Q&A Webcast Episode: 2 October 2011
In this 2 October 2011 episode of Q&A Webcast, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered four questions on fear of death, using the do not call registry, genetic influences on thinking, the morality of selling your body, and more in an hour-long broadcast. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers was the audio co-host.
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My News of the Week: Like last week, I've been tending to Paul and programming the new web site for this webcast. Yesterday was also "Hay Day Chez Hsieh"!
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Segments: 2 October 2011
Question 1: Fear of Death (2:43)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on fear of death.
Should death be feared? Why or why not? Also, why do most people fear death? How can a person overcome that, if ever?
My Answer, In Brief: A person actually facing own death might reasonably fear the pain of dying or regret that his life will be cut short. However, others should not fear those possibilities just because they might happen someday, nor ever fear what would happen in the fantasy of an afterlife.
Tags: Afterlife, Atheism, Death, Emotions, Life, Psychology, Religion
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Question 2: Using the Do Not Call Registry (13:34)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on using the do not call registry.
Should the "Do Not Call" Registry exist? The National Do Not Call Registry was established in 2003, and it's run by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. Is this legitimate? Does a person have a right not to be called by solicitors and other unwanted persons? Given that there was no real attempt to come up with a private, market-based solution for the issue of unwanted solicitations, was this a legitimate case of "market failure"? Should advocates of free markets put themselves on the "Do Not Call" list and/or report violators thereof? Why shouldn't a person just hang up?
My Answer, In Brief: Telemarketers do not have a right to use your telephones and telephone lines against your will. In a free society, private methods could and should be used to protect yourself against trespasses by telemarketers, but in the meantime, adding yourself to the government's Do Not Call List is a legitimate way to announce that telemarketers are not welcome to call you.
Tags: Business, Law, Politics, Property, Rights, Technology
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Question 3: Genetic Influences on Thinking (33:46)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on genetic influences on thinking.
Do our genes affect our reasoning? Evolution makes fruit taste sweet and burning human flesh smell awful. Presumably, evolution can hard wire pleasures and pains because interaction with that thing has caused our ancestors to live longer or die earlier. Wouldn't this same process make certain actions easier or more difficult, such as sacrificing yourself to save your child versus watching your child die? Couldn't evolution affect that decision by making focus more difficult, so that a person is easier impelled by his immediate emotions?
My Answer, In Brief: While it's easy and popular to appeal to genetics to explain human behavior, such explanations are almost always implausible on closer inspection.
Tags: Evolution, Free Will, Psychology, Rationality, Science, Values
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Question 4: The Morality of Selling Your Body (46:09)
In this segment, Dr. Diana Hsieh answered a question on the morality of selling your body.
Is it moral to sell your body? Selling our bodies or certain parts of them are perfectly acceptable in our society, such as being an egg or sperm donor, being a pregnancy surrogate, or selling hair. But others are condemned, such as prostitution or selling organs. Where should the line be drawn? When is it moral to sell a part of oneself – and why?
My Answer, In Brief: There's nothing wrong with "selling your body" per se, since all productive work involves the body. The moral questions with any and all work are primarily (1) Does it violate anyone's rights? and (2) Will I be damaging or sacrificing myself, physically or psychologically, in the long term?
Tags: Business, Career, Ethics, Medicine, Sex
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Rapid Fire Questions (57:18)
- How does your answer on genetic influences on thinking apply to homosexuality?
- What's the difference between focus and concentration?
- Why should public employees to be represented by labor unions, if at all?
- Is having an emergency pack in case of a natural disaster/society collapsing irrational?
- How do you handle a spouse who insists upon taking the child to church when the spouse knows your opposition to religion?
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Conclusion (1:07:50)
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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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