In my live Philosophy in Action Webcast on Sunday morning, I’ll answer questions on responsibility, obligation, and duty, stockpiling medication, poking fun at others’ ideas, encouraging friends to be more purposeful, and more. Please join us for this hour of lively discussion, where we apply rational principles to the challenges of living virtuous, happy, and free lives!
- What: Live Philosophy in Action Webcast
- Who: Diana Hsieh (Ph.D, Philosophy) and Greg Perkins
- When: Sunday, 22 April 2012 at 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET
- Where: PhilosophyInAction.com/live
- Question 1: Responsibility, Obligation, and Duty: What is the difference between responsibility, obligation, and duty? Often, people use these terms interchangeably. What’s difference between them, if any?
- Question 2: Stockpiling Medication: Is it wrong to stockpile medication now in the event of an economic crash in the future? We are concerned that increasing economic troubles will raise the prices of some prescription and over-the-counter medications, and make them hard to find in the future. Is it okay to start a stockpile of some medications (most of which have a long shelf-life)? In the case of prescription medications, is it okay to exaggerate to our doctors or play “musical pharmacies” in order to obtain more medication?
- Question 3: Poking Fun at Others’ Ideas: Is indirectly poking fun at a person’s ideas rude or otherwise wrong? Is posting jokes, pictures, articles, or expressing views that might offend others – including friends and family – rude, offensive, or just in bad taste? For example, is it proper to make jokes about Jesus, Obama, or environmentalism on Facebook – knowing that some of your Facebook friends are Christians, Democrats, or environmentalists? Should a person limit himself to serious arguments?
- Question 4: Encouraging Friends to Be More Purposeful: How can I encourage my friends to be more purposeful and passionate? I have been certain about my life’s purpose – in terms of what career and personal creative works I’d like to pursue – from a young age. I’ve had friends who are above-average in their academic and career work, and who explore various hobbies, but they do not pursue those activities with eager passion. They say that “do not know what they want out of life” and have not “found their calling.” What is at the root of uncertainty about one’s purpose? Is there a moral breach involved? How can I motivate, encourage, and inspire my friends?
If you can’t attend the live webcast, you can listen to these webcasts later as audio-only podcasts by subscribing to the Philosophy in Action Podcast RSS Feed:
- Enhanced M4A Feed: Subscribe in iTunes or your RSS reader
- Standard MP3 Feed: Subscribe in iTunes or your RSS reader
You can listen to full episodes or just selected questions from any past episode in the Webcast Archive. Also, don’t forget to submit and vote on the questions that you’d most like me to answer from the ongoing Question Queue.
I hope to see you on Sunday morning!
