The Morality of Everyday Things: An Everyday Philosophy Podcast

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 - including how hard it is to do any of this in the UK and a little price check of a one-way trip to Switzerland. Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside too. https://www.patreon.com/moedt. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Third 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 gambling. Dissimilar to previous episodes, this is something that's is largely legal (though sports gambling is only recently permitted in the US). This means we can assess some of the impacts through studies and also that we consider the realistic efficacy of oversight bodies. In this case, the similar to the sex work, the moral imperative is protection of victims, but the victims are the purchasers rather than the sellers, and the particular difference on top of this is the awkward layering of the capitalist incentive to take advantage of those who gamble most - and are most addicted. Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside too. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 avenues to prostitution, but largely it's illegal. This provides ample opportunity to study the impact of differences and changes and their impact on the health of sex workers. Importantly, unlike drugs, which are very multi-faceted, our main concern looking at sex work is the welfare of the providers of the service. We also touch on the moral significance of sex that delineates it from other physical pleasures - afterall, it's totally acceptable to pay for a non-sexual massage - and whether some goods should simply not have a market for their provision. Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside too. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we begin a 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. We begin by assessing the legality of recreational drugs (recreational vs performance enhancing or other use cases). Recreational drugs are widely available legally, such as alcohol, but a large number of substances are actually prohibited (particularly many discovered/popularized within the last century or so). Why? If I can drink myself to death and our society can widely celebrate drinking culture, is it so bad if some people dabble in the use of other substances? Maybe some of these have a particular ability to cloud our judgement and limit our freedom. All of this, and more, discussed this week. Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside too. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we finish our 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. In this episode, we consider the source of moral authority when it comes to religion. Ultimately, if people say things like 'this is the correct way to interpret scripture', there must be some method they're leaning on to pick between alternative interpretations. If this is the case, is God's word not, in itself, the source of moral authority? Is God good at selecting what's good, or does he define it be choosing it? We talk through these problems and consider whether, in the context of morality, an appeal to authority is ever a compelling form of argument. Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside too. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we continue our 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. In this episode, we weigh up some of the goods and bads that have been committed in the name of religion and whether belief even matters to the moral teachings of religions. We begin with looking at Alain de Botton and work our way through to the '4 horsemen' of atheism, with a bunch of thought experiments along the way. Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside too. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 be (an appeal to authority, the definition of what is moral or something else entirely). Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside too. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are all the rage - at time of posting. Should we all be rushing to buy digital images of gorillas wearing sunglasses? Or are there better ways of supporting struggling artists? In this episode, Jake and Ant look at whether NFTs represent a bright future for helping artists monetize their work. They begin by discussing how NFTs work, what web3 is and why people are so excited about where this technology could lead us. Bill Gates famously warned that one of the early design flaws of the internet was that it would be hard for creators to monetise their content - and we've certainly seen the risks of this with the rise of platforms like Spotify - so does web3 hold the answers? Along the way, they look at what art is, what it means to own art and whether NFTs will actually fulfil all their promises. Is the current hype around NFT just the beginning, or is it a bubble? Or, worse, are NFTs a kind of ponzi scheme or pyramid scheme? Support the show: Please leave us a review! Spotify even now let's you do it - see that little star icon - go on, give it a click. Reviews are a great way to help others find the show, and it makes us feel all warm inside. If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Keep up to date with future episodes on our website here: https://moedt.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a crossover with the Good in Theory podcast. We discuss with Clif what liberal democracy is, the arguments in its favour, and some big critiques. What is the purpose of government? How much of what we look for in good governance is shaped by our liberal democratic contexts (and particularly, the Cold War)? Episode includes Plato, Nazis and of course the Lizard People. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 now video too. Automatic post-production makes finalising your podcast easy, all guests have their own audio channels to make editing a breeze, and all files are stored on the cloud for easy access and peace of mind. Click this link to get started with 30% off your subscription for your first 3 months. Support the show: If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside. Alternatively, leave us a review! We read every one and they’re a great way to help others find the show… which in turn, means we’ll make more episodes. Win-win. Know anyone who likes to think about or debate the kind of topics we cover? Spread the word - and you’ll have our gratitude. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the Santa myth just harmless fun, or should we be honest to our kids about Saint Nick? In this very festive episode, Jake and Ant discuss the morality of lying to children about Santa Claus. They start with a brief history of the character's origins, including Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas and even Odin. Then they go over the origins of the tradition of teaching children of Santa's literal existence and the reasons for doing it. After that, they discuss the potential benefits of the fiction, as well as the potential harms, before bringing up several philosophical frameworks and what they have to say about lying to children in addition to lying in general. They end the discussion by talking about the lessons that the Santa myth may inadvertently teach children, as well as alternatives to lying to children that don't deprive kids of the fun of the Santa story. 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 now video too. Automatic post-production makes finalising your podcast easy, all guests have their own audio channels to make editing a breeze, and all files are stored on the cloud for easy access and peace of mind. Click this link to get started with 30% off your subscription for your first 3 months. Support the show: If you’re a fan of the show, please consider signing up to our Patreon. A small subscription goes a long way towards supporting the show - and it makes us feel all warm inside. Alternatively, leave us a review! We read every one and they’re a great way to help others find the show… which in turn, means we’ll make more episodes. Win-win. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? 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 now video too. Automatic post-production makes finalising your podcast easy, all guests have their own audio channels to make editing a breeze, and all files are stored on the cloud for easy access and peace of mind. Click this link to get started with 30% off your subscription for your first 3 months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 now video too. Automatic post-production makes finalising your podcast easy, all guests have their own audio channels to make editing a breeze, and all files are stored on the cloud for easy access and peace of mind. Click this link to get started with 30% off your subscription for your first 3 months. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 help us a lot. If you don't have Apple Podcasts, feel free to rate using whatever service you use. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected]. Thanks to the Dream Factory in Shoreditch, our new studio. 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 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 after all. 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 us on our facebook group :) 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 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 £2 why not £5? What is your go-to in this everyday situation? Do let us know and chat to us on our facebook group :) 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 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Thanks for that, Ant ^^ 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 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 children and what might a policy look like? 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 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 A huge shoutout to listener Peter Maxwell who was so sick of our awful sound mastering, he messaged and offered to help us with it by salvaging what was possible from our amateurly recorded files. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 accounts keeping a dog in an inner city apartment is not fair, for example. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 like to support the show, checkout our patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt *excuse minor echo in audio* Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode (another guest-episode 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/moedt 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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". If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? If you'd like to support the show, check out our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/moedt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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: https://plus.acast.com/s/moedt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices