Webcast Q&A: Sunday, 31 July 2011
In the live broadcast of Philosophy in Action Radio on Sunday, 31 July 2011, I answered questions on the morality of reverse engineering, atheists singing religious music, this-worldly success of faith-driven people, police lying to suspects, and more. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers was my co-host.
Remember, Philosophy in Action Radio is available to anyone, free of charge. That's because our goal is to spread rational principles for real life far and wide, as we do every week to thousands of listeners. We love producing every episode, but each requires requires our time, effort, and money – week in and week out. So if you enjoy and value our work, please contribute to our tip jar. We suggest $5 per episode or $20 per month, but any amount is appreciated. You can send your contribution via Dwolla, PayPal, or US Mail.
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Segments: 31 July 2011
Question 1: The Morality of Reverse Engineering (5:12)
Question: Is it immoral to reverse-engineer a product? Is it wrong to take apart a product, improve it, and then sell this new product to others (or use it for yourself)? Is this considered theft or just productive work?
Answer, In Brief: The morality of reverse engineering largely depends on whether the product is protected by copyright and/or patents. In other words, are you violating someone's intellectual property or not?
Tags: Business, Ethics, Intellectual Property, Law, Politics, Property, Rights, Technology
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Question 2: Atheists Singing Religious Music (20:51)
Question: Is it moral for atheists to perform religious music? I love to sing classical music, and that usually means performing with a group that does religious music, including Catholic mass and other religious songs. Some of these groups are secular and perform it for the artistic value alone, but other groups are explicitly religious, such as those affiliated with a church. Is it wrong for an atheist like me to join either of these types of groups?
Answer, In Brief: Given our present and past cultural context, to sing religious music is not an implicit endorsement of religion – unless purpose of performance to inspire religious belief.
Tags: Art, Atheism, Christianity, Music, Religion, Sanction
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Question 3: This-Worldly Success of Faith-Driven People (28:31)
Question: Why do some people of faith survive and even flourish? If reason is required for life, and faith abdicates reason, then how can anyone who has faith live and prosper? In particular, how do some devoutly religious people manage to be so productive and creative in business?
Answer, In Brief: Christians today are not ideologically consistent: they're not fully driven by faith. Instead, they are compartmentalized – and that explains the success of some of them.
Tags: Business, Compartmentalization, Epistemology, Ethics, Faith, Rationality, Religion, Wealth
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Question 4: Police Lying to Suspects (37:26)
Question: Should the police lie to suspects in the course of an investigation? Police routinely do this, usually in order to trick people into admitting something or revealing information they would normally not reveal. Note that the people they lie to may not have been convicted of any crime, and are merely "persons of interest" or suspects. Is this routine constant lying moral? What do you think it does to the policeman's character after many years?
Answer, In Brief: To suppose that the police must never misrepresent the facts in a criminal investigation is wrong – and rationalistic. However, precisely because the overriding goal must be the discovery of the truth about the crime, there are and ought to be limits about what the police can lie about.
Tags: Crime, Ethics, Honesty, Justice, Law, Psychology
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Rapid Fire Questions (54:09)
- Should police be allowed to conduct sting operations to catch people committing illegal acts?
- What should happen to cops that cross the line and violate people's rights?
- Should a country permit reverse-engineering of the intellectual property of the enemy in wartime?
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Conclusion (58:23)
Thank you for joining us for this episode of Philosophy in Action Radio! If you enjoyed this episode, please contribute to contribute to our tip jar.
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Remember, Philosophy in Action Radio is available to anyone, free of charge. That's because our goal is to spread rational principles for real life far and wide, as we do every week to thousands of listeners. We love producing every episode, but each requires requires our time, effort, and money – week in and week out. So if you enjoy and value our work, please contribute to our tip jar. We suggest $5 per episode or $20 per month, but any amount is appreciated. You can send your contribution via Dwolla, PayPal, or US Mail.
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About Philosophy in Action Radio
I'm Dr. Diana Hsieh. I'm a philosopher specializing the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. I received my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. My dissertation defended moral responsibility and moral judgment against the doubts raised by Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck."
My radio show, Philosophy in Action Radio, broadcasts live over the internet on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. On Sunday mornings, I answer four meaty questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life in a live hour-long show. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers co-hosts the show. On Wednesday evenings, I interview an expert guest about a topic of practical importance.
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I can be reached via e-mail to [email protected].
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