Blogs Posts on "Self-determination"

Suicide, Capacity, Self-determination, Paternalism, Persuasion by Witch Doctor on Oct 19, 2009It could be argued that when an individual grabs a gun and shoots himself (usually himself) then the intention was to commit suicide. It could be argued that when an individual hangs himself or herself by the neck, then the intention was to commit su...

Darwinism:What does it mean for “responsibility” and “altruism”? (Part 4) by xenophon-19 on Aug 1, 2009Looking now at altruism we will assume that we can have free will, and will be asking the next question, which is – can our choices be moral? The two conditionals I will look at are: if we are only the result of natural selection, altruism is an il...

Darwinism: What does it mean for “responsibility” and “altruism”? (Part 3) by xenophon-19 on Jul 25, 2009This leads us onto the next divide on the scope of Darwinism, dualism/materialism and the problem of determinism. In both above views of materialism, humans are only products of forces that existed before us, so we cannot be responsible. The implicat...

Darwinism: What does it mean for “responsibility” and “altruism”? (Part 2) by xenophon-19 on Jul 18, 2009There are certain conditions under which people are not normally blamed for something they have done. These are quite familiar: mental incapacity, illness, provocation, self-defence, insanity etc. In some of these cases we regard blame and punishment...

Darwinism? What does it mean for “responsibility” and “altruism”? by xenophon-19 on Jul 11, 2009Before understanding what the implications of Darwinism are for the ideas of responsibility and altruism, I will consider what our ideas about both these terms actually mean. Very briefly, responsibility is the capacity for free will, that we are ind...

Brown backs self-determination by Malc in the Burgh on Mar 28, 2009Gordon Brown quote:"The essential principle has always been that the islanders should determine the issue of sovereignty for themselves and, let us be clear, our first priority will always be the needs and wishes of the islanders."He was, of course,...