Philosophy & Ethics

Mans history of development is just 5000 to 10000 years old. I am not expert of history or English language. However I am attempting to present some of the impressions and you can correct me if you feel there is some mistake in my language and spelling.  Man living on earth started in small communities which were wanderers. He started living near some natural plant formations near water bodies . He ate plants, used them for medicine and oil and shelter. Gradually he learned selection of good plants and not so good plants. He learned to sow them in fields and that is how the agriculture…

A few months ago, an undercover investigation by the GAO found patients were getting blatantly ridiculous advice from personal genetic profiling services.   One representative claimed they could repair DNA damage, one said their supplements could cure all kinds of diseases.  The luster is off personalized medicine once companies allow claims to exceed reality. A new report on the ethics of so-called personalized healthcare services, written by the UK Nuffield Council on Bioethics, says direct-to-consumer personal genetic profiling services that claim to predict people's health risks…

In one airline I asked for a cup of tea (second time) during an 8 hr flight.   The steward asked “ were you not served before? “  I felt it was a mistake to ask a second time so I sheepishly changed my seat and went to another seat, as the flight had almost 80 percent seats vacant. After some time I was happy to note that steward found me and gave me cup of tea. Thanks.  I asked the same question in another airline and the air hostess offered me second cup. During subsequent tea time she did not forget to remember me among 350 or so odd passengers and offered second cup of tea…

Navarathri is celebrated starting tomorrow all across India. There are nine forms of Mother Goddess. Navarathri literally means nine nights and each night one goddess is worshipped. Mother Goddess manifests itself in different forms as Durga, as Saraswathi and as Lakshmi. Each god is symbolic of a positive trait, for example Durga is depicted as an aggressive god who removes miseries from life ( In the story Misery is a Demon), Saraswathi is the goddess of Education and Lakshmi is Goddess of wealth. The rituals that accompany these days also reinforce the symbolism they depict. Books and…

In the debate over human embryonic stem cell research, protesters have ethical issues with experimenting on human embryos, while proponents point to the research’s huge potential to save lives. How come no one questions why we create extra cells to use or throw away in the first place? In April of 2009, six weeks after President Obama’s executive order lifting the Bush era policy that restricted federal funding to 21 already-extant lines, the NIH published a set of criteria for ethical (and therefore fundable) stem cell research: "The agency will not fund research on cell lines derived from…

We've had any number of discussions about the changing face of academic research given the fact that we keep being told America doesn't do enough science education but there aren't enough jobs in research to go around. With success in an ever-more competitive post-doctoral environment requiring more excellent science than ever to achieve the next step, it's not a surprise some will boost their standing by holding others back. Brendan Maher, writing in Nature, discusses the case of Vipul Bhrigu, a former post-doc at the University of Michigan who was videotaped sabotaging the work of graduate…

Physics, unlike biology, doesn't differentiate between a Human Being and a Rock.    After all, both are made up of atoms. Eastern Mystics of olden days also believed in the same as evident from their scriptures. Modern Physics attempts to explain the existence of Universe by postulating theories. Relativity and Quantum theory are some of the theories that try to explain matter, be it at a macroscopic or particulate level. This is a rational approach where one sets up experiments, analyzes the observations and comes up with explanations and later postulates theories which in turn is…

World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The mental aspect of health is very much neglected in society. There is a decline in the basic human values of compassion, generosity, sharing and caring, trust, patience, perseverance, dignity, humility etc. We are born with these human values. They are the hallmark of human evolution and the basis of a peaceful and prosperous world. Their decline in the world is due to many factors, the main one being stress. We are taught how to…

Hitler gets a bad rap universally for his genocide but a startling subset of progressives in America view Joseph Stalin favorably despite his killing more people.  Time magazine put Stalin on its cover 11 times.  Then Rwanda, Cambodia and Darfur were essentially ignored while Bosnia was labeled genocide and became a war crime issue despite only a few thousand actual deaths known. Nations have tugs of war over the official definition of the word 'genocide' itself – which mentions only national, ethnic, racial and religious groups. The definition can determine international relations…

There can be no ideal person but there can be ideal ideas. Only one thing that a writer needs is ideas. They may or may not be ideal. Ideas get a Nobel Prize if written in the proper manner.  Ideals can be persons , nations, situations, affairs, or situations but they keep on changing with time zones, places, persons and time of the judgment.   Some ideals are now no more ideal.  Philosophies change. The more successful writers challenge the ideas and become ideal for that time period but if the system gets changed they may face trouble. People worship people but suddenly if…