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408The Medical Ethics of Miracle MaxIn Richard Greene & Rachel Robison-Greene (eds.), The Princess Bride and Philosophy: Inconceivable!, Open Court. pp. 193-203. 2015.Miracle Max, it seems, is the only remaining miracle worker in all of Florin. Among other things, this means that he (unlike anyone else) can resurrect the recently dead, at least in certain circumstances. Max’s peculiar talents come with significant perks (for example, he can basically set his own prices!), but they also raise a number of ethical dilemmas that range from the merely amusing to the truly perplexing: How much about Max’s “methods” does he need to reveal to his patients? Is it real…Read more
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284You Can't Choose Your Family: Impartial Morality and Personal Obligations in AliasIn Patricia Brace & Robert Arp (eds.), The Philosophy of J. J. Abrams, The University Press of Kentucky. pp. 173-189. 2014.In this essay, I critically examine the ways in which the characters of Alias attempt to balance their impartial moral obligations (e.g. duties toward humanity) and their personal obligations (e.g. duties toward one's children). I specifically examine three areas of conflict: (1) choices between saving loved ones and maximizing consequences, (2) choices to maintain or sever relationships with characters who are vicious or immoral, and (3) choices to seek or not seek revenge on the behalf of lov…Read more
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913Evolution and Neuroethics in the Hyperion CantosJournal of Cognition and Neuroethics 3 (3). 2015.In this article, I use science-fiction scenarios drawn from Dan Simmons’ “Hyperion Cantos” (Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion) to explore a cluster of issues related to the evolutionary history and neural bases of human moral cognition, and the moral desirability of improving our ability to make moral decisions by techniques of neuroengineering. I begin by sketching a picture of what recent research can teach us about the character of human moral psychology, with a p…Read more
Brendan Shea
Rochester Community And Technical College
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Rochester Community And Technical CollegeDepartment of PhilosophyAssociate Professor
Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Philosophy of Biology |
General Philosophy of Science |