The Public Ethics Blog

The Ethics of Intervention in Iran James Pattison criticises the humanitarian intervention rhetoric used to justify the recent US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Humanitarian Regime Change?

In our latest post, @jamespattison.bsky.social criticises the humanitarian rhetoric used in the justification of the ongoing US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

The Ethics of Intervention in Iran James Pattison criticises the humanitarian intervention rhetoric used to justify the recent US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Humanitarian Regime Change?

In our latest post, @jamespattison.bsky.social criticises the humanitarian rhetoric used in the justification of the ongoing US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Office Without Accountability: Interference, Oversight, and Political Corruption in Trump's Presidency by Emanuela Ceva and Maria Paola Ferretti Two prominent political theorists discuss the nature and wrong of political corruption, with a particular focus on Donald Trump's second presidency.

From the Archive:

Office Without Accountability: Interference, Oversight, and Political Corruption in Trump's Presidency by Emanuela Ceva and Maria Paola Ferretti (2025).

Coronavirus, Online Communities, and Social Change by Natalie Alana Ashton There's a tempting, optimistic view of social media which says that it can be a tool for positive social change. It connects people, allows information to flow quickly, and offers a platform to those who wouldn’t otherwise have one. All of this helps to raise awareness and increase understanding of important, overlooked issues and - the thought goes - this is an important first step to resolving them. A much lauded recent example is the #MeToo campaign, which raised awareness of the prevalence o

From the Archive:

Coronavirus, Online Communities, and Social Change by Natalie Alana Ashton (2021).

To “Serve Queen and Country”: Duty and Moral Responsibility by Jessica Wolfendale Recently, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to propose controversial legislation that would implement a statute of limitations on prosecutions of former UK Armed Forces members who served in Northern Ireland prior to the 1998 Good Friday agreement, for actions such as unlawful killings, except for cases involving “war crimes, genocide or torture.” The legislation would also apply to actions committed by former members of Irish paramilitary organizations. If the Overseas Operations Bil

From the Archive:

To “Serve Queen and Country”: Duty and Moral Responsibility by Jessica Wolfendale (2021).

Content Moderation Makeover: Meta's Changes Are a Mixed Bag by Jeffrey Howard Jeffrey Howard discusses the many ethical questions raised by the new moderation changes at Meta, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

From the Archive:

Content Moderation Makeover: Meta's Changes Are a Mixed Bag by Jeffrey Howard (2025).

The Ethics of Deepfake Pornography by Daniel Story Humans are fantasizers. One of the things we fantasize lots about is sex.Although puritanical types won’t approve, there’s much to be said for sexual fantasy (and its corollary, masturbation). It’s an easy source of pleasure. It quells powerful desires. It’s relaxing. It allows one to explore one’s sexuality. It staves off boredom. Sexual fantasies aren’t always OK, of course. Context and content are important. For instance, it’s probably wrong for men to fantasize about rape and for teachers to

From the Archive:

The Ethics of Deepfake Pornography by Daniel Story (2022).

Should England and Wales Reduce Jury Use? In England and Wales, mounting court backlogs have fuelled proposals (including from David Lammy) to reduce jury trials. Joe Slater explains the many pros and cons of jury trials and how to think more...

"I think we should be willing to consider how different alternatives embody our values. I’d like us to consider even more radical options for legal reform."

In our latest post, @drjoeslater.bsky.social discusses David Lammy's proposal to reduce jury trials in England and Wales.

Grok Doesn’t Degrade Women—You Do! Deepfakes, Responsibility and Language Jonas Haeg writes about the importance of language when describing AI-assisted injustices like deepfake pornography

Who harassed women and children on X these last few weeks?

In our latest post, Jonas Haeg writes about the importance of using correct responsibility-ascribing language when we talk about AI-mediated injustices.

May You Vote to Save the One? by Attila Mraz Ilaria Salis, an Italian anti-fascist activist, recently spent more than a year in jail followed by more than a month under house arrest in Hungary, where she was charged with conspiring to assault participants of a far-right march in Budapest. Her detainment, which drew international criticism and caused a diplomatic scandal between the far-right regimes of Italy and Hungary, ended, for now at least, in mid-June 2024 when Salis was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in Italy and thu

From the Archive:

May You Vote to Save the One? by Attila Mraz (2024).

The Ethics of Deepfake Pornography by Daniel Story Humans are fantasizers. One of the things we fantasize lots about is sex.Although puritanical types won’t approve, there’s much to be said for sexual fantasy (and its corollary, masturbation). It’s an easy source of pleasure. It quells powerful desires. It’s relaxing. It allows one to explore one’s sexuality. It staves off boredom. Sexual fantasies aren’t always OK, of course. Context and content are important. For instance, it’s probably wrong for men to fantasize about rape and for teachers to

From the Archive:

The Ethics of Deepfake Pornography by Daniel Story (2022).

Grok Doesn’t Degrade Women—You Do! Deepfakes, Responsibility and Language Jonas Haeg writes about the importance of language when describing AI-assisted injustices like deepfake pornography

Who harassed women and children on X these last few weeks?

In our latest post, Jonas Haeg writes about the importance of using correct responsibility-ascribing language when we talk about AI-mediated injustices.

Should We Tear Down the Monuments? by Benjamin Rossi Their monument sticks like a fishbonein the city’s throat -Robert Lowell, “For the Union Dead” Across the world today, societies are roiled by controversies surrounding the decision about who should be counted as a hero worth honoring with the erection of a monument. Nowhere is this more evident than the United States, where in recent years monuments to the leaders of a short-lived slaveholding republic called the Confederate States of America have become flashpoints in debates between conservat

From the Archive:

Should We Tear Down the Monuments? by Benjamin Rossi (2021).

Sharing Atrocities: The Ethics of Posting, Tagging, and Live-Streaming Images of Mass Violence To grant permission for intimate, physical, acts, consent should be unambiguous. However, our sexual scripts – how we conventionally express our consent – are often subtle, unspoken, and rely on impli...

It’s an increasingly common experience: you open your laptop, tap your tablet, or check a notification on your phone and suddenly find yourself confronting images of atrocity ...

In our latest post, Paul Morrow writes about the many moral risks when posting and sharing images of violence online.

The Ethics of Deepfake Pornography by Daniel Story Humans are fantasizers. One of the things we fantasize lots about is sex.Although puritanical types won’t approve, there’s much to be said for sexual fantasy (and its corollary, masturbation). It’s an easy source of pleasure. It quells powerful desires. It’s relaxing. It allows one to explore one’s sexuality. It staves off boredom. Sexual fantasies aren’t always OK, of course. Context and content are important. For instance, it’s probably wrong for men to fantasize about rape and for teachers to

From the Archive:

The Ethics of Deepfake Pornography by Daniel Story (2022).

Subtle Casualties: Conflict and Intangible Cultural Heritage by Robert Seddon On one page of the ICCROM document Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict, just below an image of a stone Buddha with the face blasted off, is a photograph of an apparently intact building, with the caption: ‘Intangible heritage affected during the military operations of 2007-2011 [against the Taliban insurgency]: people stopped coming to the Grand Shrine in Saidu Sharif, fearing for their security.’ Examples like this reveal a distinct and under-appreciated way in which war can threa

From the Archive:

Subtle Casualties: Conflict and Intangible Cultural Heritage by Robert Seddon (2016).

The Deaths of Covid Skeptics Are Not Morality Tales by Gabriele Contessa As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed last week, I came across an article in The Guardian with the headline ‘California prosecutor who campaigned against vaccines mandates dies of Covid.’ Since British newspapers do not typically cover the deaths of Californian deputy district attorneys and given that the unusually long headline spotlights this prosecutor’s political advocacy, it is safe to assume that the reason why The Guardian decided that the death of Kelly Ernby was newsworthy for its

From the Archive:

The Deaths of Covid Skeptics Are Not Morality Tales by Gabriele Contessa (2022).

Shame as the Sentence: Unleashing the Public on Offenders Guy Aitchison and Saladin Meckled-Garcia write about the ethical implications of naming and shaming as a form of punishment in light of the UK's new Sentencing Bill, Clause 35.

What's wrong with naming and shaming as punishment?

Read our new post by Guy Aitchison and Saladin Meckled-Garcia on the UK's proposed new Sentencing Bill.

Shame as the Sentence: Unleashing the Public on Offenders Guy Aitchison and Saladin Meckled-Garcia write about the ethical implications of naming and shaming as a form of punishment in light of the UK's new Sentencing Bill, Clause 35.

What's wrong with naming and shaming as punishment?

Read our new post by Guy Aitchison and Saladin Meckled-Garcia on the UK's proposed new Sentencing Bill.

Office Without Accountability: Interference, Oversight, and Political Corruption in Trump’s Presidency Two prominent political theorists discuss the nature and wrong of political corruption, with a particular focus on Donald Trump's second presidency.

What is political corruption? And how do we fight it?
In our latest post, Emanuela Ceva and Maria Paola Ferretti discuss the nature and wrong of political corruption with a focus on Trump's second term.
www.publicethics.org/post/office-...

The Right of Conquest: Ukraine, Gaza, and the Prize of Victory Cian O’Driscoll explores the moral complexities of "the right of conquest" in modern conflicts like Ukraine and Gaza.

In our latest post, Cian O’Driscoll discusses the right of conquest in modern conflicts:

www.publicethics.org/post/the-rig...

Is consent always needed for chemical castration? Tom Douglas discusses the ethics of mandatory chemical castration for sex offenders, arguing that it isn't as much of an ethical non-starter as you might think.

Is consent always needed for chemical castration?

In our latest post, Tom Douglas discusses the UK government's recent consideration of mandatory chemical castration for serious sex offenders.

www.publicethics.org/post/is-cons...

The Aesthetics of Democracy: Power and Ethics in the Trump Administration Nanda Jarosz shows how aesthetics are central to politics, arguing that Trump’s gold-plated, king-like style does more than turn heads-it clashes with democratic values and reshapes perception, ideolo...

Gold, crowns, and democracy?

In our latest blog post, Nanda Jarosz unpacks how Trump’s aesthetic choices shape political norms and threaten democratic values.

www.publicethics.org/post/the-aes...

The Aesthetics of Democracy: Power and Ethics in the Trump Administration Nanda Jarosz shows how aesthetics are central to politics, arguing that Trump’s gold-plated, king-like style does more than turn heads-it clashes with democratic values and reshapes perception, ideolo...

Gold, crowns, and democracy?

In our latest blog post, Nanda Jarosz unpacks how Trump’s aesthetic choices shape political norms and threaten democratic values.

www.publicethics.org/post/the-aes...

Assisted Dying and Ethical Disagreements Ben Colburn explores the ethical disagreements underlying the UK's assisted dying debate, and tells us what kinds of questions we should be asking in this debate.

NEW POST:

In our latest post, Ben Colburn looks at the explicit and implicit ethical disagreements in the UK's assisted dying debate, and also tells us about the kinds of questions we should be asking in this debate.

#philsky #assisteddying #ethics

Assisted Dying and Ethical Disagreements Ben Colburn explores the ethical disagreements underlying the UK's assisted dying debate, and tells us what kinds of questions we should be asking in this debate.

NEW POST:

In our latest post, Ben Colburn looks at the explicit and implicit ethical disagreements in the UK's assisted dying debate, and also tells us about the kinds of questions we should be asking in this debate.

#philsky #assisteddying #ethics

Social Media and a Carefree Childhood Liam Shields and Luara Ferracioli discuss Australia's recent social media ban and the value of carefreeness.

Check out our latest blog post by Liam Shields and Luara Ferracioli!

They discuss Australia's recent ban on social media for under-16s and the importance of a "carefree childhood" as a possible justification for the ban. #philsky #philosophy #news

Social Media and a Carefree Childhood Liam Shields and Luara Ferracioli discuss Australia's recent social media ban and the value of carefreeness.

Check out our latest blog post by Liam Shields and Luara Ferracioli!

They discuss Australia's recent ban on social media for under-16s and the importance of a "carefree childhood" as a possible justification for the ban. #philsky #philosophy #news