Philosophy & Ethics

Does an ideal marriage exist?   Before we start this discussion, we ought to, as a beginning, ask ourselves: What is an 'ideal marriage'?   Presumably an 'ideal marriage' is one where there is harmony, love and understanding between the couple. Yes, there may be friction, arguments and differences of opinion, but on the whole, an 'ideal marriage' is one where the union between the husband and wife there is generally a loving couple, who have mutual respect, understanding, compassion for each other.   Do such marriages exist?   Or, are we being over romantic here?  …

  WHY WE STARE AT THE STARS   September 17, 1989       Ayad Izzet Gharbawi       The people are tired, the people are weary; bored in their life styles; bored with their relationships with other people, including members of their own family. The people are yearning for fulfilment that is somehow completely lacking, yet these issues are simply not addressed by our culture and its outlets – such as the TV, film, music, fashion industries. People are tired of these lives we are leading, strangely boring and utterly unexotic lacking in all that one feels…

We now present the basic Constituents of the Mind (CoM): 1.    Event/s (E) 2.    Sound/s (Sn) 3.    Scenery (Sc) 4.    Thought (t) 5.    Odour (Od) 6.    Memory (Θ) 7.    Emotion/s (Em) 8.    Nothingness (o) We can now add the (+,-, o) Symbols on any of the above, and they represent the positive, negative and neutral. The (+,-,o) give the (CoM) flavours. Thus, with respect to Emotions, we can state (Em+) means a happy or positive emotion, (Em-) is a sad emotion, whilst (Em0) is a neutral, bland emotion.…

For many the turbulence of life are inexplicable and profoundly frustrating our faith in goodwill. What is the essence of personal meaning in a world where human relations are becoming increasingly fragile? What is the meaning of this world when only one in a thousand will succeed in his lifestyle? And what of the majority others left stranded by forces that apparently none can escape from? What is the meaning of this world where millions upon millions are forced to work in underpaid tiring jobs? While the extravagances of wealth are accepted, tolerated, applauded and esteemed, where does…

Law and Science : #2 The Chicken Little Mentality Fiat Justicia, Ruat Caelum Fiat justicia ruat caelum is often expressed as: 'let justice triumph or else the sky will fall'.  It may be more literally translated as 'let justice triumph: let the sky fall'.  More loosely, it expresses the notion that justice must be done even if that is counter to the desires of people with power or vested interests.  It is an ideal which is only rarely achieved.  It is far more common for the judiciary to favour the cause of continuity of method over and above the cause of justice. It seems…

Law And Science : The Injustice Of Confessions Confession may be good for the soul, but it is, I submit, positively harmful to the establishment of scientific truth in any legal venue.  It is a notorious fact that some people will confess to crimes which they never committed, or which never happened.  It is another notorious fact that confessions extracted under torture are extremely likely to be false.  A plea of 'guilty' in court amounts to a confession, but may be a result of plea bargaining by an innocent person. If a confession is withdrawn the jury should not be told that…

Discussion Questions from class: 1) Realists argue that states are the principal actor in the international system. Is that as true today as it was in earlier times? Why or why not? 2)Do you agree that the security of the state is/ should be the driving force behind foreign policy decisions? Why or why not? To answer this question we must first answer why states are considered the principal actor in the first place. The second question that needs be answered is why the power of state as principal actor is eroding. Lastly, where is primacy of agency shifting in the international system. I'll…

Readers of this blog may begin to think that I have a personal antipathy for New York Times editorialist Stanley Fish. I don’t, really. Don’t even know the guy. And yet, somehow he manages to get criticized in writing by yours truly more often (and certainly more harshly) than Richard I-don’t-know-what’s-wrong-with-Bill-Maher-but-I’ll-endorse-his-award Dawkins. What has Fish done now? In his latest inanity for the Times he wrote a column against curiosity. Yes, you read correctly: if unchecked, curiosity, for Fish, is a major scourge of humanity, bringing us the atomic bomb and…

There have been increasingly violent attacks against scientists by animal rights activists in the last few years and partisan groups that can recite the name of every abortion provider killed by extreme pro-life people haven't taken much of a stand against violence done by people who inhabit their sphere. Two commentaries in The Journal of Neuroscience this month outline the efforts by The Society for Neuroscience and the research community to ensure humane and responsible animal research. The commentaries also emphasize the need for broader reforms and public engagement. "Responsible animal…

Mother Teresa said, “Suffering is a gift of God.” Well, it may be true that suffering tends to build character, but it also sometimes builds bitterness and criminals. In any case, we would naturally prefer to do without it, especially the extreme forms of it. We can derive much toward answering the question from a basic knowledge of the evolution of life. Ernst Mayr succinctly summed up the process of natural selection: “Natural selection is a two-step process: (1) variations produced, and (2) variations sorted, with the elimination of the less fit so that you end up with a ‘selection’ of…