The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on failures to acknowledge financial generosity.
Tag Archives: Ethics (Personal)
Our Relatives Keep Bringing Their Dog Over. How Can We Stop Them?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how to tell loved ones that you don’t love their pet.
Can We Fire Our Employee? His Father Just Died.
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on what employers owe their workers.
Can I Use My Adopted Child’s DNA to Find His Biological Parents?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on protecting a child’s medical privacy while helping them learn about their past.
My Friend Is Dating a Murderer. Should I Do Anything About It?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on what to do when a roommate is in a relationship with a convicted killer.
My Friend Won’t Leave Her Abusive Husband. What Do I Do?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on the support we can give friends stuck in dangerous relationships.
For Many Older Americans, the Pandemic Is Not Over
Seniors continue to bear the brunt of deaths and hospitalizations, even as most of the nation abandons precautions: “Americans do not agree about the duty to protect others.”
My Husband Won’t Help Pay for My Kids’ Tuition. Should I Divorce Him?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how to navigate financial tensions with a spouse
They Ran an Illegal Scam. Do We Let Our Child Go to Their Home?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on the boundaries one sets with wrongdoers and their children.
We Gave Our Relatives a House. Can We Make Them Pay for the Upkeep?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on the continued obligations we have while financially supporting our family members.
Elon Musk’s Appetite for Destruction
A wave of lawsuits argue that Tesla’s self-driving software is dangerously overhyped. What can its blind spots teach us about the company’s erratic C.E.O.?
Is It OK to Let My Relatives Think Their Dead Sister Is Still Alive?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether to come clean about a well-intended lie.
My Ex-Husband Sexually Abused His Sister. Should I Have Been Warned?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on who has the right to know about someone’s dark past.
My Co-op Board President Is a Lawyer Representing Sellers. Is That Allowed?
Legally, a co-op board president can work as a lawyer for shareholders selling their units, but that doesn’t make it a good idea.
I’m a Cancer Survivor. Should I Tell My Matchmaking Service?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on disclosing personal information when dating.
Donald Trump and Herschel Walker: The Unholy Alliance
Republicans sink to a new low in defending Walker.
How a Scottish Moral Philosopher Got Elon Musk’s Number
In a few short years, effective altruism has become the giving philosophy for many Silicon Valley programmers, hedge funders and even tech billionaires.
Humility Is a Virtue. But Can Humble People Succeed in the Modern World?
Capitalism seems to reward self-interest.
Admitting to Wrongs Makes a Right
For my final newsletter, I have one last thought: Let’s own up to our mistakes.
Three Sentences That Could Change the World — and Your Life
The philosopher William MacAskill lays out the case for longtermism: “Future people count. There could be a lot of them. And we can make their lives better.”
If I Get Canceled, I Want Friends, Not Allies
I want friends whose minds are not tethered to mine in bonds of allegiance but spin freely of their own accord.
The Corpse of a Russian Soldier, and the Cold but Human Urge to Look
Why does war’s wreckage — the downed helicopters, the destroyed tanks and the dead — draw crowds? A former Marine ponders the question as he stands before the badly burned body of a Russian fighter.
Don’t Let Climate Change Stop You From Having Kids
The green future has to be a welcoming one, even a thrilling one.
The Southern Baptist Moral Meltdown
The church leaders who made themselves blind, and then cruel.
How Democrats Can Win the Morality Wars
First, they have to understand the deep philosophical differences underlying these conflicts.
America Has a Scorn Problem
Too many of us think people with different opinions are not just wrong, but bad.
Should I Have Lied to Help My Kid Brother Get Vaccinated?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on what we gain from making hard choices.
Can I Utter a Racial Slur in My Classroom?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether a word should ever be off-limits.
My Brother-in-Law Is Awful to His Girlfriend. Should I Break Them Up?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether to intervene when a family member is in an emotionally damaging relationship — and more.
My Daughter Is Having Sex With Her Best Friend. Must I Tell Her Mom?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether to keep your teenager’s sexual relationship secret — and more.
The Many Uses (and Abuses) of Shame
Cathy O’Neil’s “The Shame Machine” is the most recent book to address an emotion that can be exhilarating or terrifying, depending on where you sit.
May I Disinherit My Right-Wing Daughters?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on when tribalism tears a family apart.
How Much Help Do I Owe My Debt-Ridden Dad?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on the duties we have to our parents.
Should We Fire Our Unvaccinated Babysitter?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on balancing personal loyalties against possible Covid exposure in this phase of the pandemic.
My Housecleaner Is Sick a Lot. Do I Have to Stick With Her?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on what people owe long-term domestic workers.
Is It OK That I’m OK With Our Mom’s Adultery?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on when disclosing a secret is a betrayal — and more.
Fever? Sore Throat? Just Check ‘No’ on Covid Form
Attestation forms for Covid may be turning us into fibbers.
How to Process the Covid Deaths of Anti-Vaxxers
Don’t give in to schadenfreude. It warps the soul.
Can I Reveal a Colleague’s Covid Diagnosis?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether to keep a coworker’s illness confidential, outing an unvaccinated colleague — and more.
Michael Schur’s Unending Quest to Be Perfect
The comedy writer, known for shows like “Parks and Recreation” and “The Good Place,” has a surprising new project: a book about moral philosophy that explores how to be a good person.
Can I Ask My Ex to Delete Those Nude Pics?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how to make a delicate request without provocation, and more.
Must I Donate a Kidney to My Awful Brother?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on what you owe to a sibling who didn’t treat you right and how to handle a potential bullying situation at your child’s school.
A Co-Worker Told a Sexist Joke. Should You Be Disciplined for Laughing?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how human resources should handle a reflex reaction to an inappropriate remark — and more.
I’m Invited to a Destination Wedding at a Plantation. What Do I Do?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how uncomfortable moments can’t be avoided if our country is going to get out from under four centuries of racism.
How to Know Your Donations Are Doing the Most Good
GiveWell investigates charities to find the most cost-effective ways to do good.
Can We Make Our Granddaughter Give Up Her Scary Dog?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on what terms we can attach to our plans to help loved ones — and more.
Can I Skip Jury Duty Because of Covid Fears?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on weighing health concerns against civic duty, what to do about workers who had sex on the job — and more.
What Should I Do With My Big Fat Inheritance?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on the burdens of philanthropy — and more.
What Do I Owe My Difficult Mother-in-Law?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist and why offering regular help creates sometimes unwelcome obligations of its own — and more.
Should I Tell a Facebook Friend I Had an Affair With Her Partner?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on responding to infidelity.