by Nicole L. Fice, Cory E. Goldstein, and Austin R. Horn The media response to the recent Zika virus outbreak has been sensationalized and, as a result, governmental responses have been largely misplaced. Zika is a virus that has been around for decades, with relatively mild symptoms. However, a recent outbreak in Brazil that coincided [...]
I recently returned from a 3-month study period at the Macquarie University Research Centre for Agency, Values, and Ethics (CAVE). While I was there I was able to attend numerous conferences, workshops, and seminars, as well as meet regularly with my gracious host supervisor, Professor Wendy Rogers. One of the highlights from my trip was attending [...]
This post is the first in our weekly series of interviews with the Rotman Institute's postdoctoral fellows. These interviews are accessible introductions to the scholarship and to the service done by each postdoc. Rotman postdocs are a vital part of the life of the Institute and we hope that these interviews will give our readers a sense of the [...]
Rotman doctoral candidate, Andrew Peterson, is researching the ethical issues that stem from testing brain-injured patients for consciousness. On May 4th, his work was featured on an episode of the CBC radio program, Ideas from the Trenches. The series, hosted by Paul Kennedy, focuses on research being conducted by graduate students at universities across Canada. [...]
by Cory Goldstein On February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada declared in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General) that the prohibition of physician assisted death—section 14 and section 241(b) of the Criminal Code—is unconstitutional1. The Court stated that the prohibition was deemed to infringe on the rights of individuals under section 7 of the [...]
by Justin Bzovy On February 25th we had Evan Fraser, a Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security at the University of Guelph, as our Rotman speaker. Fraser gave a talk on Food in 2050: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion. I had a chance to sit and talk with him about his interdisciplinary approach [...]
by Tracy de Boer When I first heard that Barbie was coming out with three new body types (petite, tall and curvy in addition to the original doll’s proportions), I was torn. On the one hand, I wanted to commend Mattel’s adaptiveness and dare I say, progressiveness (or maybe “progressive-lite” is more accurate). What is [...]
Video of Peter Singer’s lecture, Animal Liberation, Forty Years On, has been posted on the Rotman Institute of Philosophy YouTube channel. Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, often credited with starting the modern animal rights movement, was first published in September 1975. In this lecture, the author assesses how well the argument has stood up over that [...]
Video of Peter Singer's lecture, The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism is Changing Ideas About Living Ethically, has been posted on the Rotman Institute of Philosophy YouTube channel. Effective altruism is built upon the simple but profound idea that living a fully ethical life involves doing the “most good you can do.” [...]
by Anthony Skelton In the Sunday edition of the Toronto Star, an article entitled, "Are Peter Singer’s ideas too dangerous to hear?", details some of the controversy around Singer’s ideas, and includes me as an interviewee. Peter Singer is one of the most important practical moralists of our time. In a career spanning more than [...]
