What We Mean by 'Equality'
In a time where the equality of individuals is being questioned in troubling ways, Prof Michels reviews Paul Sagar's 'Basic Equality'.
top of page
Sep 297 min read
Echoes of Alienation: When Misinformation Meets Inequality
Examining the causes behind the 2024 UK riots, Dabbagh considers the impact of misinformation, inequality and psychological mechanisms.
386
Jul 47 min read
Presidential Immunity: What Would Plato Say?
Even if Donald Trump's idea of absolute presidential immunity is absurd, immunity itself is not, as Plato understood.
463
May 307 min read
What we are doing when we argue with strangers online
Polarisation and division plays out over social media. Tragically, it rarely delivers the sense of belonging that leads us to argue online.
922
Feb 44 min read
Sex Robots: the ethical dilemma
TW: sexual violence Sex robots, which are artificially intelligent (AI) technology encased in physical bodies that resemble human...
357
Jan 286 min read
Beyond Immediate Gains: The Ethics of Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
The need for an Israel/Hamas ceasefire transcends the immediacy of political gains when anchored by longtermist moral imperatives.
472
Jan 149 min read
When consent is not enough
Sadomasochism shares many features with domestic violence. Is it possible to legitimately consent to either?
404
Dec 17, 20235 min read
Will AI replace fashion designers, or help them?
AI models known as GANs are now being used in the fashion industry. But can they attain human levels of creativity?
237
Dec 3, 20235 min read
Javier Milei's anarcho-capitalism is incoherent
In a surprising turn of events, Javier Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” has been declared the winner of Argentina’s recent...
609
Nov 19, 20235 min read
(Im)moral hazard: the bailout of Silicon Valley Bank
Former FED chairman Paul Volcker once said that “about every ten years we have the greatest crisis in 50 years”. 2023, it seems, will not...
237
Jun 4, 20234 min read
High Risk, Low Reward: A Challenge to the Astronomical Importance of Existential Risk Mitigation
Derek Parfit (1984) asks us to consider two scenarios. In the first, a war kills 99% of the world population. This event, Parfit urges,...
408
Mar 31, 20239 min read
A Socialist Guide To Effective Altruism
Effective altruism is a movement that believes we should help others as much as possible. This may sound like a bland statement of the...
3,330
Mar 24, 20235 min read
Responsible AI: Responsible to Whom?
How the profit motive stages a theatre of ethics washing in Artificial Intelligence There is a burgeoning wave of start-ups and tech...
397
Mar 18, 20238 min read
How Feminist is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is a content subscription platform that gives content creators the space to upload sexy (although not necessarily explicit)...
5,464
Dec 8, 20226 min read
The Magic We Owe The Future
2022 has been a rollercoaster for ‘longtermism’. This is the idea that to do the most good, we need to help not only people who exist ...
553
Dec 4, 20227 min read
Why implicit bias is not (just) in the head, and why that matters
Meet Professor P. Professor P seems to be the prototypical egalitarian: she is engaged in anti-racist and feminist activities, explicitly...
420
Nov 27, 20227 min read
The Banality of Good: On Why Millionaires Love Effective Altruism
Why does the moral philosophy of effective altruism attract so many millionaires, including Sam Bankman-Fried, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel?
919
Nov 20, 20226 min read
Can Data Save Us From Ourselves?
Epistemic Uncertainty and Data-Driven Policy Making Policy driven by data and science represents the gold standard amongst politicians of...
337
Nov 13, 20226 min read
In defence of party democracy
Many complain about the power of party members to select leaders. I argue that, in fact, they should be more empowered.
388
Oct 23, 20227 min read
Iran in transition – what is other nations’ “global” moral responsibility?
As protests continue to unfold in Iran, Hossein Dabbagh asks: what responsibilities do international citizens have towards Iranians?
780
Oct 16, 20228 min read
Abortion and the Natural Rights Tradition
In the recent Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to an abortion, the majority...
1,095
Oct 9, 20225 min read
The Queen is dead
The Elizabethan age is over. Like when Nietzche declared that ‘God is dead’, we Brits face an existential moment that is ours to define
551
Oct 1, 20224 min read
What should universities do about now?
What is the purpose of universities? Do they exist to solve practical problems, or for some higher ideal?
543
Sep 25, 20227 min read
Can a machine be conscious?
Blake Lemoine, a software engineer who has worked at Google for seven years, was assigned to a project testing LaMDA, one of the...
444
Blog: Blog2
bottom of page