Friday, January 31, 2014
The Problem of Dirty Hands
Should political leaders violate the deepest constraints of morality in order to achieve great goods or avoid disasters for their communities? This question poses what has become known amongst philosophers as the problem of dirty hands. There are many different strands to the philosophical debate about this topic, and they echo many of the complexities in more popular thinking about politics and morality. All, however, involve the idea that correct political action must sometimes conflict with profound moral norms. This entry seeks to unravel these strands and clarify the central normative issues about politics that the cry of ‘dirty hands’ evokes. Beginning with an illustrative passage from a renowned 19th century English novel, the essay traces the dirty hands tradition back to Machiavelli, though its present vogue is owed mostly to the writings of the distinguished American political theorist, Michael Walzer. Walzer's views are explored in the light of earlier theorists such as Machiavelli and Max Weber and certain vacillations in his intellectual posture are briefly discussed. This leads to the posing of five issues with which the entry is principally concerned. First, is the dirty hands problem simply confused and its formulation the merest contradiction? Second, does the overriding of moral constraints take place within morality or somehow beyond it? Third, can the cry of dirty hands be restricted wholly or principally to politics or does it speak equally to other areas of life, and, where politics is concerned, do only the principal agents get dirty hands or do their citizens share in the taint? This is the problem of scope. Fourth, how are the circumstances that call for dirty hands best described? Fifth, the dirty hands problem has affinities with the problem raised by moral dilemmas, but the question is: should those similarities be allowed to obscure significant differences?
Thursday, January 30, 2014
These alien spider monsters are not scary but kind of hilarious
Here Are the Three Ways People Use Emoticons at Work
Around the world in five hours?
Car reverses into kitchen
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Be with your pet from anywhere throughout your day
video phone.
Do children's toys influence their career choices?
So do the toys children play with impact their career choice?
Becky Francis, professor of education at Roehampton University, believes so. "Different types of toys give different messages about what's appropriate for boys and girls to do, and have different educational content - both elements are important and might have a bearing on schooling and career choices later," she says. A small study she conducted found boys tended to be given toys that involved action, construction and machinery, while girls were steered towards dolls and perceived "feminine" interests, such as hairdressing. The message seemed to be boys should be making things and problem solving, and girls should be caring and nurturing, she says. Also, stereotypical "boys toys" tend to be more educational, she argues. "Boys toys tend to contain didactic information, with technical instructions and fitting things together with Lego and Meccano, whereas girls' toys tend to be around imaginative and creative play, which develop different skills," she says.continue
That Time Cats Attacked a NYC Butcher Shop
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Here's What Google Autocompletes For Each Country In Europe
Dutch ISPs drop Pirate Bay blocks after court rules them 'ineffective'
The Netherlands has been at the forefront of battling online piracy through the enforcement of banning orders on internet service providers, and now the country's also leading the way in admitting that the strategy is not as effective as had been hoped. As Tweakers reports, a court in The Hague has ruled that blocks on The Pirate Bay have proven ineffectual in curbing P2P traffic and permitted local ISPs XS4ALL and Ziggo to lift their ban on the file-sharing website. A spokesperson for XS4ALL has told Tweakers that the block has now been removed, though it will take some time for the DNS changes to propagate fully. Today's judgement marks a successful appeal from the Dutch ISPs against a lower court ruling in 2012 instructing them to block access to The Pirate Bay. Initiated by the local anti-piracy group BREIN, the original lawsuit was seen as a victory for intellectual property advocates and was accompanied by similar demands being put on UK ISPs. With today's reversal, BREIN will have to pay 326,000 euros in damages to the affected broadband providers. Other Dutch ISPs like UPC and KPN that weren't subject to this ruling are maintaining their blocks for now, but it seems like a foregone conclusion at this point that they'll be following suit.By Vlad Savov
Neuroscience's most famous brain is reconstructed
Now, a post-mortem examination of his brain, and a new kind of virtual 3D reconstruction, have been published.
Pete Seeger is Gone, but His Circles of Song Ring On
To my old brown earth
And to my old blue sky
I’ll now give these last few molecules of “I.”
And you who sing, And you who stand nearby, I do charge you not to cry.
Guard well our human chain,
Watch well you keep it strong,
As long as sun will shine.
And this our home, Keep pure and sweet and green,
For now I’m yours And you are also mine.
Pete’s voice has been silenced, but his circle of song is unbroken.
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