Every Profession Will Have Its Rogues, Of

Sci-fi Is Often A Metaphor. I Think It's More The Themes And Questions That Science Fiction Raises Rather Than The Exact Predictions That Should Guide Us.

According To Classical Utilitarianism, The Only Intrinsic Good Is Happiness; The Only Intrinsic Bad Is Pain. That Implies No Intrinsic Value In Preserving Nature, That Preserving An Endangered Plant Is Valuable Only If It Benefits Humans Or Other Animals. Intuitively, That Seems Wrong But Perhaps I Shouldn't Trust My Intuition Here.

An Animal Experiment Cannot Be Justifiable Unless The Experiment Is So Important That The Use Of A Brain-damaged Human Would Be Justifiable.

Had Rumsfeld Said At Any Time 'get Me A Report On What's Going On', He Could Have Had It. You're Right, It Depends On Choices That We Make, Which Parts Of The World We Want To Be In Immediate Contact With.

Were We Incapable Of Empathy – Of Putting Ourselves In The Position Of Others And Seeing That Their Suffering Is Like Our Own – Then Ethical Reasoning Would Lead Nowhere. If Emotion Without Reason Is Blind, Then Reason Without Emotion Is Impotent.