The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

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.

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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.

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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? 

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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. 

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References from the episode:

For more information about Treepoints, visit https://treepoints.green

The Peter Crouch podcast's Roy Keane photos

Seville's capture of the Gunnersaurus

The Acquired Podcast

The shareholders cartoon

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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.

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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 propagating the spread of viruses.

This episode was flatteringly described as "not bad, for carnists".

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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 athletes 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. Which ones are relevant and how should we handle this issue in the future?

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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?

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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: https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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