On Sunday’s episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, Greg Perkins and I answered questions on the ethics of open relationships, innate personality, conceiving again to save a child, the justice of alimony payments, and more. The podcast of that episode is now available for streaming or downloading.

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Whole Podcast: 26 May 2013

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Podcast Segments: 26 May 2013

You can download or listen to my answers to individual questions from this episode below.

Introduction

My News of the Week: I’m with Greg, live before an audience at ATLOSCon! It’s historic!

Question 1: The Ethics of Open Relationships

Question: Can open relationships be moral? Can it ever be moral to have sex with someone else while in a relationship, assuming that you’re honest with everyone involved? If not, why not? If so, what might be some of the pitfalls to be aware of? For example, should the criteria for selecting sexual partners be stricter than if you were single? How should you navigate the tricky territory of opening a previously closed relationship?

My Answer, In Brief: Open relationships can be beneficial for certain people in certain contexts. Yet they have major pitfalls, and people need to be very aware of those dangers before opening their relationship to multiple partners.

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To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 2: Innate Personality

Question: Can personality be innate? In past shows, you’ve indicated that you think that some aspects of personality are innate, rather than acquired by experience. What does that mean? What is the evidence for that view? Moreover, wouldn’t that be a form of determinism? Wouldn’t that violate the principle that every person is born a “blank slate”?

My Answer, In Brief: We have good reason to think that some personality is innate, and that doesn’t conflict with free will or tabula rasa.

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To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 3: Conceiving Again to Save a Child

Question: Is it wrong for parents to have another baby to save the life of their sick child? In 1990, Marissa Ayala was born in the hope that she might be able to save her 16-year-old sister Anissa from a rare form of leukemia. (The parents went to extraordinary lengths to conceive.) Happily, Marissa was a suitable bone marrow donor, and Anissa’s life was saved. At the time, many people criticized the decision as “baby farming” and treating the new baby as a “biological resupply vehicle.” Yet today, the Ayalas are a close family, Anissa is alive and well, and Marissa is happy to have been born. Were the Ayalas wrong to attempt to save the life of one child by having another? What moral premises would lead a person to condemn this act?

My Answer, In Brief: Other things being equal, for parents to save the life of one child by conceiving another, in the hopes of that new child being a bone marrow match, is perfectly moral and proper.

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To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 4: The Justice of Alimony Payments

Question: Should alimony payments upon divorce be abolished? Traditionally, a man was obliged to financially support his ex-wife upon divorce. Recent reforms have decreased the amount and duration of alimony in some states, as well as made it gender neutral (in theory). But are such payments ever justifiable? If so, under what conditions?

My Answer, In Brief: When a couple divorces, alimony should be paid if required by contract. If no such contract exists, then the courts should award alimony in the rare cases of an unequal investment during the marriage.

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To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Rapid Fire Questions

Questions:

  • How does personality relate to psychoepistemology?
  • Given the anti-gay bigots use the term “homosexual” as a means of denigration, should non-bigoted people refrain from using the term?
  • When, if ever, are deductive applications of Objectivist principles part of Objectivism? In particular, what’s the status of arguments on current events, such as the controversy over the NYC Mosque? If they’re not part of the philosophy, then are they nothing more than personal opinions?

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  • Start Time: 1:00:27
  • Duration: 12:32
  • Download: MP3 Segment

To comment on these questions or my answers, visit its comment thread.

Conclusion

Be sure to check out the topics scheduled for upcoming episodes! Don’t forget to submit and vote on questions for future episodes too!

  • Start Time: 1:12:59


About Philosophy in Action Radio

Philosophy in Action Radio focuses on the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. It broadcasts live on most Sunday mornings and many Thursday evenings over the internet. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.

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