Bitesize ethics 2022

This online summer programme provides a short introduction to practical ethics, looking at some of the issues that concern philosophers and the public alike today, and offering an insight in to the current research of academics at the Oxford Uehiro Centre.
Beginning with a general introduction to practical ethics, also known as applied philosophy, the series continues each Wednesday looking at the themes of ethics in public health policy, extinction, digital persuasion, emerging technologies, consciousness, direct climate action, procreation and neurocorrection, finishing with a wrap-up discussion asking what is next for practical ethics.

Registration is free and no prior experience or study is necessary. Each 45-minute class will take place online via Zoom on Wednesday lunchtimes, and participation in the informal Q&As and discussion sessions following each week’s presentations is warmly encouraged.

The 2022 programme has now finished. Videos of the teaching for this year are available below. If you are interested in joining the mailing list for information about future courses please email with your preferred email address or use the registration widget below. 

Time: 12:30-13:15

Tutor: Emma Dore-Horgan 

What do we mean by ‘practical ethics’? What sorts of real-world ethical problems are practical ethicists concerned with?
In this introductory session, we will discuss the nature of practical ethics and its major subfields. We will then raise and discuss some key issues and major debates in practical ethics that concern philosophers and the public alike today.

Time: 12:30-13:15

Tutor: Gary O'Brien

Like humans, animals are sentient beings capable of feeling pleasure and pain, along with a range of positive and negative emotional states. Recognition of this fact has led ethicists to question the morality of our use of non-human animals for food, research, clothing, and entertainment. If animal wellbeing matters though, it matters for wild animals as well as domesticated ones. In this talk I will introduce the developing field of Wild Animal Ethics. I will present evidence suggesting that, contrary to our idyllic picture of nature, life in the wild is often extremely difficult, and that suffering and premature death from starvation, disease, and predation are the norm rather than the exception. If this is right then the question of intervening in nature to improve the wellbeing of wild animals arises. I will argue that the scale and severity of the suffering endured by wild animals generates a duty for human beings to help them.

Time: 12:30-13:15

Tutor: Katrien Devolder

Laziness bothers us: we frequently accuse others, and ourselves, of being lazy. Moreover, we typically regard laziness not only as a personal failing, but also a moral one. Importantly, the laziness label is more swiftly ascribed to specific groups (e.g., people with obesity), who can suffer from discrimination as a result. In this talk, we will explore the concept of laziness, and whether there is a need to rethink our beliefs and attitudes regarding laziness.

Time: 12:30-13:15

Tutor: Hazem Zohny

The technology to merge minds is incoming. Already, brain-to-brain interfaces can allow us to transfer information directly to the minds of others, and even control their bodies. This technology has huge implications for how we act, learn and communicate, and poses big questions for some of the concepts underpinning ethics, like autonomy, responsibility and personal identity. In the future, humanity may have the option to morph into a hivemind society – should you join it?