On Sunday’s Philosophy in Action Radio, Greg Perkins and I will answer questions on Aristotle on the final end, dealing with a morally corrupt sibling, studying philosophy, the legality of DDoS attacks, and more. This episode of internet radio airs at 8 am PT / 9 MT / 10 CT / 11 ET on Sunday, 30 June 2013, in our live studio. If you miss that live broadcast, you can always listen to the podcast later.
This week’s questions are:
- Question 1: Aristotle on the Final End: Is Aristotle’s argument for flourishing as the final end valid? In the “Nicomachean Ethics,” Aristotle argues that flourishing (or happiness) is the proper final end. What is that argument? Does it have merit? How does it differ from Ayn Rand’s argument for life as the standard of value?
- Question 2: Dealing with a Morally Corrupt Sibling: How should I respond to my morally corrupt sister? My 20 year old sister is morally destitute. She is an unapologetic shoplifter. Her justifications amount to things like: “My shoplifting is not an addiction because I can stop anytime I want to,” “everyone does it,” “companies account for shoplifters in their business plans so they mark prices higher to compensate for it,” “I’d never steal from a friend,” “I need to steal while I look young and can get away with it because no one suspects me,” etc. Over the years she has stolen hundreds if not thousands of dollars from our parents, too. She lies and cheats frequently. She’s accepted money in return for writing a paper for a friend. She knows what she does is “wrong,” and she maintains that such is better than not knowing, at least. (That makes no sense, I know.) I also just found out that she’s selling marijuana because, as she says, she needs a way to support her expensive taste in clothes and makeup. She has no integrity or moral conscience. She doesn’t care about my horror at her behavior. She does not respond to reason. Part of me wants to help her by trying to talk sense into her. I care about her, and I want her to be a healthy person and not have a miserable life. Another part of me wants to forget her and let her ruin herself. Yet I don’t want to stand by and watch that happen, and I also know that there’s only so much I can do to really help her. What is the rational thing to do?
- Question 3: Studying Philosophy: Is studying philosophy in academia a waste? I have a strong interest in Objectivism, and I’d like to learn more about philosophy. However, my experience taking philosophy classes has been horrible. I’d like a class in which (1) I can trust the professor’s objectivity enough to enjoy a lecture, (2) I can agree with the professor’s analysis of a particular topic, and/or (3) the class and material is taught in an integrated, logical fashion. I’ve not found any of that. When I’ve mentioned my interest in Ayn Rand, I’ve gotten comments like “Well, I think she’s someone to be outgrown.” Do you know of any schools with good philosophy departments? How should I approach studying philosophy in academia? How could I make the best of what’s offered?
- Question 4: The Legality of DDoS Attacks: Should “Distributed Denial of Service” (a.k.a. DDoS) attacks be illegal? DDoS computer attacks are illegal in the United Kingdom. Are such attacks analogous to convincing people to send many letters to an organization or to calling on the phone repeatedly, thereby crippling its infrastructure? Or are they more like trespassing on property? How should the law deal with them?
After that, we’ll tackle some impromptu “Rapid Fire Questions.”
To join the live broadcast and its chat, just point your browser to Philosophy in Action’s Live Studio a few minutes before the show is scheduled to start. By listening live, you can share your thoughts with other listeners and ask us follow-up questions in the text chat.
If you miss the live broadcast, you’ll find the podcast from the episode posted in the archive: Radio Archive: Q&A: Aristotle, Corrupt Siblings, Studying Philosophy, and More. It will be posted on Monday morning, if not sooner. You can automatically download that and other podcasts by subscribing to Philosophy in Action’s Podcast RSS Feed:
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I hope you join us on Sunday morning… and please share this announcement with any friends interested in these topics!
Philosophy in Action Radio applies rational principles to the challenges of real life in live internet radio shows on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.
