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Ethics

Why should I be concerned about torture? As a middle class, white atheist living in the UK, neither I nor anyone I know is likely to suffer from it. I consider my aversion to it to be mere sentimentality. Bill Foster

Do you feel that way with regard to all evil? For instance, had you been a German during the Nazi period, would you have responded in the same way to the plight of the Jews, Romani, etc? Neither you nor your neighours are likely to be gassed, so....? If you think that evil is to be opposed, and in particular, if you think that evil perpetrated by governments that represent one is to be opposed as a special obligation of citizenship, then the fact that you are not the victim is simply irrelevant.
Ethics

If slavery is so intrinsically (and obviously) wrong, why did it take so long to recognize this? I pose this to the philosophers who rant for moral realism and against moral relativism, and especially to the philosophers with religious sympathies.

Self-interest can drive ideology, and ideology grounded in material interest dies hard. People are neitherr as good nor as smart as you might think. Sad, but true.
Ethics
Sex

What's the moral problem with pornography? As far as I can understand it, it hinges on the concept of 'objectification', which seems to mean treating someone else as a means to your own ends rather than as an end in themselves. But if I go to the corner shop to buy a pint of milk, aren't I treating the guy behind the counter as a means to my own ends (buying a pint of milk) rather than as an end in himself? Does buying milk have the same ethical status as pornography?

But also note that there is a lot of reasonable debate about this, and there are those who defend the moral permissibility of pornography as a form of commercial exchange in which all parties who participate voluntarily benefit. Note also that communities and subcultures vary quite a bit in attitudes towards pornography. One does have to consider the facts at some point: what is the psychological effect of consuming pornography on its consumers; what is the impact of pornography on those who model or act? What is the impact on social values and the treatment of others? There is surprisingly little consensus regarding these data.
Animals
Ethics

I have a 12 year old dog. She's no longer in great health, doesn't qualify as cute or attractive, and has rightfully been accused of stinking up any room she remains in for more than a few minutes. Still, she's my dog and I love her. Unfortunately, I am in a situation that requires that I move to a place that won't allow me to bring her. I can't find anyone to take her and am pretty sure that if I take her to the animal shelter she will spend a terrible 2 weeks there, not be adopted and then be euthanized. I've been thinking of taking her to a veterinarian who will put her to sleep with a painless injection while I'm there with her. I know this will break my heart, but is it the right thing to do?

I agree that this is a hard one, harder of course for you than it is for us, and harder for us than it is for your dog. The last is an important point. Euthanising your dog in this situation will cause you a great deal of suffering, but will not cause the dog suffering. It will deprive her of future pleasure of course, but she will not suffer from knowing that. I think that condemning her to spending her last few weeks without you in a cage would be cruel, and recommend against that course of action. Of course, if you can, you might arrange a private adoption. But if you can't, I think that euthanasia is the most humane option. You can ease your own feelings of guilt by remembering that. But you probably can't do much about the reasonable grief.