43
votes
Is mathematics politically and culturally neutral?
TL/DR:
Yes and no. Who writes papers and what they choose to research are products of culture, and in the US, our culture has a long history of racism. The actual theorems in the papers themselves are ...
- 2,818
40
votes
My CO2 emissions in the light of Russia burning thousands of tons of it a day
It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
Suppose it is immoral to steal a wallet. Now, suppose that you learn that someone else has robbed a bank of a lot of money. Does it now become ...
- 11.1k
37
votes
Accepted
Why are legal and moral responsibilities said to be different?
In the most trivial sense, they are obviously distinct because morality does not disappear when I enter an area with no laws. Similarly, my personal morality does not change as I move between ...
- 465
33
votes
Was Robin Hood's point of view ethically sound?
Leaving aside the accuracy of Robin Hood, I'll address your points directly.
The first being that if we assume a free market exists...
There was no free market in England in Robin Hood's time. The ...
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29
votes
Was Robin Hood's point of view ethically sound?
Disclaimer: I just skimmed a bunch of Wikipedia articles and old stories. I think I got the gist of the history about right, but can't claim this to be authoritative.
tl;dr- Robin Hood was never ...
- 1,939
29
votes
My CO2 emissions in the light of Russia burning thousands of tons of it a day
Important context:
The idea of you personally being acountable for your personal CO2 footprint (and that reducing it is relevant and important to combatting climate change) is not a natural idea as ...
- 415
26
votes
Accepted
Is mathematics politically and culturally neutral?
From its inception, mathematics was intended to be independent of cultural contexts in the real world. For example, you could use the same rules of algebra and the same numerals to count your family ...
- 7,772
25
votes
On what grounds can a democratic state prohibit pornography?
Some of the answers to these set of questions you raised reside on Mill's principle of harm presented in his influential essay On Liberty (1859). According to this principle, the state can rightfully ...
- 1,685
24
votes
Was Robin Hood's point of view ethically sound?
Wanted to register a small framing challenge here with a few tiny notes (please do try to understand this as a good faith attempt to clarify the concern!)
It seems somewhat ill-fitting to import any ...
- 9,502
23
votes
Is it wrong to fly on holiday?
Your approval of the behaviour, has a global impact. It's about universalisability, the categorical imperative. See Is the Categorical Imperative Simply Bad Math? :)
I'd say there is s good comparison ...
- 20.5k
22
votes
Does a counterargument exist to the claim "Too much diversity is a problem/cannot be controlled"?
Sigh...
The notion of 'diversity' only makes sense from an ethno-nationalist perspective of mono-ethnicity. Sure, if everyone is just like the collective 'me' governmental problems decrease ...
- 18.5k
20
votes
What is to be understood by the phrase "Israel's right to exist"?
It's referring to the state, not the land or the people, so your example of a pear isn't really applicable. The preamble of the 1988 charter of Hamas (aka "the Islamic Resistance Movement") declares ...
- 301
17
votes
Is it logical to seek revenge?
You use the word 'logical' in the sense of rational. Thus, you are looking for rationales for the use of revenge. Philosophical analysis by Hobbes who characterized this world as violent in his ...
- 22.7k
16
votes
Why are legal and moral responsibilities said to be different?
They must be different! Otherwise, there would be no such thing as an unjust law.
I would not want to be there when the person who claims that legal obligation and moral obligation are one and the ...
- 4,063
14
votes
Is it logical to seek revenge?
The possibility of revenge prevents attacks against you because they are risky. Always going for revenge makes life more dangerous for you because an attacker knows they must make it impossible for ...
- 5,243
13
votes
On what grounds can a democratic state prohibit pornography?
Though user @JordanS has delivered an excellent, well-informed synoptic answer, more can be said.
First, the question is appallingly American, by which I mean historically provincial. The state can ...
- 13.3k
13
votes
Was Robin Hood's point of view ethically sound?
While this is not a philosophy question, it raises a few points.
First, I don't personally know of any version of Robin Hood where he takes from riches who got rich because of their cunning and ...
- 5,126
13
votes
Is mathematics politically and culturally neutral?
A somewhat different perspective can be gained by taking a close look at the media of mathematical expression across history.
For example, the Bourbaki school of mathematics shifted the language and ...
- 986
13
votes
Does a counterargument exist to the claim "Too much diversity is a problem/cannot be controlled"?
The counter argument is that a more diverse government is more representative. If your prime objective is to streamline decision making, then replace the elected government with a dictatorship so that ...
- 13k
12
votes
If you have won the trust of an illegal immigrant, is it ethical to turn him/her over to the authorities?
In addition to the conflicting "duties" to friend and law, there is a third duty to yourself, both as a duty to your principles and a duty to those who depend on on you.
The case of Antigone ...
- 13.3k
12
votes
My CO2 emissions in the light of Russia burning thousands of tons of it a day
You're comparing the CO2 emissions of you as an individual to those of an aggregate of people (Russia) without accounting for the size of the aggregate. If you spread the responsibility for Russia's ...
- 221
11
votes
What is to be understood by the phrase "Israel's right to exist"?
The reason Israel demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel's so-called "right to exist" is that in so doing, they would officially relinquish any and all claims they have on the land they owned ...
- 7,772
11
votes
Does a counterargument exist to the claim "Too much diversity is a problem/cannot be controlled"?
No.
When does it make sense to talk about arguments / counter arguments? In a discussion with clearly defined terms. "Diversity" is an ideological propaganda term, and basic logic does not ...
- 1,257
10
votes
Accepted
Why is John Rawls taken more seriously than Ayn Rand?
First, I have read only secondary works on Rawls and have not read "Theory of Justice" itself, but it is on my list. Unlike Rand, Rawls was an analytic philosopher with a distinguished background, and ...
- 13.3k
10
votes
Should freedom of speech accept speech against liberal values? Such as hate speech?
Freedom of speech is already abridged by laws on defamation, copyright infringement, national security, contempt of court etc. So the principle is already established that freedom of speech is not ...
- 1,532
10
votes
Should freedom of speech accept speech against liberal values? Such as hate speech?
From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the
United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948:
Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; ...
- 24k
9
votes
Accepted
What are reasonable basic obligations of citizens in democratic societies?
The question is how much well-informed citizens need to be to exercise their democratic rights. The answer depends on theories of democracy. The duty of citizens to be well-informed can be very ...
- 3,657
9
votes
Is mathematics politically and culturally neutral?
It would have been much easier to respond with a more focused answer with specific examples of the claims you're wanting to engage with. Most of the fuss I can see around the topic seems to center on ...
- 1,573
9
votes
Is mathematics politically and culturally neutral?
Many of the answers before this give good reasons to believe that mathematics is neutral.
Here's an argument for why it might not be neutral. While mathematics itself is neutral the decision of WHAT ...
- 217
9
votes
Is it logical to seek revenge?
In the book Systems of Survival Jane Jacobs puts forward the thesis that humans have two fundamental systems of ethics. She calls them syndromes. Wiki Link
The first, and probably the older, she calls ...
- 995
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