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Ethical Record Articles

The journal began in 1895 and is produced on an monthly basis. Primarily it has provided abstracts and edited essays of the Society’s Sunday Lectures. It has developed into a showcase journal of the Society’s activities and events at Conway Hall.

Prisons in Crisis

The Howard League is an independent charity, a membership organisation that campaigns for less crime, safer communities, fewer people in prison. In 2016, we celebrate our 150th anniversary – having been founded in 1866 by admirers of John Howard, commonly thought of as the first ever prison reformer. FENNER BROCKWAY WAS A PRISON REFORMER It […]

Trident Renewal – The Arguments Against it

Trident is Britain’s nuclear weapon system. The government likes to refer to it as the nuclear ‘deterrent’, but whether or not it actually works as a deterrent is an open question which we shall consider in a moment. What cannot be disputed is that Trident is a weapon system, designed and ready to be used […]

THE CONSOLATIONS OF AUTUMN

Radio, television and Times journalist Hazhir Teimourian gave the keynote speech at the Ethical Society’s Annual Reunion of Kindred Societies a few years ago; he has also spoken to the Society on Sunday mornings on the situation in the Middle East. In 1998, he gave four autobiographical talks on BBC Radio 4, entitled A Kurd’s […]

Is the End of Religion Nigh?

In recent years, more and more commentators have questioned what used to be a given: that modernization and industrialization would inevitably lead to the decline of religion. They point instead to a resurgence of religion and the emergence of so-called ‘post-secular societies’. At the same time, though, people are identifying themselves as non-religious in increasing […]

Man (Dis)connected: Has Technology Sabotaged What It Means To Be Male?

“Man (Dis)connected: how technology has sabotaged what it means to be male” is the title of a book by the 82 year old emeritus prof of  psychology at Stanford University, Philip Zimbardo (famed for the Stanford prison experiment, where students put in the roles of prisoners and guards developed mutual stereotypically brutal relations). It generated […]

Are We Owed a Living?

Interest in universal basic income, that is to say a payment to every individual regardless of work or means, has resurged in the last two to three years. It is an old idea, originally connected to the enclosures and the loss of common land people used for subsistence. It has been called a variety of […]

DEBATE|: “Politics Should Move to the Left”

Tom Rubens, in favour of the Motion. Introductory comment “The Party of the 90%” This contribution delineates the outlook of a political party which does not yet exist, but which could come into being either as a completely new party or as one that is the radically reformed version of an existing party. Regarding the […]

We Need to Talk about Oxbridge

In our society, we hold a common view about what Oxbridge is, but  are not so clear about what Oxbridge does. For example, how come that this Institution is also a multi £B industry? How significant are its links with the Church? Why should the alumni of this Institution be at the centre of the […]

Is Consciousness an Insoluble Problem?

We currently understand very little about how the brain’s hundred thousand million neurons enable us to function, but as technology provides more neurological detail, the mechanisms behind all our various abilities will become intelligible. That’s why philosopher David Chalmers calls this the ‘easy’ problem – it’s potentially soluble. However, the ‘hard’ problem remains: how do […]

Democracy for the 21st Century

The Existing Political Regime Once every five years, our political system enforces an election which costs in excess of £120million. The Obama election in USA cost $7bn, enough to pay for 60,000 nurses. An election only allows us to put a cross on a piece of paper to select candidates who adhere to Party policies […]

The Internet is Changing the World

Entertainment, shopping, communication, information for the curious mind, government services, getting a better deal on your gas bill now all happens online. It’s faster and cheaper than phoning a helpline and you can see and talk to loved ones anywhere in the world at zero cost. Liz Lutgendorff will give an overview on how accessibility […]

How Should we Use Unproven Treatments during an Epidemic?

In 2013, the world began to witness an unprecedented Ebola epidemic in West Africa that is now smoldering. Ebola virus disease has a fatality rate of up to 90%, and there are no proven vaccines or targeted treatments for the disease to date. However, several interventions were in the earliest phases of testing at the […]

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