Tag: Philosophy
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Robots are ‘electronic persons’, says EU
Lawmakers should give robots rights and a legal status, according to a group of MEPs. Is it immoral to harm a robot? Or should human needs always come before those of machines?
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New call for policy to be about happiness
Good mental health and having a partner make people happier than doubling their income, a new study has found. Could this lead to a new politics, in which well-being comes before money?
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The sting: England manager’s firing ‘unfair’
Sam Allardyce waited years to manage England’s football team. Last night he was sacked after one game. An undercover operation cost him the role. A fair cop, or a sinister intrusion?
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Universities under fire for ‘babying’ students
Thousands of students will be greeted by educational workshops and new rules on their behaviour when they start university and college this month. Is this repressive coddling of the young?
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The future: godlike elites and useless masses
Step one: Uber launches a driverless car fleet in Pittsburgh. Step two: machines take over and millions become useless. Almost precisely as one brilliant academic has just predicted.
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Privacy row after Clinton pneumonia diagnosis
Hillary Clinton’s health is in doubt after she stumbled out of an event on Sunday. Now even some allies have called on her to be less secretive. How transparent should our politicians be?
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The athlete who wants to end her own life
She is a brilliant competitor with three Paralympic medals to her name. Yet Marieke Vervoort is set on assisted suicide. Is this inspirational, or a dangerous precedent for others?
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Pep versus Jose: beauty against the beast
Football’s two most famous managers restart their feud this weekend as Manchester United play Manchester City. Which is better: Mourinho’s pragmatism or Guardiola’s idealism?
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Champions celebrated as glorious Olympics end
The Rio Olympics are over; 306 gold medals have been won, but thousands of athletes have left empty-handed. Are the Games inspirational because they harshly divide winners from losers?
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'Immortal' Bolt and Phelps bow out with golds
The two greatest Olympians of the current age have won gold medals again. As Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps prepare to retire, who is more impressive: the rapid Bolt or the relentless Phelps?
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Global freedom in retreat as autocracy spreads
A former UK foreign secretary says global liberty is ‘in retreat’. Some expected liberal values to spread this century. But growing evidence suggests freedom’s enemies are gaining ground.
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Human nature tested as 23 people ‘start again’
Eden has been dubbed ‘the most extreme reality TV show yet’. Contestants will spend a year starting a new society from scratch. Are they doomed to fail — or is human...
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‘All overseas invasions should be banned!'
Some experts have seized on this week’s withering Chilcot report to criticise the policy of ‘regime change’ which started it. Should we resolve never to invade another country again?
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A devastating defeat for political elites
All over the developed world the uprising against the ‘establishment’ is gathering pace. Should we be glad? How should we interpret it? And what message should we try to learn from it?
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Fire starters, builders: meet the neanderthals
A cave in the south of France has revealed secrets from a neanderthal society. Our close relations could do things we thought only humans were capable of. Is our species really unique?