On Sunday morning’s episode of Philosophy in Action Q&A Radio, I’ll answer questions on the morality of cloning, hypocritical allies, standards of beauty, capitalism and serving others, and more with Greg Perkins.

• What: Philosophy in Action Q&A Radio
• Who: Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins
• When: Sunday, 29 July 2012, 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET
• Where: Philosophy in Action’s Live Studio

This week’s questions are:

• Question 1: The Morality of Cloning: If cloning humans were possible, would it be wrong? Most people think that cloning humans, if possible, would be terribly immoral and creepy. What are their arguments? Are those arguments right or wrong? Also, would cloning a person without his or her consent be some kind of rights violation?
• Question 2: Hypocritical Allies: What should you do when your allies are exposed as hypocrites? Just because a person advocates good ideas doesn’t mean that he practices them. For example, a defender of free markets might use zoning laws to prevent the construction of a new building on land adjacent to his home, an advocate of justice and independence as virtues might condemn and ostracize people who disagree with him on trivial matters, and an advocate of productive work might sponge off friends and relatives. When you discover such behavior in your allies, what should you do? Should you attempt to defend them? Should you try to keep the hypocrisy quiet? Should you condemn them? Should you say that “nobody’s perfect”? What’s fair – and what’s best for your cause?
• Question 3: Standards of Beauty: Isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder? In your November 13th, 2011 webcast discussion of aesthetic body modification, you rejected the idea that beauty is just a matter of personal taste or cultural norms. What’s your view – and why?
• Question 4: Capitalism and Altruism: Is capitalism altruistic? Some people attempt to defend capitalism and free markets on altruistic grounds. Under capitalism, they say, a successful businesses must serve the needs of its customers. Hence, capitalism promotes altruism. Is that true? Is it an effective way to defend capitalism?

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. If you attend the live show, you can share your thoughts with other listeners and ask me follow-up questions in the text chat.

If you miss the live broadcast, you’ll find the audio from the episode posted here: Q&A Radio: 29 July 2012.

Philosophy in Action Radio broadcasts every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. For information on upcoming shows and more, visit the Episodes on Tap.

I hope that you join us on Sunday morning!