Q&A Webcast Episode: 31 July 2011
In this 31 July 2011 episode of Q&A Webcast, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered four questions on the morality of reverse engineering, atheists singing religious music, this-worldly success of faith-driven people, police lying to suspects, and more in an hour-long broadcast. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers was the audio co-host.
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Segments: 31 July 2011
Question 1: The Morality of Reverse Engineering (5:12)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on the morality of reverse engineering.
Is it immoral to reverse-engineer a product? Is it wrong to take apart a product, improve it, and then sell this new product to others (or use it for yourself)? Is this considered theft or just productive work?
My Answer, In Brief: The morality of reverse engineering largely depends on whether the product is protected by copyright and/or patents. In other words, are you violating someone's intellectual property or not?
Tags: Business, Ethics, Intellectual Property, Law, Politics, Property, Rights, Technology
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Question 2: Atheists Singing Religious Music (20:51)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on atheists singing religious music.
Is it moral for atheists to perform religious music? I love to sing classical music, and that usually means performing with a group that does religious music, including Catholic mass and other religious songs. Some of these groups are secular and perform it for the artistic value alone, but other groups are explicitly religious, such as those affiliated with a church. Is it wrong for an atheist like me to join either of these types of groups?
My Answer, In Brief: Given our present and past cultural context, to sing religious music is not an implicit endorsement of religion – unless purpose of performance to inspire religious belief.
Tags: Art, Atheism, Christianity, Music, Religion, Sanction
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Question 3: This-Worldly Success of Faith-Driven People (28:31)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on this-worldly success of faith-driven people.
Why do some people of faith survive and even flourish? If reason is required for life, and faith abdicates reason, then how can anyone who has faith live and prosper? In particular, how do some devoutly religious people manage to be so productive and creative in business?
My Answer, In Brief: Christians today are not ideologically consistent: they're not fully driven by faith. Instead, they are compartmentalized – and that explains the success of some of them.
Tags: Business, Epistemology, Ethics, Faith, Rationality, Religion, Wealth
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Question 4: Police Lying to Suspects (37:26)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on police lying to suspects.
Should the police lie to suspects in the course of an investigation? Police routinely do this, usually in order to trick people into admitting something or revealing information they would normally not reveal. Note that the people they lie to may not have been convicted of any crime, and are merely "persons of interest" or suspects. Is this routine constant lying moral? What do you think it does to the policeman's character after many years?
My Answer, In Brief: To suppose that the police must never misrepresent the facts in a criminal investigation is wrong – and rationalistic. However, precisely because the overriding goal must be the discovery of the truth about the crime, there are and ought to be limits about what the police can lie about.
Tags: Crime, Ethics, Honesty, Justice, Law, Psychology
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Rapid Fire Questions (54:09)
- Should police be allowed to conduct sting operations to catch people committing illegal acts?
- What should happen to cops that cross the line and violate people's rights?
- Should a country permit reverse-engineering of the intellectual property of the enemy in wartime?
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Conclusion (58:23)
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About Philosophy in Action Q&A Webcast
Every Sunday morning, philosopher Dr. Diana Hsieh answers four meaty questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life in her live hour-long internet radio show, Philosophy in Action Advice Radio. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers co-hosts the show. The audience can ask follow-up questions and make comments in the text-based chat.
You can listen to Philosophy in Action broadcasts as podcasts by subscribing to the Philosophy in Action's Podcast RSS Feeds. Be sure to sign up for the Newsletter and connect on social media.
You can also peruse the show archives, listening to whole episodes or just selected segments. The show archives are sorted by date and by topic.
For regular updates, commentary, and humor from Dr. Diana Hsieh, visit her blog NoodleFood, and subscribe to its rss feed.
Dr. Diana Hsieh is a philosopher specializing in practical ethics. She received her Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. Her dissertation argued that Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck" can be resolved by an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility. She began podcasting in 2009, then webcasting in 2010.
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