reality is constructed by an individual’s mental state. Moral relativism argues that social codes of human conduct completely determine moral reality. In the first section of the study, I discussed moral relativism from a Moorean perspective, which asserts that there are self-evident and indefinable truths at the foundation of objective morality. The second section contends that if Moore is correct, however, it necessitates an explanation for why different cultures accept different moral codes. The third section argues the fact that Moore fails to provide any explanation for this. In the conclusion part, I claim that moral relativism and moral subjectivism can be viewed as moral realist theories based on the failure of Moore's arguments.

Hubris occurrence, management and accountability in higher education institutions in Australia

Hubris refers to an individual's display of self-assurance, pride or excessive confidence and has been presented in the extant literature to describe the language used by hubristic leaders. Therefore, this research explores the characteristic features of hubristic discourse in higher education and its potential link to the organisation's financial outcomes. By using computational linguistics to analyse written discourse samples of 20 Australian Vice-Chancellor's Addresses in the university's annual reports for the 10-year period, this research identifies linguistic markers of Vice-Chancellor hubris (increased use of negations, discrepancy words, power and achievement-oriented language) and their link to financial outcomes. As the role of the Vice-Chancellor has been compared in literature to that of the CEO, exploring if and how hubris’ symptoms manifest in language use can contribute towards explaining agency problems, accountability issues and the ongoing ethical debate over pay for performance in higher education. This research has implications for university key stakeholders such as government bodies, for standard setters who oversee the preparation of university financial reports and those who assume leadership roles within tertiary institutions.

Expanding the ethical debate on human artificial placenta trials

Artificial placentas (APs) are technologies that mimic the human placenta to treat extremely preterm infants. Being an invasive and risky technology, it will raise important ethical questions for human trials. Hence, in this Topic Piece we provide a blueprint of further issues to investigate. First, counselling will have the double role of providing trial information as well as (non) treatment counselling. This requires extra training and the development of ad hoc decision aids to support counselling and parents’ decision-making. Second, more stakeholder involvement is needed. Direct stakeholders, such as parents, clinicians, and researchers, can help develop the decision aids and provide insight on potentially overlooked issues. Society should also be involved to determine whether AP trials and implementation should be subsidized, and the ethical implications of not subsidizing. Third, a proper cost-benefit analysis should be conducted to determine the exact cost of the technology.

The Animal Welfare Consequences and Moral Implications of Lethal and Non-Lethal Fox Control Methods.

Control methods are applied worldwide to reduce predation on livestock by European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Lethal methods can inflict suffering; however, moral debate about their use is lacking. Non-lethal methods can also inflict suffering and can unintentionally lead to death, and yet both the welfare consequences and ethical perspectives regarding their use are rarely discussed. The aim of this study was to investigate the animal welfare consequences, the level of humaneness, the ethical considerations and the moral implications of the global use of fox control methods according to Tom Regan's animal rights view and Peter Singer's utilitarian view. According to Regan, foxes ought not to be controlled by either lethal or potentially harmful non-lethal methods because this violates the right of foxes not to be harmed or killed. According to Singer, if an action maximises happiness or the satisfaction of preferences over unhappiness or suffering, then the action is justified. Therefore, if and only if the use of fox control methods can prevent suffering and death in livestock in a manner that outweighs comparable suffering and death in foxes is one morally obligated to use them. It is clear that lethal fox control methods and some non-lethal methods are inhumane.

The responsibility of sports federations to facilitate and fund concussion research and the role of active participant involvement and engagement

ABSTRACT It is generally accepted that we need more research into concussions and other injuries with potential long-term effects in sport because such research underpins effective, evidence-based prevention, management, support, and treatment. This paper provides an analysis of the obligations of sports federations to support and facilitate such research, as well as an analysis of the role active participants in the sport should have in the research process. The paper focuses on concussion and concussion research, though very similar arguments apply to other common sports injuries with potential long-term effects. The paper argues that sports federations have a moral obligation and a prudential interest in initiating, facilitating, and funding concussion research. This follows from their duty of care towards active participants and from considerations of reciprocity. The ability to discharge these research obligations depends on the resources available to a particular federation, but those who can discharge them should do so. The paper further argues that athletes and other active participants in sport should be involved in all aspects of the concussion research process from conception to design, i.e. that Active Participant Involvement and Engagement (APIE) should be a non-negotiable element of concussion research projects. This is supported by instrumental reasons, but also by philosophical argument based on standpoint epistemology and on ethical arguments related to the interests of active participants. Standpoint epistemology is the epistemological position that the knowledge a person has and can have depends on that person’s standpoint in the world. Keywords: Concussion, funding, participant involvement, sport, sport association, sport federation