Here's why cyclists who skip red lights aren't bad people

Was Joe Biden wrong to pull out of Afghanistan?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of the Western abandonment of Afghanistan after decades of support. We begin by chatting about some necessary context on the history of Afghanistan, both cold war era and post 9/11. Ultimately, we discuss the limits of one person's moral agency (can the president be personally blamed? Was there any winning decision to be made?), when it may be just to invade or 'nation-build' and the limits of respecting sovereignity and self-determination. Specifically, we also discuss the concept of a 'just war' and Mill's self help test in the context of war. Factcheck timeline here: https://www.factcheck.org/2021/08/timeline-of-u-s-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/ What are your thoughts, should Biden have put his foot down and managed the pull out differently, or even cancelled it? Do let us know and chat to us on our facebook page, insta or email ant by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

45 min listen

Would it be ethically justifiable to make the covid vaccine mandatory?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of mandatory vaccination, particularly in the context of covid and the year of mandatory lockdowns we've just been through. Arguably, vaccines have clearer benefits and fewer trade-offs than lockdowns, but precedent over the last few decades has been to enshrine people's freedom of choice on the matter (even if their opinions are based on debunked conspiracy theories). Does the covid crisis make for a different circumstance, particularly given all the recent, mandatory lockdowns? They do after all represent another example of restricting personal freedoms in the interest of public health. We consider the similarities and differences between these interventions which either support or detract from this analogy, exploring concepts of bodily autonomy and human dignity, as well as a brief 'ground-up' view from consequentialist and deontological perspectives.<b by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

64 min listen

Should we segregate sports by sex?: In this episode, Jake and Ant consider how and why we segregate sports and, ultimately, what the point of sports might be? This includes an exploration of current issues of segregating by sex, given difficulty determining how to include trans atheletes and those with DSD such as Caster Semenya - who recently lost a court ruling on the matter. There are many other forms of segregation that happen in sport, such as weight classes.If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt">https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopen by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

45 min listen

Should billionaires exist?: In this first episode, Jake and Ant explore the moral implications of extreme wealth inequality. Can billionaires co-exist with a population in poverty? When, if ever, is it right to takeaway someone's private property? Do we deserve the cash we inherit any less than the talents we inherit by birth?If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt">https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information. by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

44 min listen

Are you a bad person if you work at Facebook?: In this episode, Jake and Ant explore what it means to be a bad person, briefly revisit the distinction between good/bad and right/wrong and discuss in some more depth why they specifically chose Facebook for this question (rather than BP or Goldman Sachs or Google) and some of the harms and goods it facilitates.If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt">https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information. by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

51 min listen

Is it wrong to send your children to private school?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of private education. Education is so important - and so formative - that it's important to ask whether it is fair for some people to access a higher quality education on the basis of wealth. What happens when what is best for society does not line up with what is best for us individually? If you'd like to support the show, checkout our patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt">https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

60 min listen

Is it bad to lie to your kids about Santa Claus? by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

57 min listen

Do you have to keep unreasonable promises?: Can you break a promise if it was an unreasonable one to make?In this episode, Jake and Ant go in depth, discussing several philosophical frameworks and what they have to say about promises. Using realistic (and some less realistic) examples of promises, they discuss what various philosophers would have to say about them, as well as giving their own two cents. They discuss duty, trust, and how our actions support or erode institutions we all depend on.Should you keep a promise to someone who’ll never know if you do? Should you make a promise you know you can’t keep to make someone feel better? What even counts as a promise? Want to create your own podcast?Zencastr is an all in one podcast creation studio that you can access right from your browser, no installations needed. Just get on the site and send a link to your guests and you can get started, recording studio quality audio, and n by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

61 min listen

When is lockdown justified?: In this episode, Jake and Ant consider the circumstances where restricting personal freedoms in the interest of public health may be morally justified. This includes an exploration of whether this is a truly unique circumstances, versus issues like national security, what moral frameworks are most appropriate and the classic balancing of the moral calculus. We'll address questions such as: what's the value of a human life? How should we spread benefits and harms across society and, of course, what might Kant have to say about all this?If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt">https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt</a>. <hr><p style='c by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

68 min listen

Was Twitter right to ban Trump? w/ Peter Suciu and Alex Kantrowitz: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at whether banning Trump was the right thing to do for social media platforms. With our guests, Peter Suciu (Twitter: @PeterSuciu) and Alex Kantrowitz (twitter: @kantrowitz, podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/big-technology-podcast) we explore questions such as: are SM platforms utilities, is free speech the same as free access to platforms, what were the morally relevant contingent factors to this decision and what next for such SM platforms? This is our first guest-format episode. Please share feedback, give us a review and support the show any way you see fit. Sign up to our newsletter here to receive a breakdown of the arguments presented, some memes and updates on future episodes: https://moedt.substack.com/If you'd like to support the show, checkout our patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/mes by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

59 min listen

Is it wrong to have children in an era of climate change?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of having children in the context of climate change. Is it ok to birth a child into a doomed circumstance...is this circumstance quite so doomed...even if it wasn't, is it maybe wrong to birth someone without their permission anyway? This discussion begins by exploring moral considerations around having children with 2 key perspectives, particularly: the way that you may be wronging a baby itself by birthing it, either by dooming it to a struggle with the woes of life (if that's how you view life) or the struggles of climate change, or the way you may be wronging society more widely. After an exploration in this regard we focus more on the practicalities of climate change: is human life actually doomed and is that question relevant? Can we weigh human happiness against humans having a place to live? Can we realistically ask people to not have child by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

52 min listen

Are footballers paid too much?: In this episode Jake and Ant explore what it means to be overpaid - both from an economic and moral perspective. Particularly, footballers are considered in the context of essentially being entertainers. In it, you'll get a potted history of how footballers went from earning £1 a week to over £300k, an original take on the footballers v nurses debate and a look at what happened to the Gunnersaurus. If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedtReferences from the episode:For more information about Treepoints, visit <a href="https://treepoints.green">https://treepoints.green</a>The Peter Crouch podcast's<a href="https://twitter.com/petercrouchpod/status/1270640662023733248?lang=en"> Roy Keane photos</a><a href="https://www.90min.com/in/posts/sevilla-announce-shock-capture-of-arsenal-mascot-gunnersaurus-01ekyk48fvda">Seville's capture of the Gun by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

54 min listen

Is the death penalty ever justified?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of murdering a murderer. We begin by chatting about the point of punishment - if we can't work out a justified aim of punishment, it's certainly hard to ever justify any punishment! We discuss the '5 theories of punishment' and their historical context (from Kant, to Bentham, to Michel Foucault). Following this, we discuss the particular issues around death (the sanctity of life and most importantly the irreversibility of death)! We also consider some side-questions: should 'life-in-prisoners' have the option to opt for death row? Suicide rates are 4x higher in prison afterall. Is there any amount of restitution that could serve justice, if the wrong-doer doesn't also suffer? What are the proportional limits of 'an eye for an eye'? What are your thoughts, should we abolish the death penalty once and for all? Do let us know and chat to u by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

45 min listen

Is it OK to punch a nazi?: In this second episode, Jake and Ant explore the circumstances in which we may be justified in doing something we'd typically class as wrong. Are we ever justified in using violence, particularly against those who have done or intend to do bad things? Would you be proud if your child punched a bully? Would you lie to an axe-murderer? Can you punch a secret nazi? All this and more discussed in this episode, including a breakdown of the 3 main types of moral frameworks - virtue based ethics, consequentalist and deontological.If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt">https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt</a>. <hr><p style='color:grey; fon by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

51 min listen

Is it immoral to eat meat?: In this episode, Jake and Ant consider whether the consumption of meat and specifically the production and slaughter of animals to that end is immoral. This includes an exploration of the moral differences between different animals (humans included) and a consideration of whether the crux of the issue lies in the suffering and death involved in production or rather in the specific act of consuming the flesh of another creature. Following this, there's a consideration of the indirect effects of eating meat as part of the wider system of industrial meat farming, including the environmental impact of the industry, poor treatment of workers and the impact on propogating the spread of viruses.If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as lit by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

47 min listen

Here's why cyclists who skip red lights aren't bad people: Is it justifiable to blatantly break one of the most basic rules of the road?In this episode, Jake and Ant discuss the morality of skipping red lights on a bike. They begin by chatting about unexpected outcomes of laws that are designed to improve safety and the possibility that running reds is actually safer for cyclists. They discuss the “Reverse Peltzman effect'' and how by making a behaviour more risky, people compensate by being more careful, which may be enough to outweigh the increased risk.They also talk about whether the laws applied to cyclists on the road are justified, the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law, as well as musing about what changes may be beneficial for road safety.Thanks so much to the people who've left reviews! We read them all and the words of encouragement mean the world to us. If you could spare the time, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts would by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

41 min listen

Should we have a death tax? - part 1 - Why do we have taxes? by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

60 min listen

Is it wrong to keep pets?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of pet care. Is it ok to keep any sentient living being as property, free to be made infertile if their incessant humping annoys us and even to be put down if they become an inconvenience or minor danger. Part of this discussion will feel familiar from our vegan/vegetarianism episode (how do we compare animal vs human rights?), but the fundamental question is how do we square the very common stance of being anti-livestock/vegan but pro-pets? We do care about our pets, but we also violate what may very reasonably be their rights as sentient creatures in the interest of our enjoyment - and their being happy with the arrangement may not necessarily get us off the hook, just as it doesn't solve the 'benevolent slave owner' argument. Also, to what extent does keeping pets enable negligient or non-benevolent pet owners to cause suffering, and can we even agree what counts as negligient - by some accou by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

58 min listen

Can we enjoy the music of problematic artists?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of art. Well, a very small sub-section, enjoying the works of artists who are themselves immoral. In considering this, we consider the difference between art and things that are simply visually/audibly pleasing and how the context of art can (or should) affect how we appreciate it.Key considerations include whether the 'problematic' context of the artist is literally part of their work, a heavy influence or driver of the work, or totally separate. We also consider whether the issue is consequential, i.e. we should withold our attention to financially harm such artists, or diminish their reputation, or whether it's more to satisfy a personal moral qualm.Please do leave a review on your podcast platform, it really helps us immensely.Sign up to our newsletter here to receive a breakdown of the arguments presented, some memes and updates on future episodes: https://moedt.substack.com/If you'd l by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

50 min listen

Should you give money directly to homeless people?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of giving cold hard cash to street beggars (who we typically assume are homeless). We begin by exploring a bit around how people end up in the situation of begging for cash and the difference between giving people cash vs giving them goods and services. We go on to examine the tradeoffs between your own satisfaction and the actual consequences of your giving cash to someone who's potentially unstable; what are the limits of your moral agency for the actions of others? Also, do we demonize consumption of drugs and alcohol in a group who have perhaps the most reason to search for escape? If homeless charities insist on treating sober people, but substance abuse is an overwhelming problem in this group, then have we structure our charitable infrastructure well to deal with this issue? What are the reasonable limits of our generosity - if £1, why not £2? If £ by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

39 min listen

Can entrepreneurship be a force for good? - w/ beyond binary thinking podcast: In this episode (another guest-isode digression from our usual format, which we'll return to next episode), Jake and Ant look at whether entrepreneurship can be a force for good, with Chris and Chris from the Beyond Binary Thinking podcast. We discuss the difference between entrepreneurship en masse and large tech companies, the role of finance (and over-financialization) in business and whether shifting ownership can help resolve some of these issues. Sign up to our newsletter here to receive a breakdown of the arguments presented, some memes and updates on future episodes: https://moedt.substack.com/If you'd like to support the show, checkout our patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a targ by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

63 min listen

Should we legalize (part 2)...Sex Work: Second in our series (of 3 episodes) exploring the intersection of morality and public policy; generally of the form 'should X be made legal?'. We'll be exploring both the ethical arguments and some of the high level data around key policy decisions surrounding commonly banned substances and activities. A core introductory theme (and one that's consistently touched on through the series) is when and how a governing power should behave independent of morality, i.e. with a greater focus and interest in outcomes and evidence, and when the banning or legalizing of substances are perhaps more important as value statements than as policy approaches who's outcomes we should study. Ultimately, this a spectrum and we will all have different views on this, even from issue to issue. Today we consider the legality of sex work/prostitution (i.e. the exchange of cash for sexual services). There are several global locations where there are legal avenu by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

36 min listen

Should you have shared #BlackoutTuesday?: In this episode, Jake and Ant explore why those who are able may have a duty to help disadvantaged groups and whether the motives of our actions matter to their moral worth. We revisit the question of 'Can you do the right thing for the wrong reasons?' as well as exploring the types of obligations we have and how we can form new ones. Do white people have a special obligation to help BAME groups, or is it purely on the basis of fairness that a duty is owed? Is a duty owed at all?If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/moedt/message If you'd like to listen ad-free (on any podcast app) and support us as creators, become a member for as little as $2 per month at: <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt">https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt</a>. <hr> Hosted on Aca by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

48 min listen

When is it ok to put down a human being?: The first in our series on euthanasia and assisted suicide - later named with the much more provocative title, 'when is it ok to put down a human being?'. In this series we explore how much control we (and other people) should have over our own death. This is primarily focused on circumstances where death is near and inevitable, and life/treatment is becoming pretty horrible in the interim, but we do broaden the discussion a little beyond these boundaries. As we clarify in the episode, agency creates an extremely important distinction between assisted suicide and euthanasia, but even the most liberal countries draw some lines on where agency is not enough to bring us to support someone's wish for death. We'll begin the series by clarifying the terms (what's the difference between assisted suicide, euthanasia, and the active/passive forms of either) and a discussion of the current legal state of affairs across a range of countries - in by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

37 min listen

Should it be a legal requirement to vote? Can I sell my vote?: And what if you could sell your vote? by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

38 min listen

When is it ok to put down a human being? Part 2: The second in our series on euthanasia and assisted suicide - later named with the much more provocative title, 'When is it ok to put down a human being?'. In this series we explore how much control we (and other people) should have over our own death. This is primarily focused on circumstances where death is near and inevitable, and life/treatment is becoming pretty horrible in the interim, but we do broaden the discussion a little beyond these boundaries. As we clarify in the episode, agency creates an extremely important distinction between assisted suicide and euthanasia, but even the most liberal countries draw some lines on where agency is not enough to bring us to support someone's wish for death. In this episode, we talk through some typical moral/philosophical frameworks and what they may have to say about choosing, or being designated, to die. We romp through the typically out-ther by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

28 min listen

Is trophy hunting really wrong?: Hunting endangered animals for sport. Everyone knows it’s bad. But is it really?In this episode, Jake and Ant talk about trophy hunting and whether a moral society can permit it. They begin with an overview of how trophy hunting actually works in the nations that allow it and how it has gone wrong in the past, followed by outlining the effects it has on the environment, conservation, and local communities, which curiously, are generally positive.This leads them into a discussion of the morality of conservation in general, whether we have an obligation to maintain species, and whether conservation of the species is sufficient to justify animals suffering.They also discuss the differences in the opinions on trophy hunting in countries that have it and countries that don’t, questioning if it’s fair for the west to enforce their norms on far away places when they have no skin in the game.<h3>Want to create your own podcas by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

53 min listen

Should we abolish the monarchy?: In this episode, Jake and Ant look at the ethics of abolishing the monarchic institutions that are present in the UK and several other EU countries (but really focusing on the UK as a specific example). The key arguments discussed and considered are: 1 - democracy, 2 - elitism, 3 - corruption/abuse of power, 4 - history & tradition, 5 - entertainment, 6 - soft power, 7 - the practical nuisance of disbanding the royals. Ant is writing this and I maintain that it's a grossly inequitable institution that doesn't much contribute cash beyond what would be achieved regardless of their maintenance (not that money would even be a good justification anyway)...but hey, listen to the whole pod and form your own opinion! As always, reviews really help us, please follow and review on your podcast platform of choice and contact us on your social media of choice. Sign up to our newsletter here to receive a breakdown by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

84 min listen

Are you a bad person if you buy gifts from Amazon this X-mas?: Does buying gifts from Amazon make you a bad person?This week, Jake and Ant tackle the very festive topic of the morality of buying gifts from Amazon. They start by going over the pros and cons of buying from Amazon, both the intended and unintended results. As well as going over both Amazon’s philanthropic and less-than-philanthropic endeavours.They discuss different philosophical frameworks and what they have to say about the morality of buying from the online marketplace behemoth.Then they go over the roles individuals have to play versus the one that government does, as well as discussing the morality of even making this an individual issue in the first place. Is even talking about what we, as individuals, can do distracting from a greater issue?<h3>Want to create your own podcast?</h3>Zencastr is an all in one podcast creation studio that you can access right from your browser, no install by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

55 min listen

Is 'God' a good thing? Part 1 - classic arguments for belief/non-belief: In this episode, we begin a series (of 3 episodes) exploring the intersection of 'God' and morality. You'll note the use of quotation marks, this is because we explore the moral implications of theism and organized religion in a way that is not limited to faith-based belief. This means both looking purely at the incentives around belief rather than basing belief on faith, but also weighing up the pros and cons of organized religion and their impact on society. Did it help to instill moral norms and unity, or more act as a basis for persecution, subjugation and undue docility. We begin by assessing some of the classic arguments for either believing or not believing in god, drawing inspiration all the way from the Ancient Greece to Dostoevsky. Next we'll consider whether religion (irrespective of god's existence) has been a net good for humanity, and finally what the moral basis for god's morality could b by The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

42 min listen

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Here's why cyclists who skip red lights aren't bad people

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