On Sunday’s episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, Greg Perkins and I answered questions on moral judgments of obese people, parental consent for abortion, atheist as a negative term, living longer, and more. The podcast of that episode is now available for streaming or downloading.

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Whole Podcast: 14 April 2013

Listen or Download:

• Duration: 1:07:25
• Download: Enhanced M4A File (24.2 MB)
• Download: Standard MP3 File (23.2 MB)

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Podcast Segments: 14 April 2013

You can download or listen to my answers to individual questions from this episode below.

Introduction

My News of the Week: I’ve been distracted this week, but I got two broadcasts done, so that’s okay!

Question 1: Moral Judgments of Obese People

Question: 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 and unmotivated? Should I refuse to hire an obese person because I suspect he won’t work as hard as a non-obese person? Is obesity a moral failing – or are there other considerations?

My Answer, In Brief: Given that weight is not a good metric for health and that obesity has many causes, for a person to assume that obese people must be morally or psychologically weak is empirically false and morally unjust. If you notice that in yourself, fight it!

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 3:40
• Duration: 25:58
• Download: MP3 Segment
• Tags: Culture, Discrimination, Ethics, Food, Health, Judgment, Justice, Medicine, Nutrition, Obesity

Links:

• NoodleFood: Never Too Rich or Too Thin?
• Think Twice Before You Praise Someone For Losing Weight by Yashar
• Modern Paleo Principles

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 2: Parental Consent for Abortion

Question: Should minor girls be required by law to obtain parental consent for an abortion? Normally, parents are legally empowered to make medical decisions for their minor children, and minors cannot obtain medical procedures without parental consent. How should that apply in the case of pregnancy? Should pregnancy and abortion be treated differently from other medical conditions? Should parents be allowed by law to force a daughter under 18 to carry a pregnancy to term or to abort against her will?

My Answer, In Brief: Parents should never be able to force a minor child to bear the burden and risk of carrying a pregnancy to term and giving birth. Hence, parental consent should not be required for abortion. However, a minor child cannot impose the burden of caring for another child on her parents, and so she might need to emancipate herself if she does not wish to terminate the pregnancy but her parents do.

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 29:39
• Duration: 13:46
• Download: MP3 Segment
• Tags: Abortion, Ethics, Health, Law, Parenting, Pregnancy, Religion, Rights, Sex, Young Adults

Links:

• The “Personhood” Movement Is Anti-Life: Why It Matters that Rights Begin at Birth, Not Conception, particularly Section 4: Individual Rights and Abortion

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 3: Atheist as a Negative Term

Question: Should people define themselves using the negative term “atheist”? To me, a rational person sells himself short when he calls himself an “atheist”: he’s only saying what he doesn’t stand for, not what he does stand for. Plus, to use the term “atheist” seems to be accepting the religious frame of reference. A rational person values individual healthy human life, and everything else he believes follows from that, such as respect for reality, reason, and rights. When a person defines himself in those positive terms, what he’s against follows. So, can a person be more clear and persuasive when he focuses on what he’s for rather than what he’s against? If so, what terms might he use to describe himself?

My Answer, In Brief: The term “atheist” is a precise and economical way of designating lack of belief in god and the supernatural, yet it doesn’t indicate what a person is for. That requires further explanation – and that’s what really important.

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 43:25
• Duration: 7:56
• Download: MP3 Segment
• Tags: Atheism, Communication, Epistemology, Relationships

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 4: Living Longer

Question: Should a life-loving person always wish to live longer? Suppose that a person was offered some medical therapy that would extend his life by 10 or 20 years, while preserving or even improving health. Would a life-loving person always choose to do that, assuming that he could afford it? Would refusing that therapy constitute a kind of passive suicide, perhaps even on par with that of a drug addict? In other words, assuming good health and no personal tragedies, might a life-loving person not wish to live any longer?

My Answer, In Brief: A person who truly loves life and lives well continues to discover and explore new values, decade after decade, for as long as he can. He does not stagnate and thereby destroy his will to live.

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 51:22
• Duration: 10:34
• Download: MP3 Segment
• Tags: Death, Ethics, Life, Meta-Ethics, Motivation, Values

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Rapid Fire Questions

Questions:

• Could the bleeding heart libertarians serve as a useful opportunity to teach good economic principles?
• Are stolen concepts analogous to time travel paradoxes? In a time-travel paradox, someone goes back in time to destroy his ancestor. With stolen concepts, the hierarchically antecedent concept is destroyed by the later one.

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 1:01:56
• Duration: 2:39
• Download: MP3 Segment

To comment on these questions or my answers, visit its comment thread.

Conclusion

Be sure to check out the topics scheduled for upcoming episodes! Don’t forget to submit and vote on questions for future episodes too!

• Start Time: 1:04:36

About Philosophy in Action Radio

Philosophy in Action Radio focuses on the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. It broadcasts live on most Sunday mornings and many Thursday evenings over the internet. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.