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Daniel Burkett

Daniel Burkett received his PhD in Philosophy from Rice University, and is currently a Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales. His primary research interests are in ethics and political philosophy – particularly issues surrounding punishment and climate change.

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Environment

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8 Aug 2022

Private Jets and Carbon Emissions – Too Swift to Judge?

Beware: pointing a finger is often just another way of avoiding blame.

photograph of black smoke and forest fire approaching apartments

Environment

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21 Jul 2022

Insurance, Natural Disasters, and the Relevance of Luck

How do we determine those who deserve more than a mere helping hand?

photograph of Star Wars robots on film set

A (Spoiler-Free) Discussion of the Classism and Ableism of Spoilers

Does the fact that there's a persistent class of victim change the nature of an act?

30 May 2022

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photograph of empty hospital bed with curtains closed

On the Morality of Allowing Euthanasia for Those with Mental Illness: Part 2

How should we go about divining what people truly want when their desires appear at odds?

10 May 2022

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photograph of empty hospital beds and drawn curtains

On the Morality of Allowing Euthanasia for Those with Mental Illness: Part 1

What relevant moral considerations might make it inappropriate for us to intervene in the suffering of others?

9 May 2022

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photograph of Los Angeles skyline at dawn

Why the Sunshine Protection Act Is Daylight Robbery

Setting our clocks according to the sun has important implications for public health.

28 Mar 2022

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image of space debris surrounding Earth

Why Starlink Isn’t Leaving Enough Space

What moral concerns ground NASA's concern with SpaceX's satellite system?

10 Mar 2022

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The Pugly Truth

Human-guided breeding is responsible for life-threatening deformity.

24 Feb 2022

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black-and-white photograph of embarrassed child

The Morality of “Sharenting”

Whose interests should speak loudest when considering whether to make all those awkward childhood moments public?

24 Jan 2022

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photograph of cat silhoette at night

Curfews and the Liberty of Cats

Is it time we mount an intervention to keep our feline friends away from the night life?

13 Dec 2021

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photograph of COVID vaccination in outdoor tent

Fair Shares and COVID-19 Booster Shots

What blame do we bear for enjoying the ill-gotten gains secured by our government?

22 Nov 2021

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photograph of heavy duty leaf blowers in operation

Leaf Blowers Suck. Here’s Why.

It's not just the engine emissions that makes leaf removal an environmental harm.

1 Nov 2021

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photograph of masked passengers on subway

Vaccine Hesitancy as Free-Riding

A not insignificant portion of the unvaccinated continue to confound us in their refusal to acknowledge the basic demands of fairness.

8 Oct 2021

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photograph of empty toilet paper rolls stacked

What Toilet Paper Can Teach Us About Climate Change

"Fairness" can be defined in a number of different ways, but reaching consensus on the right terminology won't matter if there's nothing left to conserve.

23 Sep 2021

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photograph of NYC at rush hour

The Worst Thing You Can Do for Climate Change

We seem to be accelerating toward hard caps and milestones while the problem is only compounding.

8 Sep 2021

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photograph of children playing with LEGOs in the grass

LEGO and the Building Blocks of Environmental Salvation

How might we explain the space between going above and beyond or merely doing what's expected?

16 Aug 2021

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photograph of water pollution with skyscrapers on opposite shoreline

Why Trivial Contributions to the Climate Crisis Still Count

The emphasis we place on different countries' responsibility for climate change may be doing more harm than good.

12 Aug 2021

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