Category Archives: Fordham University Student Voices

Welcome Fall 2016 Master’s Students!

Posted on September 21, 2016 | 1 comment

The Ethics and Society blog is delighted to welcome the following candidates to Fordham University’s Master of Arts in Ethics and Society:

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Kelly Collins

Kelly Collins graduated in 2011 with a BS in Philosophy and Political Science from Florida State University.  After moving to New York City shortly after graduation, she began working as a legal assistant in a well-known international law firm.  While pursuing her MA in Ethics and Society, Kelly hopes to utilize real-world skills to analyze and reflect upon today’s moral dilemmas.

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Tim Colvin

Tim Colvin is currently a senior at Fordham University from Kings Park, New York. He is a dual major in Political Science and Classical Civilization with a minor in Philosophy. Tim is interested in attending law school and hopes to apply a background in ethics in practice after completing the MA in Ethics and Society.

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Is Happiness the Greatest Good?

Posted on September 7, 2016 | Leave a comment

STUDENT VOICES

By Christopher S. Kovel, M.A.

One of the primary goals for studying ethics (or creating ethical systems) is to find normative ways to live one’s life that would bring about greatest amount of the good. The “good,” dating back at least to Plato, has been consistently talked about in terms of maximizing “happiness” (or subjective well-being).

The creation of large scale social orders is often viewed as one of the most important ethical developments in history. After farming emancipated our ancestors from the living in the state of nature, sedentary social life swept through the world. The advent of agriculture combined with more cohesive social institutions allowed large groups of people to live and work together and created the modern world.

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What Would Aristotle Say About the Ethics of Publicly Subsidized Puberty-Blockers?

Posted on June 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

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STUDENT VOICES

By Melani Shahin

In October 2014, Oregon became one of the few states to cover hormone suppressant therapy for transgender minors under Medicaid. The purpose of this treatment is to temporarily suppress puberty in transgender young people via hormone suppressant drugs, such as Lupron. While Oregon’s coverage of puberty blockers for minors under the state Medicaid plan increases the accessibility of this treatment, an interesting ethical question emerges for taxpayers, healthcare providers, and families: can minors truly give informed consent to this kind of medical treatment?

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Why Science Denial is Immoral

Posted on May 12, 2016 | 1 comment

By Christopher S. Kovel, M.A.

Today’s society is built and shaped by technology and scientific discovery but, surprisingly, pervading scientific denial lingers. Irrational skepticism and flat-out denial of uncontroversial theories is not just a rebuke of the facts of science and an insult to toiling scientists in their respective fields, but should also be seen as a moral dereliction, capable of great harm if not remedied.

According to recent Gallup polls, two scientific theories in particular – evolution and anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change – struggle to gain widespread national acceptance. In 2014, 42% of Americans said they believe that God created humans in their present form (i.e. evolution never occurred). In the same poll, another 31% said they accept that humans evolved, but under God’s supervision and direction (commonly referred to as intelligent design). Only 19% said they believe the current scientific explanation of the origins of humans—that we evolved like every other organism on earth, through a natural process following biological principles.

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Donald Trump, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace Ethics

Posted on April 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

STUDENT VOICES

By Emily Jenab

Donald Trump is the physical manifestation of a unique brand of modern racism that has been festering within the Republican Party for years – cumulating, now, in their very own monster. He is the screaming id of our nation; a leader who has cemented himself through an explicitly discriminatory campaign, that at all at once is anti-women, anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim.

Trump promises to make America great again, cognizant, of course, of the fact that for many years our country was only great for white, able-bodied, cis men. He is a palpably scary force in that he provides a sense of legitimacy to the darkest corners of our society. He seems to revel in the production of it all: removing people of color from his rallies, and calling for the “good old days” when punches could be thrown, continuously turning to incendiary tactics.

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Study shows that marijuana has a significant role in relieving PTSD symptoms in combat veterans, more research on the way

Posted on March 16, 2016 | Leave a comment

STUDENT VOICES

By: Kyle Pritz

The scantiness of marijuana research in the United States of America shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The lack of research is tremendous. However, with new decriminalizing laws budding up, the role of marijuana usage in the symptomatic relief of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic disorders is receiving uncustomary attention in the United States.

In a study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs in 2014, two American psychologists based at SUNY Albany, Jamie Bolles and Mitchell Earleywine, investigated the relationship between marijuana, expectancies, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Using an online questionnaire and maintaining anonymity to enhance the response rate, Earleywine & Bolles surveyed more than 650 combat-exposed, male veterans who used marijuana at least once per week.

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Ethical Formation: Does Beyoncé’s New Video Profit from Imagery of Hurricane Katrina?

Posted on March 14, 2016 | 1 comment

STUDENT VOICES

By: Emily Jenab

When Beyoncé dropped her recent single “Formation,” she received notable praise for her integration of black pride into mainstream music. However, she also received criticism from natives of New Orleans, who were appalled at watching their trauma from Hurricane Katrina unfold in a 5-minute video. There are stories, histories, narratives, that cannot be told in minutes – pain that cannot be adequately addressed in a short video.

This raises questions about ethics and morals when it comes to capitalizing on the use of other’s stories of pain for success, similar to those raised in a previous post on the ethics of storytelling in Humans of New York.

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