There've been a lot of questions recently about how far different cultural values can be reconciled with the law of a country (assuming the law is secular). It seems easier to answer extreme questions like whether female genital mutilation should be permitted (no in my opinion), or something much milder like whether headscarves and other religious dress should be banned in schools (no in my opinion again), but what about the questions that fall somewhere in between? For example, is it right to force Sikh people who can't cover their turbans with anything to wear helmets when they ride a bike, and to punish them when they don't? How far can you force people to obey the law where there might only be a potential risk to them if they don't, but there will definitely be harm to their religious or cultural beliefs? Thank you for answering.

Is there a clear-cut distinction between morality and ethics, or is the distinction to be found largely in linguistic usage? For example, immoral behaviour suggests behaviour that breaks some socially accepted code, but so does unethical behaviour. However, in the latter case, the code may be less widely applicable, such as a journalistic code of ethics. Or is it that morality has, at its base, religious belief, while ethics need not necessarily have that, but is more secular? Andrew Taylor

Hello, I am really interested in justice in ancienne greek. what is the main difference between these greek words: dike and dikaiosune? (dike is justice but dikaiosune?) Thanks.

i've always thought it a fantastic absurdity that the basic intelligence or moral fiber of our president might be so easily scrutinized. when dubba bush is lambasted for a lack of basic grammar i wince, not simply because he is our president but because our democratic system allows for the endowment of such power on such outrageously questionable individuals. i think ultimately i find this so strange because our president should presumably represent the best our civil society has to offer - his or her acumen should not even be in question on this level, one would think. that i can think of literally dozens individuals in my personal life who seem more intelligent that our current president seems ludicrous. likewise, in our most recent election, when voters complained that neither kerry nor bush represented a desireable candidate, i thought it absurd that of all our nation's people the two chosen to compete for the presidency could be so lackluster. ideally shouldn't voters be choosing between two or...

To what extent do our words influence our perceptions? Is the whorfian hypothesis completely wrong? Does referring to "mail carriers" or "mailperson" (as opposed to "mailman") contribute to the increase of woman mail carriers? Or, does a change in our thought result in a change our words?

What, traditionally, have philosophers said about the widespread practice of 'anthropomorphizing' or 'personalizing' the powers of nature? Consider, for example: 'it was a "killer" hurricane,' or 'this year we saw evidence of the wrath of Mother Nature,' and so forth and so on. I can't quite explain why, but this way of speaking about weather-related natural phenomena has always irked me. Thank you.

What is a reason (to do or believe something)? Suppose that someone who kills another person should be punished and that Ann killed somebody. Are there two reasons or just one reason to punish Ann?

I am an agnostic but, at 61-years old, I can easily understand the concern about immortality. I think that the desire of some live after physical death is more motivating to religious belief than the need for understanding creation or the origins. What can be the sense of "immortality" for an agnostic? For me, it is just the memory we leave. This imposes a strong ethical view on life. I understand that this is not a question, but anyway I would like to know your comment.

Is there the right to breathe and occupy space, the right to occupancy as a living being? Does having to pay rent and pay mortgages infringe on the right to life by having to pay to be in a space and to have your personal space? From Collis Huntington USA Fast Food Worker

Why do philosophers become Philosophers, is it purely intellectual or is it because all they are good at is thinking, and why for that matter aren't they out, thinking up the answers to the world's problems?