philosophy bites

Jeff McMahan on Gun Control

The question of whether private gun ownership is reasonable polarises opinion, particulary in the United States. Jeff McMahan examines the arguments in conversation with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Listen to Jeff McMahan on Gun Control

Read a New York Times article by Jeff McMahan on Gun Control

Earlier Philosophy Bites interviews with Jeff McMahan:

Listen to Jeff McMahan on Moral Status

Listen to Jeff McMahan on Vegetarianism

Listen to Jeff McMahan on Killing in War

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy 

Tim Lewens on Selling Organs (originally on Bioethics Bites)

Tim Lewens discusses the ethics of selling human organs in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast - originally released on Bioethics Bites (made in association with the Uehiro Centre with a grant from the Wellcome Trust).

Listen to Tim Lewens on Selling Organs

 

Julian Savulescu on Designer Babies

Should we select advantageous genes and deselect disadvantageous ones when having children? Julian Savulescu believes that we should. Find out why in this bonus episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast (originally released on Bioethics Bites and made in association with the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Oxford, and made possible by a grant from the Wellcome Trust).

Listen to Julian Savulescu on Designer Babies

Previously on Philosophy Bites:

Julian Savulescu on the Yuk Factor

On Virtual Philosopher: 

Julian Savulescu on Moral Enhancement

Julian Savulescu and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong discuss Addiction

Julian Savulescu on Craig Venter's synthetic bacterium

 

Jeff McMahan on Killing in War

If someone is shooting at me in a war, surely it is morally acceptable for me to shoot back and kill him or her. Jeff McMahan of Rutgers University, author of  a new book on this topic, challenges the view that such killing is always acceptable.

We are very grateful to the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) for facilitating this interview.

Listen to Jeff McMahan on Killing in War

Kate Soper on Alternative Hedonism

Kate Soper believes that we need to rethink how we live in the light of impending environmental catastrophe. But the unexpected element in her thought is that alternative ways of living can be more enjoyable than consumerism. This leads to her notion of alternative hedonism.

Listen to Kate Soper on Alternative Hedonism