The Prindle Institute for Ethics

Ai Weiwei’s Photo Reenacting a Child Refugee’s Death Should Not Exist (Hyperallergic) by Nitasha Dhillon “Why was this image created, and why is it circulating?” What happens next in Aleppo will shape Europe’s future (Guardian) Natalie Nougayrède “It is hardly a coincidence that the bombardment of Aleppo, a symbol of the 2011 anti-Assad revolution, started … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: February 11, 2016"

Letter of Recommendation: Cracker Barrel (New York Times Magazine) by Jia Tolentino “Based on my recent investigations, it’s possible to spend an hour, as an adult of middlingly sound mind, enthralled by the offerings of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, the soul of the Cracker Barrel experience, a buffet of slightly cranky kitsch.” Why … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: February 4, 2016"

We’ll be taking a short break for the holidays, but we’ll return the first week in January with more engaging ethics content. Until we see you again, take a look at our list of popular posts and catch up on articles you might have missed this year. “Resilience, an ideal that hurts more than it … Continue reading "The Prindle Post’s Greatest Hits 2015"

Focus Fracas (Chronicle of Higher Education) by Frank Furedi “Serious reading, I’m told, has become a lost art. Indeed, the precarious status of people’s attention has acquired the status of conventional truth.” The Necessary Recklessness of Campus Protests (Atlantic) by Nshira Turkson “Over the past few weeks, college students in the U.S. and abroad have … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: December 17, 2015"

29 Scholarly Societies’ Statement on ‘Campus Carry’ (Inside Higher Ed) “Twenty-nine scholarly societies on Monday issued a joint statement opposing the Texas “campus carry” law that will significantly expand the right to carry arms on public university campuses.” How Mark Zuckerberg’s Altruism Helps Himself (New York Times) by Jesse Eisinger [PRO PUBLICA] “Mark Zuckerberg did … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: December 10, 2015"

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When Free Speech Becomes a Political Weapon (Chronicle of Higher Education) by Kate Manne and Jason Stanley “The notion of freedom of speech tends to be ambiguous. It is used to refer to both the political right it enshrines, and the ethical ideal it embodies.” Did the media ignore the Beirut bombings? Or did readers? … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: November 19, 2015"

A clash between administrators and students at Yale went viral. Why that is unfortunate for all concerned. (Washington Post) by Daniel W. Drezner “As you can see, I was one of the people who found the op-ed problematic. Indeed, it’s problematic in many of the ways that Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt chronicled in an Atlantic … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: November 12, 2015"

Jeb Bush has a liberal arts degree. It didn’t stop him from belittling liberal arts majors. (Washington Post) by Valerie Strauss “Not surprisingly, liberal arts majors, especially psychology majors, were not amused.” The Narrative Frays for Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes (New York Times) by James B. Stewart “Her wealth and fame rest almost entirely on … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: November 5, 2015"

Women’s Groups Urge Colleges and Government to Rein In Yik Yak (The Chronicle of Higher Education) by Peter Schmidt “Seventy-two women’s and civil-rights groups on Wednesday announced a campaign to enlist the federal government in pressuring colleges to protect students from harassment via anonymous social-media applications like Yik Yak.” Hummus Diplomacy: Israeli Cafe Discounts Meals … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: October 29, 2015"

Self-Driving Cars Hit the Streets, Sort Of (NPR) by Aarti Shahani “Just as I’m lifting my foot from the accelerator, I feel the steering wheel take on a life of its own. I jerk my hands away, surprised. My hands and feet are doing nothing and the car is moving.” For Students Accused of Campus … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: October 22, 2015"

An Oklahoma Execution Done Wrong (Atlantic) by Matt Ford “Oklahoma used the wrong drug to execute Charles Warner in January, according to autopsy records obtained by the The Oklahoman on Thursday.” Victimhood is a real, brutal fact, and Ben Carson’s Holocaust logic denies that (Guardian) Gayatri Devi “The denial of “victimhood” to those who have … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: October 15, 2015"

Everyone you know will be able to rate you on the terrifying ‘Yelp for people’ — whether you want them to or not (Washington Post) by Caitlin Dewey “You can already rate restaurants, hotels, movies, college classes, government agencies and bowel movements online. So the most surprising thing about Peeple — basically Yelp, but for … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: October 8, 2015"

Skin Feeling (New Inquiry) by Sofia Samatar “What it is to be encountered as a surface, to be constantly exposed as something you are not.” Fact Check: Your Demand for Statistical Proof is Racist (The Society Pages) by Candice Lanuis “This past December, most major American news outlets ran a story about police shooting statistics … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: October 1, 2015"

More Food Banks Serve Hungry College Students (CNN) Katie Lobosco “They may be studying at high-priced institutions, but a growing number of U.S. college students rely on food pantries for their next meal.” It’s Time to Get Serious about Reducing Food Waste, Feds Say (NPR) by Allison Aubrey “We consumers let a lot of food … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: September 24, 2015"

6 Things You Should Know about the Iran Nuclear Deal (Politifact) by Linda Qiu “With 41 Senate Democrats backing the historic agreement between Iran and five world powers, the Iran nuclear deal is on its way to becoming a done deal, notching a foreign-policy win for President Barack Obama…The 159-page deal may hinge on nuclear physics, but … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: September 17, 2015"

Brutal Images of Syrian Boy Drowned Off Turkey Must Be Seen, Activists Say (New York Times) by Robert Mackey “A sense of weary resignation at the plight of the Syrians — and hundreds of thousands of other refugees and migrants taking desperate risks to reach the safety of Europe — was briefly punctured by horrifying images of one … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: September 10, 2015"

The Ethics of Watching and Sharing Violent Viral Videos (Vice) by Allie Conti “Questions about whether to publish upsetting content used to be the purview of media outlets…but thanks to social media everyone gets to decide whether to share graphic, disturbing videos with their followers and friends.” Taking My Parents to College (New York Times) by Jennine … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: September 3, 2015"

The Hell You Say (New Yorker) by Kelefa Sanneh “The new battles over free speech are fierce, but who is censoring whom?” How Google Could Rig the 2016 Election (Politico Magazine) by Robert Epstein “America’s next president could be eased into office not just by TV ads or speeches, but by Google’s secret decisions, and … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: August 27, 2015"

Pics or It Didn’t Happen (Medium) by John de Jong “Is Photography Even a Healthy Pastime? Considering Susan Sontag’s ‘On Photography’” The Movement Against Solitary Confinement (New York Magazine) by Benjamin Wallace Wells “Why this focus now? For most of the past half-century, the single moral cause of the prison-reform movement, to the degree that such a … Continue reading "What We’re Reading: August 20, 2015"