TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: Practical Ethics Bites

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9 episodes
2014 to 2015
Median: 18 minutes
Collection: Philosophy

Description (podcaster-provided):

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

This podcast offers short, classroom-oriented conversations on practical ethics, aimed at UK school pupils studying philosophy. Each episode features an academic associated with Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics discussing a focused moral question in an accessible interview format.

Across the series, there is a strong emphasis on applied issues in bioethics and medical ethics. Topics include the moral status of embryos, the permissibility of genetic engineering in early human development, reproductive choices such as sex selection, and disputes about abortion framed in terms of competing rights and interests. End-of-life decision-making is another recurring theme, with discussion of euthanasia and the ethical and legal considerations that surround it.

The podcast also examines sexuality and sexual orientation, considering questions about whether orientation is chosen, how we should think about what is “natural,” and what ethical conclusions (if any) follow from claims about naturalness.

Alongside these applied debates, the series introduces core ideas from moral philosophy that help structure ethical reasoning. It explores how free will relates to moral responsibility and blameworthiness, and it provides an introduction to virtue ethics as a major approach to evaluating character and conduct.

Political and social ethics appear as well, including reflection on whether war can ever meet ethical standards and how violence might be justified or condemned. Overall, the episodes present ethical dilemmas, clarify key concepts, and map out arguments that students and teachers can use to think critically about real-world moral controversies.