Last night my sister Kristina asked me the following question: "In States that have the Death Penalty, why don't we 'redistribute' the organs of the executed? That way those who took life (lives) would be used to save life (lives)." My initial response was to trot out a Kantian line about using people as mere … Continue reading Why Not Harvest Their Organs?
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Roskolnikov’s Final Dream
Throughout Crime and Punishment, dream-sequences intermingle with reality. Roskolnikov especially has a handful fo dreams. Something in the quality of Dostoevsky's prose makes one miss the transitions, so you can read for several pages of what feels like reality before being pulled back by a character waking up. These dreams are used not just to … Continue reading Roskolnikov’s Final Dream
Crime and Punishment
[After a bit of a hiatus, I'll post a few more Dostoevsky Reading Project thoughts - this is hopefully 1/3 on Crime and Punishment, but I also have to start work again tomorrow...] I read Crime and Punishment once before, when I was a senior in college. I don’t remember why I decided to read … Continue reading Crime and Punishment
How did we get this finance industry?
As a share of American GDP, the finance industry has doubled in size in the past 40 years, to over 30% of American Corporate profits. Many argue that this presents a real problem for the long-term stability of the U.S. economy. I argue that it presents real concerns for both social justice and the health … Continue reading How did we get this finance industry?
Moller on Moral Risk
Moral issues are complex. Likewise the philosophical arguments that bear on these issues. What are the practical implications of this complexity? In a recent article (http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~dmoller/Welcome_files/Moral%20risk%20pdf%20draft.pdf) Dan Moller argues that the practical implications are more significant and far-reaching than we commonly recognize. Moller focuses on the moral permissibility of abortion (MPA). Moller's argument runs roughly as … Continue reading Moller on Moral Risk
Travels in Siberia
When I was a sophomore in high school, my World History teacher, Mrs. Alger, had what Ian Frazier, author of Travels in Siberia (2010) would probably refer to as a bad case of "Russia-love." She was fascinated with the intellectuals of the era, and like any good high school teacher, that fascination captured her students' … Continue reading Travels in Siberia
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suppose an ER doctor has to perform an operation on a person who murdered his wife (an assassination, say), otherwise the person dies.i submit that the doctor is not guilty of murder if he lets the person die, and he is morally innocent (no matter at what distance in time the 2 events occur). i … Continue reading untitled
A Rationality Pill?
Suppose that you are a person who suffers from what an economist would call a "high discount rate." You tend to attach very little importance to the long-term consequences of your actions. As a result, you smoke and drink a lot, eat a lot of bacon, are massively in debt, and so on. Then, someone … Continue reading A Rationality Pill?
How medicare sets hospital prices
The great Uwe Reinhardt presents a useful primer to the discussion of health care reform that should interest OPers (mindful as they are of the importance of primary social goods). I supervised a remarkably thoughtful (and empirically informed) thesis on Health Care Justice last semester, which brought into sharp relief the ridiculousness of the public … Continue reading How medicare sets hospital prices
An Interesting Asymmetry in Common-Sense Morality
I was driving Dave Schaffer to the bus station this past week--Dave's a member of this blog, but has never contributed and, possibly, never visited, a speculation this very comment should confirm or disconfirm--and he pointed out an interesting asymmetry in common-sense morality. I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Suppose there is an action, A, … Continue reading An Interesting Asymmetry in Common-Sense Morality
Original Positions 