Philosophy In Action

Every Sunday morning, philosopher Dr. Diana Hsieh answers your questions on the principles for living a happy, virtuous, and free life in her live Philosophy In Action Webcast. It's at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET at http://www.PhilosophyInAction.com. Submit your questions here!

Managers

7 votes Vote

Should a person quit or wait to be fired from an increasingly intolerable job?

I have been employed with a large company for 26 years, and it has been a mildly satisfying career until recently. Since a new CEO took the helm, working conditions have degraded exponentially. Some changes were necessary. Others are arbitrary...

Rick Van Pelt, 30.03.2013, 21:03

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Is it right or wrong to condemn people for being obese?

Obviously, obese and morbidly obese people have made mistakes in their lives. Are they morally culpable for those mistakes? How should other people judge their characters? If I see an obese person on the street, should I infer that he is lazy...

Jenn Casey, 31.03.2013, 17:48

0 comments

7 votes Vote

When should exceptions to established rules be granted?

People often oppose some proposed exception to the rules on the grounds that doing so would set a dangerous precedent and engender abuse. For example, suppose that an honest and diligent student is in the hospital, and he wants to keep up with...

Anonymous, 16.04.2013, 16:01

0 comments

7 votes Vote

When should a person declare his love for another?

What is an appropriate amount of time to wait before saying "I love you" in a new relationship? New relationships often start out strong, but then the feelings of eros dissipate after a few months. When you meet someone who you share the same...

Marc, 18.04.2013, 15:22

0 comments

7 votes Vote

How should a young adult manage persistent differences with his family?

As I grew up, I turned out radically different from my family expected. They think college is necessary for success in life. I didn't, and I dropped out. They eat the Standard American Diet and hate fat. I eat Paleo, and I glorify fat. And so...

Benjamin (Benpercent) Skipper, 01.05.2013, 07:49

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Is philosophy deduced from axioms?

Often, I hear people claim that philosophy -- particularly Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism -- is deduced from axioms. Is that right? Personally, I don't see how that can be: How can anything be deduced from "existence exists"? But if...

Anonymous, 13.05.2013, 11:57

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Should minors be forbidden from buying dangerous goods?

Under current law, minors are often restricted from buying goods regarded as dangerous, such as cigarettes, alcohol, fireworks, or firearms. In a free society, should those restrictions be abolished or upheld? Should parents be allowed to permit...

Adam, 09.10.2013, 03:40

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Are concepts of color objective?

Given that people from different cultures conceptualize colors differently, I don't see how concepts of color -- or at least the demarcation of colors -- can be objective. For example, in English, the colours 'green' and 'blue' have different...

Adam, 18.06.2013, 06:14

2 comments

7 votes Vote

Can a person be a racist yet still a morally decent person?

Paula Deen has been in hot water -- with her shows and sponsorships cancelled -- because of allegedly racist comments that she admitted to making in a deposition. (The lawsuit was brought by Lisa Jackson -- a former manager of a restaurant owned...

Luke Alberts, 24.06.2013, 07:28

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Should a woman give back her engagement ring if the relationship goes sour?

A friend of mine asked his girlfriend to marry him, and she accepted. However, they broke off the engagement -- and the relationship -- a few months later. Is she morally or legally obliged to give back the ring? Is the answer different if they...

Maria Chi, 13.07.2013, 03:55

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Does freedom of speech apply to government officials?

Recently, Rolling Stone caused a furor by putting accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover. In response, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino wrote to the publisher of Rolling Stone, telling him that doing so “rewards a terrorist...

Lauren, 18.07.2013, 06:36

0 comments

7 votes Vote

It is wrong to refuse any involvement in my biological child's life?

Some years back I had a contraceptive malfunction, and a child was conceived as a result. I offered to pay for an abortion but the woman refused. The child was born, and the mother and child moved away. I voluntarily pay child support, but I have...

Roberto Chahin, 08.08.2013, 09:46

-1 comment

7 votes Vote

Does fraud require deliberate deception?

Some libertarians, most notably Walter Block, have tried to argue that fraud does not require deliberate deception. For example, argues Block, if I tried to sell you a square circle, and I believed that square circles existed, and so did you, and...

Adam, 24.08.2013, 03:54

1 comment

7 votes Vote

Can a rational person extract any value from studying theology?

Theology includes a mix of arguments for the existence of God, plus views on ethics, and more. It's the earliest form of philosophy. Can a person benefit by cherry picking ideas from theological teachings or does the mysticism and other faults...

John J Curious , 31.08.2013, 13:44

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Is it wrong to remain silent when a cashier makes a mistake in your favor?

At a popular department store, I wanted to buy two items for $2.94 each and condoms for $14.00. The cashier was about my grandmother's age. She scanned the $2.94 items three times and said the total was $8.82. I knew the price wasn't right, ,...

RegisterWhoops, 08.12.2013, 11:21

1 comment

7 votes Vote

Does egoism suffer from "one thought too many"?

Bernard Williams argues that utilitarianism suffers from a problem of inappropriate motivation in which a person has "one thought too many" before acting morally. So, for example, a good utilitarian must calculate whether the general welfare is...

Anonymous, 13.03.2014, 17:25

1 comment

7 votes Vote

Is there any validity to the concept of "the friend zone"?

The "friend zone" is used to describe the situation of a man who is interested in a woman, but she's not interested in being more than friends with him. Then, he's "in the friend zone," and he can't get out except by her say-so. So "nice guys"...

Carnalus Vidal, 05.06.2014, 09:50

4 comments

7 votes Vote

How can I overcome my fear of leading a value-less life?

Ever since I was young, I've had an overwhelming fear of leading a valueless life. I saw my parent and other adult role models live this way. There was nothing in their life: they never strived for anything, never had dreams, and tended to...

Anthony J Kluska, 23.07.2014, 16:50

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Are manners objective?

In a recent Rapid Fire Question, I think you rather too quickly dismissed the idea that manners or etiquette can be objective. You fairly quickly threw the whole lot of them over into the socially-subjective category. However, I think there's a...

Robert Garmong, 02.08.2014, 11:03

0 comments

7 votes Vote

Do verbal insults sometimes justify a response of physical violence?

In a recent discussion of bullying, most people agreed that the child in question should not have hit the kids bullying him, given that those bullies were merely making awful remarks, as opposed to being violent or threatening. However, one...

Trey, 21.09.2014, 10:50

0 comments

7 votes Vote

How can I be less annoyed with "Atlas Shrugged"?

I love Ayn Rand's ideas, and I thoroughly enjoy her non-fiction. I want to enjoy Atlas Shrugged and her other fiction more, but I'm often annoyed with the aesthetics of her work. I acknowledge the fact that the novels are great, but every time I...

Drew, 05.05.2015, 00:03

0 comments

6 votes Vote

Would you kill your pets for food? Why and why not?

Paul Lin, 29.11.2010, 19:26

0 comments

6 votes Vote

How can a person deal with overzealous ideologues?

Suppose that an overzealous follower of a particular belief system constantly monitors and polices the behavior of other followers. When he sees what he believes to be a failure by someone to live up to their ideals, he attacks that person...

Chris Heasley, 28.02.2013, 10:23

0 comments

6 votes Vote

What should a businessman do if he decides, given contemplation, that his product or service is not actually objectively good?

More specifically, what should a businessman do if he's rises up in the business world on promoting a particular product or service, only to learn decades into the ventures that there are better alternatives? As a fictional example, let's take a...

Benpercent, 26.03.2012, 20:19

0 comments

6 votes Vote

Are materialistic couples less likely to have a lasting relationship?

A recent study done by Brigham Young University claims to show that concern for money causes stress in a relationship and that people who love money tend to be more impersonal and less passionate towards their loved ones. (See:...

stephen fong, 14.10.2011, 17:50

0 comments

6 votes Vote

How might social conservatives be convinced to support gay marriage?

Rob Portman, a Republican Senator from Ohio, recently decided to openly support gay marriage after his son came out to him and his wife. What can be done to help other conservatives see gay marriage in a new light -- as a matter of liberty and...

pabr0505, 15.03.2013, 08:54

0 comments

6 votes Vote

Why can't a person sell himself into slavery?

People often decry indentured servitude, whereby people paid for their travel to America with several years of service. But this seems like a perfectly sound trade given certain assumptions about the terms of that service, e.g. you can't starve...

Trey Peden, 22.01.2012, 16:40

0 comments

6 votes Vote

Should a person feel guilty for not acting selfishly enough?

According to rational egoism, a person ought to act selfishly -- not in the sense of hurting others, but in the sense of pursuing his own good. If a person fails to do that, should he feel guilty for failing to act morally?

Tjitze de Boer, 03.06.2012, 11:53

1 comment

6 votes Vote

What kinds of charities are worthy of support?

Many people laud donating to charities, but they don't seem particularly concerned with which charities they support. However, I'd like my charitable dollars to do some good in the world -- and do me good in return. So when is it proper to...

Tjitze de Boer, 29.06.2013, 01:18

0 comments

6 votes Vote

It is wrong to judge others when I'm still flawed?

Given that I have various inconsistencies and unresolved contradictions, for me to morally judge others seems like self-righteousness. Does a person need to be morally good (or even perfect) to justly judge others?

JS, 16.08.2012, 20:42

1 comment

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