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Full-Text Articles in Ethics and Political Philosophy

Ethical Implications Of Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates, Nichaela Noebe Jan 2023

Ethical Implications Of Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates, Nichaela Noebe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will be looking at the ethical implications of the Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates. The paper will look at various ethical theories as well as different ethicists and apply it to the Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates. The project will come to the conclusion of whether the Vaccine Mandates were ethical or not given certain ethical ideas and views from the various ethicists.


Mask-Less Shopping Is Like Drunk Driving, Jonathan Spelman Oct 2022

Mask-Less Shopping Is Like Drunk Driving, Jonathan Spelman

Philosophy and Religion Faculty Scholarship

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many states in the U.S. issued stayat-home orders that prohibited people from leaving their homes except to access essential services. Upon reopening, a number of those states passed mask mandates requiring people to wear face coverings while in public, but as I write this, in October of 2020, there remain a substantial number of states that have not outlawed what I’ll call ‘maskless shopping’. This is a mistake. After describing the standard, public health argument for outlawing mask-less shopping and explaining why it fails, I give a better argument for outlawing mask-less shopping that …


A Little Shelter From The Storm: Covid-19 And The ‘Atlantic Bubble’, Dylan Mackenzie Sep 2021

A Little Shelter From The Storm: Covid-19 And The ‘Atlantic Bubble’, Dylan Mackenzie

The Canadian Society for Study of Practical Ethics / Société Canadienne Pour L'étude De L'éthique Appliquée — SCEEA

The ‘Atlantic Bubble’ (hereafter AB) is often conflated with the impressive resistance to COVID-19 outbreaks in Atlantic Canada. My paper discusses the evolution of that resistance as a way of clarifying this distinction. Understood as a political plan, AB features a response to COVID-19 which contrasts with the reaction in much of the rest of Canada. As a result, it has practical implications for future political planning in Canada, especially vis-à-vis epidemiological risk assessment. I conclude with a brief survey of the broader questions raised by AB, arguing that there are philosophical assumptions about the nature of community in Atlantic …


The Pandemic, Sociability, And Citizenship, Rhonda Martens Sep 2021

The Pandemic, Sociability, And Citizenship, Rhonda Martens

The Canadian Society for Study of Practical Ethics / Société Canadienne Pour L'étude De L'éthique Appliquée — SCEEA

We have experienced social isolation in response to COVID-19. In particular, our weak ties (ties among acquaintances rather than between family and friends) have been trimmed. I argue, based on the work of Granovetter, Nussbaum, Talisse, and Lanoix, that this trimming of weak ties has consequences, not just for well-being, but also for how we practice social citizenship. I conclude with the suggestion that we make use of research on how to build resilience in individuals, in the hopes that resilient individuals will be in a better position to rebuild some of what the pandemic has destroyed.


Ethics, Justice, And The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Courts In Canada, Bruce Preston Sep 2021

Ethics, Justice, And The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Courts In Canada, Bruce Preston

The Canadian Society for Study of Practical Ethics / Société Canadienne Pour L'étude De L'éthique Appliquée — SCEEA

Canadian courts have struggled with delay for decades. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic added to an already difficult situation. Courts were required to take swift action, which they did. Despite this, they have faced criticism concerning the approach taken. I will argue that this criticism is not warranted and has more to do with the perceptions of the courts’ past performance than it has to do with their response to the pandemic. Regardless, the systemic delay in Canadian courts has become an issue of ethics which overshadows any success they have had in the current pandemic.


Alternate Warfare: The Unseen Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Elyse Keener Jul 2020

Alternate Warfare: The Unseen Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Elyse Keener

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

Biological warfare is a national security concern that transcends centuries. In the current international climate, biowarfare is of particular interest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article seeks to follow historical cases of biological warfare and international response to these cases in order to understand the implications of COVID-19, if it were to be weaponized. Also covered is the current capabilities that Russia, China, and Iran are assessed to possess.


Cultured Meat Could Prevent The Next Pandemic, Jonathan Anomaly Jan 2020

Cultured Meat Could Prevent The Next Pandemic, Jonathan Anomaly

Animal Sentience

Wiebers & Feigin identify intensive agriculture and trade in exotic animals as the main sources of novel zoonotic viral infections. They recommend a transition away from meat. I would add that we would do well to invest in the mass production of cultured meat, derived from stem cells, as a radical alternative to animal agriculture.


Plant-Based Diets And Covid-19: Those Who Harvest Crops Are At High Risk, Jarret S. Lovell Jan 2020

Plant-Based Diets And Covid-19: Those Who Harvest Crops Are At High Risk, Jarret S. Lovell

Animal Sentience

This commentary extends Wiebers & Feigin’s (2020) plea to adopt diets that are less dependent on animals by calling on experts and activists to work for change with regard to farm worker labor conditions. Already doing among the most dangerous jobs, farmworkers are at increased risk of COVID-19. As we increasingly transition to plant-based diets, we must all ensure that farmworkers have safe and just working conditions to meet the demands of our changing diets.


Innovation In Meat Production: A Problem And An Opportunity, Christopher J. Bryant Jan 2020

Innovation In Meat Production: A Problem And An Opportunity, Christopher J. Bryant

Animal Sentience

Innovation in meat production has enabled modern humans to inflict far greater harm on animals, the environment, and public health than was possible just a few decades ago. Wiebers & Feigin aptly express the urgency with which these issues must be addressed. Those advocating for animals on moral grounds face resistance from omnivores citing taste, price and convenience. Further innovation in meat production (plant-based and cultured meat) will enable us to preserve the experience of eating meat whilst phasing out the many problems caused by industrial animal farming.


It Does Not Cost The Earth To Be Kind, Svetlana Feigin Jan 2020

It Does Not Cost The Earth To Be Kind, Svetlana Feigin

Animal Sentience

The COVID-19 crisis is a wake-up call on a global scale. What lessons we learn from this crisis will determine our survival as a species. The global health crisis calls for individual and collective changes in our agricultural practices and our consumption habits. Most important, it is a call for us as a species to move towards an empathic way of living and interacting with nature.


The Multidimensional Unity Of Life, Theology, Ecology, And Covid-19, Derek A. Michaud Jan 2020

The Multidimensional Unity Of Life, Theology, Ecology, And Covid-19, Derek A. Michaud

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.