Surprising Ethics

Are activists who fight for a good cause with a bad strategy on the hook morally? The episode begins with a striking thought experiment which suggests the answer may be ‘yes’.

The episode also asks: Are hard-line approaches to activism ineffective? What can the case study of extreme vegan activism tell us? And what are some principles for a successful activism? 

This episode includes an interview with the strategist ...

What actually counts as self-defence when waging war? The 21st century has seen a pivot towards ‘preventive wars’: wars fought in anticipation of a possible future attack. The war in Iran is the latest example. What can philosophy tell us about these wars?

My conversation with Prof David Rodin, a world-leading ethicist of war, covers these questions and other topics, including the Israel-Palestine conflict; the "conspira...

Research shows it’s love – not money or social status – that can soothe the suffering many men are feeling today. But is the manosphere taking this balm away from men? It encourages men to see women as stereotypes and as commodities. This could render them incapable of romantic love with a woman, according to many philosophers of love. And if we want to turn our backs on Andrew Tate and co, is there actually a hea...

Many countries are considering lowering the voting age. But right now it’s 18 nearly everywhere. Why? Why not 14, 12, or even 6? Don’t teenagers and kids have interests in having a voice? Adults may on average have more experience than teenagers, but then again some 15-year-olds may be politically wiser than some 50-year-olds. Check out the surprising case for a radical reduction in the voting age with a political philo...

How do we craft a diet in the child’s best interests? That’s the question Rachel Fredericks and Jeremy Fischer set out to answer, leaving behind the usual arguments about climate and animals. These two ethicists combined philosophy, psychology and nutrition science and came up with an intriguing answer. Turns out, what makes a diet good for a kid is about so much more than just food. It’s about moral development, ...

Are new year’s resolutions a golden opportunity for self-improvement, or do they reinforce a damaging ideology of work and “self-improvement”? And how can we best decide on a resolution?

This episode explores two philosophical challenges to the way we set new year’s resolutions. First, Bertrand Russell claims we should free ourselves from pro-work ideology, and embrace idleness and leisure. If we step back fr...

Envy is seen as a deadly sin. But not by Professor Sara Protasi, who argues that envy is often good – even *virtuous*. Envy drives progress, she claims. Feeling envious is natural. And without it, we might never leave the couch. But how can such a destructive emotion be morally good? And even if envy makes us more productive in the short term, does it corrode our happiness in the long run? 

Our conversation covers self-im...

We normally think: how can we stop AI harming humans? We may also have to ask: how can we stop humans harming AI? After all, there’s a surprisingly strong case for the rights of future AIs. If future (or present!) AIs have rights, why? And what actual specific rights could some future ChatGPT assistant even have? Will AIs wake up, and become conscious or sentient? Or is digital consciousness just not ever possible? Given the ...

We think of ourselves as rational agents, able to choose well for ourselves. Professor Sarah Conly calls this into question. She argues that we’re reliably bad at making certain decisions. So much so that governments should step in, and make many bad choices like smoking illegal – for our own good. But where does she draw the line? Aren't some decisions sacrosanct? What is the true value of freedom? Is paternalism insul...

Hedonists claim that pleasure is all that makes for a good life. Are they right that relationships, achievements, and meaningfulness have no intrinsic value? 

We explore the surprising arguments on both sides of this debate about wellbeing, including a version of Nozick’s infamous experience machine thought experiment. Would you plug into an experience simulator, forever cutting yourself off from the real world to have th...

Society assumes that animals do not have moral rights. But what could this be based on? How could we argue that humans are the only animals to have rights? And where do we draw the line? These questions about animal ethics also raise the question: why does each of us human beings, ultimately, matter as an individual?

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Some philosophers now argue that monogamy is morally wrong. Imagine your friend came and told you that you can’t have any other friendships. You’d be bemused. But what’s the difference between this and exclusivity in love relationships? Is jealousy a good reason to be monogamous? Or is ethical non-monogamy – such as open relationships or polyamory – the only ethical approach?

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