Should we renew Trident, Britain’s nuclear deterrent? If we have disposable income, should we donate a per centage of it to charity? What do you say to a friend who travels by air rather than land given its carbon footprint?
These are just some of the fascinating questions posed at our annual ‘ethical dilemmas in the pub’ session in January, at the Rose in New Cross.
And my favourite: Is it right to tell children that Father Christmas is real when it is a lie? Wonderful questions that brought out real concerns on both sides and made us rethink what we thought we knew. Issues which took us to the heart of current affairs – role of government, climate change – and timeless philosophical questions about personal responsibility, the boundaries between lies, myths and art and what it is to be human…
Even though freedom of speech is fundamental, aren’t there situations where people should be protected from insults? Should victims have a say in perpetrators’ sentences? Should the Labour Party elect a woman as its next leader? Some of the questions elicited clear answers at first, only to yield to complications on examination. Well done everyone who came for your challenging dilemmas!
