Class Links Post

One of the key advantages of blogging is that it encourages the participation of an online community of readers, whose input and comments help shape and refine points made in any given post through a dialectical process. On this note, here is a brief introduction to three other blogs worth visiting:

Nature vs. Nurture

In this blog, the writer tries to come to a satisfactory conclusion to the question of how “human behaviour is shaped, learned and acquired”. The blog is a fascinating read for people - like myself - who have at best a vague understanding of the topic, and the writer’s structured presentation of both sides of the “nature-nurture” debate helps to frame the context of the issue effectively.

What is further interesting is that the blog approaches the “nature-nurture” debate through a contextualisation of the dichotomy in specific cases, from personality development and intelligence to criminal and divorce behaviours. These help to problematize the dichotomous approach implicit in conventional understandings of the “nature-nurture” argument and aids in the writer’s development of a more nuanced position on the topic. Despite making the concession that factors associated with both processes of “nature” and “nurture” influence our behaviour to some extent, the writer leans towards the argument that the way we behave is more a product of the process by which we are nurtured.

Untitled

Named with reference to the song about underaged drinking by popular music group Simple Plan, this blog deals with the issue of underaged drinking in America and questions if the current focus on determining an arbitrary legal age for drinking diverts attention from the more pressing problems of drunk driving, binge drinking, and an adequate address of the social attitudes underpinning teenage drinking behaviour.

The appeal of this blog lies in the fact that the writer goes beyond making a “numerical argument over age”, which avoids the tricky problem of justifying why an arbitrary age is better than another in determining an appropriate drinking age. Rather, the writer considers the functional extent of the law in determining what constitutes acceptable norms of drinking, and if a preoccupation with the law necessarily overlooks an evaluation of the underlying social attitudes to drinking that require the attention of the law in the first place. In the process, the issue of the drinking age is complexified by the writer’s nuanced position that a solution to the problem of drinking age may lie less with a complete reversal of the law, and more with a re-tailoring of the law in specific contexts.

Health Care

Intended as a space for the exploration of euthanasia or patient-assisted suicide, this blog is an interesting read that considers the social, ethical, and medical justifications that make euthanasia either a “merciful act” or a “murderous” one.

Specifically, the writer considers if the act of active euthanasia, where the patient’s death is brought about through a deliberate act of “killing” by a medical professional, ought to be immoral. The contentious nature of this topic is given a fresh angle by the writer’s own experience of having worked at a nursing home, an experience which is clearly etched – tacitly or otherwise – into the writer’s strong stance against the immorality of active euthanasia. Central to the argument presented in support of this is the idea that life, in itself, “should be respected in all its stages”. To take away life, through an act of mercy or otherwise, is therefore deemed to be an intrinsic violation of the sanctity of life. In addition, and by framing the moral legality of euthanasia against the contemporary and ongoing backdrop of health reforms in the country, the topic presented by the writer transcends its philosophical properties and gives readers a personal stake in considering the implications of the writer’s arguments.