Can two people be correct if one says, "Two members of the same sex should not have the right to get married," and the other says, "Two members of the same sex should have the right to get married"?

"And whoever forces himself to love anybody begets a murderer in his own body." (D.H. Lawrence, 'Retort to Jesus'). Self-help books advise that we can fall in love with whom we chose, that we can choose to love, to re-ignite love, etc. What is your opinion?

Self-deception is a way of coping with life - but it can lead to unhappiness. A neighbour of mine fights all her sons' battles and insists and believes that they are always in the right - even when the four of them are fighting against one smaller younger child. To what extent, if any, is she aware of her self-deception? (I firmly believe that she believes that her sons are in the right (and that their adversary(ies) is / are demonic) and that she is not merely covering up for her sons (who are well capable of standing up for themselves). This neighbour is quite rational and kind in other respects.

An 11-year-old child lies on the operating table, dying from an accident. He asks his doctor if he is going to die. The doctor says "no", knowing the child will be dead in minutes. I say the doctor (it is not me) did nothing wrong. What good does it do for a child to be told he will be dead in a few minutes. This beloved family doctor has been conflicted over this 40-year-old problem and teared up when telling someone (me) for the first time.

Do we have a duty to take care of relatives (who are unable to take care of themselves) or does this duty fall on the state?

Here's my challenge for those who think we have the right to sell our bodies (i.e. prostitution): Suppose Travis, a hardworking businessman who is too busy to have a romantic relationship, calls Elise, a prostitute he finds on Craigslist. Elise tells him that she would love to service him, but he'll have to wire the money in advance (she's been taken advantage of too many times). Travis complies, and the two agree to meet next Thursday night. That night Elise thinks about her career and has a change of heart. When Thursday rolls around, she comes to Travis's house and explains that she cannot go through with the act. She offers to refund the money, but Travis refuses. Travis, you see, has already invested more than the money. For one, he set aside a night for Elise that will be wasted if she leaves. And he's already accepted some risk to his reputation by contacting Elise. More importantly, Elise agreed to a contract, and contracts are not reversible on the whims of a single party. If Elise had sold...

How far do we have a duty to protect others from themselves? Does it extend from, say, removing alcohol an alcoholic has hidden away to telling a relative's children to eat their food politely, when the relative herself is indifferent to such matters? Are we are brother's keepers? To what degree?

Courage is considered a virtue and is defined in the dictionary as "lack of fear". How can "lack of fear" be a virtue?

Where on earth did Philosophers get the idea that "just in case" means "if and only if"[1] instead of "in the event of"? I ask just in case there's a legitimate reason for the apparently willful muddying of language! [1] for example http://www.askphilosophers.org/question/2290

I work in a fairly large organization where each year staff are given the opportunity to nominate a colleague for a "staff achievement award". A member of staff in my office is a good candidate for nomination but no-one wants to nominate her (or anyone else) because another member of staff, who doesn't deserve nomination, desperately wants to be nominated - so to avoid an unpleasant situation the staff are not nominating anyone. I don't agree with awards such as this - not just because they cause pain to those who will not be nominated and are unfair anyway because people who do not deserve nomination will be nominated - but because I do not think that anyone deserves an award for a job well done or for being a considerate co-worker or for being exceptional in anyway. Entering competitions in order to win an award is a different matter. What is your opinion?