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Can a disclosure be ethically defensible even when the law prohibits it?

A fictional employee believes the public needs to know about serious wrongdoing, but disclosure is legally restricted. The ethical question concerns the harm prevented, the harm caused, and the alternatives available. A legal accusation is a different kind of judgment; the U.S. government’s 2013 charges against Edward Snowden illustrate why an allegation should not be confused with a verdict.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What would make disclosure proportionate to the wrongdoing?
  • Could a less harmful route achieve the same public benefit?

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Ethics and philosophy

When does a conclusion follow, and when is it a prediction?

A rule can tell you what must follow if its premises are true. A pattern in observations can suggest what you may find next. Deduction and induction make these different kinds of move: a valid deduction still needs true premises, while further observations can overturn an inductive generalization.

3–5 min

When does a conclusion follow, and when is it a prediction?

Ethics and philosophy3–5 minA rule can tell you what must follow if its premises are true. A pattern in observations can suggest what you may find next. Deduction and induction make these different kinds of move: a valid deduction still needs true premises, while further observations can overturn an inductive generalization.

Ethics and philosophy

Why can two trolley dilemmas feel so different?

Two imagined choices can save the same number of people yet feel morally different. Redirecting a runaway trolley and using a person to stop it raise questions about intentions, duties, and whether a good result can justify the means.

3–7 min

Why can two trolley dilemmas feel so different?

Ethics and philosophy3–7 minTwo imagined choices can save the same number of people yet feel morally different. Redirecting a runaway trolley and using a person to stop it raise questions about intentions, duties, and whether a good result can justify the means.

Ethics and philosophy

Is the red you see the same red that I see?

We can agree that a tomato is red and choose the same matching paint. Does that agreement show that red feels the same to each of us? The puzzle separates what we can compare publicly from what another person’s experience is like.

4–6 min

Is the red you see the same red that I see?

Ethics and philosophy4–6 minWe can agree that a tomato is red and choose the same matching paint. Does that agreement show that red feels the same to each of us? The puzzle separates what we can compare publicly from what another person’s experience is like.

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