55. THE WORLD (NOT JUST AMERICA) NEEDS BIDEN TO WIN THE 2020 ELECTION: A Student in the UK Weighs in on the Ethics of American Voting

September 07, 2020 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Economics, Ethics, History, Militarisation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Student Writing, Elections

“since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, the US has gone from perceived leader of the free world and centre of cooperation to a nation which continues to pull out of global organisations which ensure global security, health and sustainability, hence damaging the capability of all nations to respond to aggressive nations, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic“

52. WRESTLING WITH THE GUILT OF WRESTLING: Can You Be An Ethical Person and Support an Unethical Business?

June 29, 2020 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Culture, Economics, Ethics, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, Pop Culture, Work

“As a philosopher, especially a philosopher interested in ethics, it was the latest in a list that feels far too long of moral wrongs surrounding the industry that it feels increasingly impossible to turn a blind eye towards. I have been a fan since April of 1992, but this may have been the month wrestling and I finally have to part ways.”

49. AUTHENTIC DEMOCRACY & COVID 19: a Postscript on a Pandemic

June 14, 2020 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Book, COVID19, Economics, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Authentic Democracy

“Unfortunately for the world, though helpful to my book, far from illustrating the necessity of government, Covid-19 has served only to support the thesis defended within the pages of Authentic Democracy, proving even further how our current, flawed, political arrangements continue to fail us.“

45a. THERE IS NO ARGUMENT FOR RE-OPENING UK SCHOOLS YET - To Warrant Change, Something Significant Needs To Have Changed

May 11, 2020 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Data, Economics, Education, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Work

“When the stakes are this high (life and death) we need to be able to separate nostalgia and sentiment for what is sensible and what is necessary. “

43. CAPITALISM IS NOT BETTER, JUST EASIER - A Student Considers The Lazy Appeal of a Flawed Economic System

May 04, 2020 by DaN McKee in Economics, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Student Writing

“This is the fundamental foundation of capitalism. It is not the ‘freedom’ of the (not so free) free market or the liberality you get from a government or the ethical right to keep what is yours – it is the simplicity in caring for oneself. “

41. TO CLAP OR TO CRY FOR CARERS? - On The Importance of Being Able To Hold Two Ideas In Our Heads At Once

April 24, 2020 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, COVID19, Charity, Culture, Economics, Ethics, Meaning, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

“By clapping, was I supporting the myth, the propaganda, and the lies which have put so many unnecessarily in harm’s way during this crisis? From the unprotected nurse to their dying patient, infected because they couldn’t stay home for fear of losing their job - each a victim not of Covid-19, but of our political system?”

33. NO TO CHILDREN, YES TO THE PLANET - Should We Subscribe To Ecological Anti-Natalist Views?

February 24, 2020 by DaN McKee in Animal Rights, Death, Economics, Environment, Ethics, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Religion, Student Writing, Vegetarianism

“Ecological anti-natalism is the position that procreation leads to more destruction of our planet and therefore more suffering so it is morally bad, therefore we should abstain from it. I shall argue why we should take this view into account.”

30. REBEL VEGETARIAN - Why It May Be Morally Right For Ethical Vegetarians and Vegans to Eat Burger King and KFC's Plant-Based Products Despite Their Non-Veggie Cooking Methods

January 27, 2020 by DaN McKee in Animal Rights, Economics, Environment, Ethics, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Vegetarianism

“the recent story of Burger King’s “Rebel Whopper” has brought to the forefront of my mind the strange diversity of motivation which make people choose to cut out meat and/or dairy from their diets, and the resulting consequences, and potential for error, within ethical thinking.”

26. OUGHT WE BE PAYING MORE FOR MUSIC? - How A Charity Single Opened My Eyes to Exploitation

December 16, 2019 by DaN McKee in Economics, Ethics, Free, Gifts, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, School, Charity, Pop Culture

“while I currently can listen to all the music in the world that I want to, wherever I am, on any device, through streaming services such as Spotify, the moral philosopher in me begins to ask should I? By not properly compensating the artists I listen to with renumeration for the work they’ve done and the joy it brings me, am I not absolutely complicit in their exploitation? “

22. THE VALUE OF FREE - Why Are We So Distrustful of Getting Something For Nothing?

November 18, 2019 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Meaning, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, School, Student Writing, Free, Gifts, Economics, Improv

“Imagine giving a friend a brand new MacBook for their birthday. It is highly likely they will assume the computer is somehow broken, secondhand, or stolen before they would simply accept that you have spent that much money on them and expect nothing in return. Because when something that good is given away for free, for no reason, it makes no sense in a world where everything has a price and where we have been socialised into a worldview that says money has ultimate value and should be collected, even hoarded, as much as possible. To give something of value away for free is the action of a crazy person. Sensible citizens only part with something of value if it will bring them something of more value in return. At least, that is the story we have been conditioned to tell ourselves.”