Philosophy
Applied ethics
Applied Ethics and Bioethics
Also known as practical ethics, conduct of life, personal conduct
This is ethics with the training wheels off: real, gut-wrenching choices like whether to edit a baby's genes, help a dying patient end their suffering, or decide who gets the last ventilator. There's no clean answer, so you reason carefully instead of just reacting. It runs straight into Scarcity & Trade-offs (Economics), because triage is really the brutal economics of not enough to go around. It meets Markets, Competition & Firms (Economics) when we ask what should be for sale at all — organs, medicine, a place in line. And it frames Climate Change (Global Risks) as a frontier dilemma: how much do people today sacrifice for people who don't exist yet?
Key people
- Peter SingerAustralian moral philosopher (born 1946)
- R. M. HareBritish moral philosopher (1919–2002)
- Felix AdlerGerman-American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, and lecturer (1851-1933)
- Nigel WarburtonBritish author and lecturer
Read
- Applying ethicsJeffrey Olen · 1989Book
- Everyday moralityMike W. Martin · 1989Book
- Applied EthicsRuth F. Chadwick · 2004Book
- Introduction to Applied EthicsRobert L. Holmes · 2018Book
Listen
- Plant Based Eating for HealthKathleen GagePodcast
- Vegan HacksJason KartalianPodcast
- The Plant Based News PodcastPlant Based NewsPodcast
- Brown VeganMonique KochPodcast
Voices to follow
- Francesca Minerva@FranciMinerva · XItalian philosopher and bioethicist
- Heather Widdows@profwiddows · XBritish philosopher
- Peter Singer@petersinger · XAustralian moral philosopher (born 1946)
- Andrea KlimkováYouTubeSlovak ethicist and university teacher
Debates
- Should self-driving cars be programmed to prioritize the driver's safety over pedestrians in unavoidable accident scenarios?One view: Prioritizing the driver aligns with consumer expectations and the car's primary function to protect its occupant. · Another: All lives have equal moral worth, so the car should make decisions based on minimizing overall harm, not occupant status.Open question
- Is it ethical to use gene-editing technology to enhance human traits beyond preventing disease?One view: Such enhancements could improve human capabilities and well-being, similar to other forms of medical advancement. · Another: This could create social inequality, undermine human dignity, and lead to unforeseen long-term health consequences.Open question
- Should individuals have a moral obligation to donate a significant portion of their wealth to charity?One view: Those with excess wealth have a duty to alleviate suffering and improve the lives of others who are less fortunate. · Another: While charity is commendable, individuals have a right to their earned wealth and primary obligations to themselves and their families.Open question
Glossary
- Applied EthicsThe practical application of moral philosophy to real-world problems and situations.
- DeontologyAn ethical theory that judges actions based on whether they adhere to rules or duties, regardless of outcomes.
- ConsequentialismAn ethical theory that judges actions based on their outcomes or consequences, aiming for the greatest good.
- Virtue EthicsAn ethical theory that focuses on the character of the moral agent rather than rules or consequences.
- BioethicsA subfield of applied ethics dealing with moral issues arising from advances in biology and medicine.
- Moral DilemmaA situation where two or more moral principles conflict, making it difficult to choose the right action.
Careers
Roles this can lead toward
Student research
Published policy papers by One Young India delegates — every delegate leaves published under their own name.
- EGO: The Ethics and Governance OrganisationSanyam Patel
Threads 3
Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.
- Scarcity & Trade-offs Economics
How much do we owe people who won't be born for a hundred years? That huge moral question gets quietly crammed into one tiny number economists pick, the discount rate, which decides how much a future life is 'worth' today. A whole ethics of the future hides inside a single dial on a spreadsheet.
- Climate Change Science
The nastiest fight in climate economics is over one boring-looking number called the 'discount rate.' It decides how much we should care today about people suffering a hundred years from now. Hidden inside that dial is a giant moral question, dressed up as math: is a future kid's pain worth as much as ours?
- Markets, Competition & Firms Economics
Some deals would make everyone involved better off, selling a kidney, selling your vote, paying for a baby, and yet almost every society bans them. Why? A gut feeling of disgust, what economists call 'repugnance,' overrides the pure math of a good trade. It's proof that markets aren't free to sell everything; our sense of 'that's just wrong' is a real economic force.