Feminism, Jailbreaking, Racism, Color, and More
Q&A Radio: Sunday, 14 July 2013
I answered questions on today's feminist movement, the morality of jailbreaking, racism versus moral decency, the objectivity of color concepts, and more on Philosophy in Action Radio on Sunday, 14 July 2013. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers was my co-host. You can listen to or download the podcast below.
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 doing that, but each episode requires our time, effort, and money. 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.
My News of the Week: I've been continuing the move of my podcast archive from Podbean to Libsyn, plus riding my horse Lila a whole lot!
Listen Now 
- Duration: 1:05:57
Download the Episode
- Download: Enhanced M4A File (23.7 MB)
- Download: Standard MP3 File (22.7 MB)
You can automatically download that and other podcasts by subscribing to Philosophy in Action's Podcast RSS Feed:
- Enhanced M4A Feed: Subscribe via iTunes or another podcast player
- Standard MP3 Feed: Subscribe via iTunes or another podcast player
Share This Episode
Segments: 14 July 2013
Question 1: Today's Feminist Movement (2:31)
Question: How should the feminist movement be judged? Do today's feminist causes have any merit? Or is the feminist movement merely seeking special favors for women at the expense of men – perhaps even via violations of the rights of men? If the movement is mixed, how should it be judged, overall? Should better feminists eschew the movement due to its flaws – or attempt to change it from within? Can advocates of reason, egoism, and capitalism ally themselves with selected feminist causes without promoting the worse elements thereof?
Answer, In Brief: Despite its many problems, feminism has been a major force for political, economic, and social change for the better. Today, just as with any other ideologically mixed movement, alliances with feminists should be made in a careful and ad-hoc way.
Tags: Activism, Culture, Feminism, History, Law, Politics, Politics, Rights, Sexism
Listen or Download 
Relevant Links
Comments
Question 2: The Morality of Jailbreaking (21:58)
Question: Is it morally wrong to 'root' or 'jailbreak' your own electronic devices? Maybe I'm just too stupid or lazy to read through all the legal-ese that comes with these devices, so I don't know whether technically a customer is contractually obligated not to do it. But I know that companies try to design their products so that people can't easily "root" or "jailbreak" them, and clever people find ways to do it. Is doing so a theft of intellectual property?
Answer, In Brief: Whatever the legalities of jailbreaking, the morality depends on your reasons and goals. Jailbreaking for your own education and amusement is not wrong, but jailbreaking in order to cheat a company by obtaining a paid service for free is.
Tags: Character, Contracts, Ethics, Intellectual Property, Law, Technology
Listen or Download
Relevant Links
Comments
Question 3: Racism Versus Moral Decency (29:57)
Question: 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 by her and her brother. Ms. Jackson alleges sexual harassment and tolerance of racial slurs at the restaurant.) Based on Ms. Deen's admissions in the deposition, is she racist? If so, can she still be a moral person? Do matters of race trump all other moral convictions?
Answer, In Brief: Based on what she said in her deposition, Paula Deen is racist. In a multi-racial society like contemporary America, when she's running a southern cooking business empire, that's not merely inexcusable, but entails her behaving unjustly toward many people.
Tags: Character, Ethics, Justice, Racism
Listen or Download
Relevant Links
Comments
Question 4: The Objectivity of Color Concepts (45:42)
Question: 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 colors "green" and "blue" have different names because they refer to different concepts. In Japanese, however, the word "aoi" can refer to either light green or blue: they don't draw a distinction between them. Similarly, English speakers refer to both the sky and a sapphire as "blue." But in Italian this is not the case: the word "blu" only refers to dark blue, and the sky is the distinct color of "azzuro." Do such cultural differences cast doubt on the claim that concepts of color are objective?
Answer, In Brief: Colors exist on a spectrum, so they can be divided up "at the joints" in many ways. That cultures differ in some of those dividing lines does not mean that color concepts are less than objective.
Tags: Color, Concepts, Epistemology, Objectivity, Perception
Listen or Download
Relevant Links
Comments
Rapid Fire Questions (57:29)
- Are divorce laws still skewed against men? Is it a vestige of patriarchy or is it active discrimination against men?
- Are there instances of legitimate, ad-hoc alliances with environmentalists?
- Do you see the 20 week abortion bans passed in certain states as a major threat to abortion rights overall? What is wrong with "pain felt by the fetus" as the demarcation point for abortion rights?
Listen or Download
Comments
Conclusion (1:04:37)
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.
Support Philosophy in Action
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 doing that, but each episode requires our time, effort, and money. 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.
Thank you, if you've contributed to Philosophy in Action! You make our work possible every week, and we're so grateful for that!
If you enjoy Philosophy in Action, please help us spread the word about it! Tell your friends about upcoming broadcasts by forwarding our newsletter. Link to episodes or segments from our topics archive. Share our blog posts, podcasts, and events on Facebook and Twitter. Rate and review the podcast in iTunes (M4A and MP3). We appreciate any and all of that!
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.
If you join us for the live broadcasts, you can ask follow-up questions and make comments in the text-based chat. Otherwise, you can listen to the podcast by subscribing to our Podcast RSS Feed. You can also peruse the show archives, where episodes and questions are sorted by date and by topic.
For regular updates, commentary, and humor, read my blog NoodleFood and subscribe to its Blog RSS Feed. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter and connect on social media too.
I can be reached via e-mail to [email protected].
Copyright Diana Hsieh | Web | Email | Twitter | Facebook