David Gauke and cash in hand: why do we care?
July 24, 2012
UK Treasury minister David Gauke hit the headlines this week when he claimed that paying tradespeople in cash with the hope of a discount is morally wrong. The comment comes in the context, of course, of heightened attention more generally to issues of tax avoidance. The comedian Jimmy Carr recently was the subject of much …
Morality and the Law: A taxing problem
June 21, 2012
The recent hubbub about celebrity tax avoidance provides a neat demonstration of some of the connections between morality and the law. An initial response from many who employ strategies of ‘aggressive tax avoidance’ (to be sharply distinguished from the illegal practice of tax evasion) is to argue that since their actions are permitted by the …
Being funny is no laughing matter
June 8, 2012
Last week, Telegraph columnist Tom Chivers weighed in on an ongoing debate about whether men are more funny than women. He calls for an end to it: the nature vs. nurture debate is complex, and we shouldn’t expect any clear view on whether respective funniness is the result of genes or socialisation (the philosopher J.S …
Michael Gove might benefit from doing some philosophy
June 6, 2012
One thing philosophers do well is draw distinctions. One of those distinctions is between justification and explanation. One aspect of this distinction concerns the scope of these notions. Almost all events can be explained (this extends even, perhaps, to the Big Bang, see: A Universe From Nothing | Lawrence Krauss). Why did the volcano erupt? …
Efficiency: Real or Imagined?
A recent report by the think tank Centreforum has recommended reforms to the system of childcare in the UK with the aim of making it more affordable. BBC News – UK childcare needs to be more affordable – CentreForum. One way of making it more affordable would be to decrease the quality of the service offered. …
