Practical Philosophy
Moral Luck Can Shape the Situation Before Anyone Makes a Choice
Explore circumstantial moral luck by asking how situations people did not choose affect the moral tests they encounter.
REASONS · VALUES · CHOICES
Journal
Critical Thinking
Benford’s Law Can Flag a Question, Not Prove Fraud
Benford’s law describes a possible pattern in leading digits. An unusual digit count needs investigation, not an automatic accusation of fraud.
Everyday Reasoning
Natural Does Not Automatically Mean Safe, Fair or Better
Examine what a claim of naturalness actually establishes, and separate an object’s origin from evidence about its safety, usefulness or ethical value.
Reasoning in Practice
A Slippery-Slope Argument Needs Evidence Between Its Steps
Examine a slippery-slope claim by separating its proposed steps, testing the causal links and asking what safeguards could interrupt the predicted outcome.
Everyday Ethics
A Fair Lottery Requires More Than Drawing a Name From a Hat
A lottery can distribute a scarce opportunity impartially only after the group has examined eligibility, equal chances and the fairness of the process.
Everyday Ethics
A Prediction and a Promise Create Different Responsibilities
Separate a prediction about what may happen from a promise someone is being invited to rely on.
Everyday Reasoning
A Generalisation Needs More Than One Memorable Example
A memorable story can suggest a question without proving a general rule. Test the scope of everyday claims with counterexamples and comparison cases.
Clear Reasoning
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Ask Different Questions
Use everyday examples to distinguish a condition that must be present from one that is enough to establish a result.
Practical Philosophy
A Thought Experiment Tests an Idea Without Becoming a Real Event
Use a thought experiment to examine a principle, change one assumption at a time and avoid presenting an imagined case as evidence about real behaviour.