PERC - ideas and resources
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Ideas for topics
You can talk about any ethical problem you like, as long as responsibility is involved. But if you’re having trouble, here are some suggestions to get you started.
- Who is responsible if AI harms people, or if Chat-GPT spreads lies?
- Should you be held responsible for being unhealthy (e.g. because you’re unvaccinated, obese, or you smoke)? If it’s your fault you’re unhealthy, does this mean you forfeit a right to healthcare?
- Are individuals responsible for other people’s health? What does this mean for our obligations—such as trying to stay healthy, avoiding antibiotics, or getting vaccinated?
- Do celebrities have a responsibility to set good moral examples?
- Are addicts responsible for their addiction?
- How are we responsible as individuals for the environment?
- Is a bad upbringing an excuse for committing crimes?
- Do we have free will? Are we responsible for our own behaviour?
- Do workers have an obligation to be 'whistle-blowers', or is their main responsibility to their employer?
- Are producers of video games responsible if they inspire violence?
- Who is responsible for the global spread of infectious diseases?
- If very ill patients want to die, should doctors be held responsible if they help them?
- Are people who eat meat responsible for the welfare of farmed animals?
- Should individual soldiers be held responsible for their behaviour during war?
- Should there be limits on how we can punish people who do wrong?
- Are we responsible for the lives of people who will not exist until after we have died?
- Are scientists responsible for how other people use their discoveries?
- Can we be responsible for our unconscious biases, such as unconscious racism?
- Should creators (e.g., authors, artists, etc.) get paid for the use of their content in training AI? Should they get credit for outputs of AI that is relevantly influenced by their content?
- Should large investors (e.g., universities, retirement funds, etc.) divest from companies profiting from unjust wars?
Resources
Podcasts
The Uehiro Centre podcast series on responsibility http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/responsibility-healthcare-a...
Can people with personality disorders be responsible if they do wrong? https://philosophybites.com/2012/07/hanna-pickard-on-responsibility-and-...
Roles and Responsibility https://www.prindleinstitute.org/podcast/roles-and-responsibilities/
Should we bribe people to be healthier? https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01g5ztq
Blame and historic injustice https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/philosophy/blame...?
Responsibility and consciousness https://philosophybites.com/2012/03/neil-levy-on-moral-responsibility-an...
Responsibility and Personality Disorder (originally on Bioethics Bites) https://nigelwarburton.typepad.com/philosophy_bites/2012/07/hanna-pickar...
The Free Will Show: https://thefreewillshow.com/
Uehiro Oxford Institute and Oxford Martin School Blogs
Victim-blaming - to what extent are women responsible for keeping themselves safe?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2021/10/responsibility-and-victim-b...
Who is responsible if AI harms people, or spreads lies?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2022/09/are-we-heading-towards-a-po...
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2023/04/chatgpt-has-a-sexual-harass...
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/stay-clear-of-the-door/
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2022/03/the-abc-of-responsible-ai/
Should you be held responsible for being unhealthy (e.g. because you’re unvaccinated, obese, or you smoke)? If it’s your fault you’re unhealthy, does this mean you should forfeit a right to healthcare?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2022/02/should-vaccination-status-a...
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2020/02/responsibility-healthcare-a...
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2018/04/should-predicted-smokers-ge...
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2015/09/guest-post-the-food-environ...
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2012/09/refusing-treatment-to-the-o...
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2021/08/healthcare-responsibility-a...
Are individuals responsible for other people’s health? What does this mean for our obligations—such as trying to stay healthy, avoiding antibiotics, or getting vaccinated?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2021/06/no-jab-no-job-vaccination-r...
https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/blog/we-need-to-rethink-our-moral-obligations-to-create-a-better-world/
https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/blog/why-we-should-tax-meat-that-contains-antibiotics/
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2020/12/the-libertarian-argument-is...
Do we have free will? Are we responsible for our own behaviour?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2022/10/does-moral-ignorance-excuse/
Should police be held responsible for accidental deaths?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2021/04/daunte-wright-policing-and-...
Who is responsible for dangerous dogs?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2023/06/the-daft-discussion-of-dang...
Does setting a budget make a government responsible for death?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2023/03/cross-post-why-government-b...
Do celebrities have a responsibility to encourage vaccine uptake?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2022/01/was-djokovic-unethically-bl...
Articles
Taking responsibility for the past
https://aeon.co/essays/a-thousand-local-activists-helped-germany-reckon-...
How does neuroscience change our understanding of criminal responsibility?
https://aeon.co/essays/will-neuroscience-overturn-the-criminal-law-system
Do we greater moral obligations to robots than to humans?
https://aeon.co/ideas/we-have-greater-moral-obligations-to-robots-than-t...
Two philosophers disagree about free will
https://aeon.co/essays/on-free-will-daniel-dennett-and-gregg-caruso-go-h...
Should we have a ‘no blame’ culture in medicine?
https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12433
Institutional and personal responsibility in pandemics
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-021-09876-0
Allocating ventilators across hospitals
https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12315
Can we use technology to enforce responsibility in healthcare?
https://doi.org/10.1093/phe/phab013
Shared responsibility in healthcare
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/shared-responsibility-health
Are we really in control of our behaviour?
https://aeon.co/ideas/we-arent-really-in-control-so-why-worry-about-neur...
Should criminals get the same health care as everyone else?
https://aeon.co/ideas/should-a-rapist-get-viagra-or-a-robber-get-a-catar...
Are we responsible for the future?
https://aeon.co/essays/should-we-take-ethical-account-of-people-who-do-n...
How should responsibility affect access to health care?
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10728-019-00366-w
Do we have a responsibility to get vaccinated?
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-018-9829-y
Will holding people responsible help them be healthier?
https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdy113
Is it fair to punish people who do wrong?
https://aeon.co/ideas/does-the-desire-to-punish-have-any-place-in-modern...
How do philosophers think about free will?
https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2014/06/02/free-will-and-moral-responsibi...
Can we be responsible even if someone manipulates us?
https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2019/02/05/manipulation-and-moral-respons...
Is it helpful to label people ‘criminals’?
https://aeon.co/ideas/stop-labelling-people-who-commit-crime-criminals
Using predictive policing to prevent crime
https://aeon.co/essays/do-we-really-want-to-use-predictive-policing-to-s...
Videos
Is vaccine nationalism justified?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2022/04/video-interview-is-vaccine-...
Professor Peter Railton on AI and moral obligations
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2022/08/video-interview-prof-peter-...
Do medical professionals have a responsibility to keep working if they lack protective equipment?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/video-series-do-health-and-...
Covid triage in an Italian ICU
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2020/04/video-series-triage-on-an-i...
The ethics of vaccination
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2019/03/video-interview-alberto-giu...
Should vaccination be compulsory?
https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/videos/the-ethics-of-vaccination-indiv...
Do doctors always have a responsibility to treat their patients?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz09lp-nebA
Is it right to pay people to be healthier?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Z6NyJ3KHGDA
How can groups be responsible?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBu0TfQ4Xyk
How does addiction affect responsibility?
http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2018/07/video-interview-richard-hol...
Is responsibility partly about luck?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpDSPVv8lUE
Is responsibility is a myth?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-GkUHI2888
Does moral responsibility require ‘free will’?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-enqLRQU6s
Can groups be responsible in the same way as individuals?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ape1MHmp6_8
What is a ‘collective action problem’?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3KlgxYhDbk
Does responsibility require ‘free will’?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNqjR33gGNU
Resources for teachers
https://www.youtube.com/embed/AfL-tF2q2VkTop tips
If you’re thinking about entering the Responsibility and Ethics competition, we’d like to offer some tips for making your video entry as good as it can be!
What is an ‘argument’?
People use the word ‘argument’ in different ways. Sometimes it’s used to refer to people fighting with each other in a heated way. That’s not what we mean by an ‘argument’ in philosophy or in this competition. Instead, an argument uses logic and reasons to persuade others to accept a particular conclusion or point of view. So when you offer an argument, you offer reasons, and show how those reasons support what you are arguing.
What you are trying to argue for is called a conclusion. For instance, your conclusion might be: People shouldn’t eat meat. By itself, that’s not an argument; it’s just someone expressing their view. To turn it into an argument you need to support it with some reasons (also called ‘premises’). For example:
1) There’s no morally relevant difference between animal pain and human pain,
2) So, it’s just as wrong to cause animals pain as it is to cause humans pain.
3) Farming animals for meat causes them pain.
4) Eating meat causes farming animals for meat
5) So eating meat is wrong
You probably noticed that these are all statements too, and some of them might need supporting with further arguments. You could keep going like this forever, but you’ll run out of time, and your audience will run out of patience! So, you probably want to start with claims that are uncontroversial or well-established (Premises 3 and 4) and give arguments for the claims that are more likely to be rejected by your audience (Premises 1 and 2).
A good argument makes it clear how the premises support the conclusion. It’s great to have facts and figures to back up your case – but you need to show us how those facts and figures support your argument.
And remember, this is an ethics competition. While facts are important, we also want to hear some ethical arguments.
Ethical arguments
Ethical arguments aren’t just about what’s actually going on in the world; they also tell us how things should be: they are about what’s right and wrong, good and bad, moral and immoral.
There are several ways to make an ethical argument, including:
- Drawing an analogy. Explain how the ethical claim you are making (like ‘killing animals is wrong’) is relevantly similar to an ethical claim that lots of people accept. Perhaps you think killing animals is ethically similar to killing humans. If so, that would be a good ethical argument against it.
- Showing that the arguments which could be used against you lead to unacceptable conclusions: “If we say it’s OK to kill animals just because they aren’t as clever as we are, that implies that it’s OK to kill infants too, because they aren’t as clever as we are either”. Make sure that this unacceptable implication really is unacceptable!
- Showing how your conclusion is supported by widely accepted principles. Maybe you think that most people accept the principle “Don’t kill innocents for fun”. Do animals count as ‘innocents’? Does the pleasure people get from eating them count as ‘fun’? Other ethical principles might include: appealing to human (or animal) rights; explaining why what you are supporting is more fair or more just than alternatives.
- Show that the idea you support would have good consequences. For example you could show that it will make people happier or healthier, or that it will lead to benefits for society.
- Considering possible objections. Think: what might a reasonable person who disagrees with you say in response? One way to strengthen your argument is to show how the best responses someone might make don’t succeed.
Even if you don’t consider every possible objection in your video, it’s a helpful way to make your argument better.
Responsibility
- Remember, we want to hear about the idea of responsibility in your videos, and how it applies to a practical ethics issue. Just like ‘argument’, ‘responsibility’ can be used in several different ways:
- Causal responsibility: this just means that one thing caused another. Think of a line of dominoes. One domino falling will hit another and cause the next one in the line to fall. “The candle tipped over, so it was responsible for the fire”.
- Role responsibility: Your job or social role means that a particular outcome is something you need to take care of, whether you caused it or not. “A doctor is responsible for the health of their patients”. “All of us are responsible for combatting climate change”.
- Liability responsibility: This is usually applied only to people or groups. It means that the relevant person can be held accountable, and maybe blamed or praised, for an outcome. “You knew what you were doing when you pushed him: you are responsible for his injuries!” Usually we would think that if someone is liable, they either have to have caused an outcome, or have role responsibility for it. However, that might not be enough. I might cause your injury because I knocked you over. But if I was pushed, then there was nothing I could do about it. So maybe I need to have some kind of control over my behaviour to be liable. A teacher might have ‘role responsibility’ to stop their students cheating in tests. But if a student can find a really clever way to cheat, which the teacher has no chance of detecting, it might be unfair to hold the teacher liable. So maybe liability requires that I knew, or could have known, what was happening and that it was wrong.
Some final tips…
- Don’t feel the need to include as many arguments as possible in support of your conclusion in your video. It’s much better to be selective and only pick the most persuasive points you can think of, explaining clearly why you think they support your conclusion, than to list lots and lots of arguments, some of which aren’t very persuasive or aren’t well-explained.
- Remember not to overstate your case. We’re not expecting you to prove beyond all doubt that your conclusion is right. It’s enough that, on balance, your conclusion looks more plausible than others. A good argument for a ‘modest’ conclusion (e.g. ‘We should probably stop eating meat’) is better than a bad argument for a ‘strong’ conclusion (e.g. ‘It’s just obvious that animals don’t matter at all’).
- Be clear about what you are doing. Your audience can’t read your mind, so it’s important to tell us what you think is going on at any point in your argument. For instance, the following kind of sentences might be helpful: “So, we’ve just shown you that we have ethical reasons not to cause animals pain for no good reason. Now we’re going to explain why eating meat doesn’t count as a good reason” “We’ve accepted that animals can feel pain. However, we’re now going to argue that it’s much more important to benefit humans than animals, and that this means it’s ethically acceptable to eat meat”.
- Be generous to those who disagree with you. As we said above, part of your argument might involve thinking about possible objections or responses, and in turn responding to them. But be careful: it doesn’t look good if you raise obviously bad arguments, and then easily defeat them. It is much better to think of the very best arguments someone on the other side might make, and to give plausible responses even if that means you can’t prove that your view is the only possible way to go.
- And finally: Pick a topic that you are interested in, and passionate about!
Got a question?
If you have a question please email Dr Joanna Demaree-Cotton at joanna.demaree-cotton@uehiro.ox.ac.uk or Dr Gabriel de Marco at gabriel.demarco@uehiro.ox.ac.uk.
