187. SHOUT OUT TO CHILDLESS CAT PEOPLE - Why I Still Don't Want Kids

September 09, 2024 by DaN McKee in Culture, Elections, Environment, Ethics, Free, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

"In the wake of this summer’s comments from Donald Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, J.D. Vance, about ‘childless cat ladies’ (and as a US citizen who is registered to vote in November and will be voting for Kamala Harris…who actually does have step-children) I thought it might be worth reviewing the sound reasons for my own decision not to have children and defending the decision of others who have done likewise..."

166. WHAT'S IN A NAME? - What The Trivial Can Tell Us About The Significant

October 16, 2023 by DaN McKee in Communication, Free, Gender, Identity, Meaning, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed

“if my utterly inconsequential change of capitalisation could not be easily noted and assimilated into the understanding of work colleagues, friends or family, then I could barely imagine what it would be for a far more important identity marker to be so similarly ignored“

154. DISRUPTION - Its Importance and its Impotence

May 15, 2023 by DaN McKee in Authentic Democracy, Communication, Education, Free Speech, Free, Justice, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Punishment

“I’ve been thinking a lot about protest and rebellion the last week….“

145. IT'S NICE TO HAVE OPTIONS - Existentialism and UCAS.

February 06, 2023 by DaN McKee in Communication, Education, Existentialism, Epistemology, Ethics, Free, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School

“Deciding not to bore the student with Donald Rumsfeld’s treatise on known knowns and known unknowns, I instead decided to offer guidance from the existentialists. That is to say: no real guidance at all. What my student was facing, I suggested, was a living example of the sort of anxiety and despair existentialist philosophers suggested comes from our absolute freedom.“

140. SABBATICAL - On The Importance of Taking a Break

December 12, 2022 by DaN McKee in Christmas, COVID19, Education, Free, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Perception, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work

“It shouldn’t be surprising to realise that, for an animal which literally shuts completely down every night and knocks itself unconscious as a means of essential restoration, stopping is good for human beings.“

117. ROE VS WADE VS PHILOSOPHY - Abortion and the Illusion of Law

May 09, 2022 by DaN McKee in Communication, Education, Ethics, Free, Gender, Justice, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Punishment, School

“one of the founding principles of Philosophy Unleashed is that it is a place to go “beyond the curriculum” and discuss things not covered by GCSE and A-level courses in Philosophy. Abortion ethics, as every student knows, is central to any current examination specification in either Religious Studies or Philosophy, and most undergraduate courses in Ethics will also cover it. So I will be careful here not to simply rehash the standard arguments most people will have already covered.“

113. SIMULATED HORROR - Is It OK To Spend Your Free Time Plotting Imaginary Violence?

March 21, 2022 by DaN McKee in Culture, Death, Ethics, Free, Mental Health, Militarisation, Music, Movies, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Technology, War

“A student asked me my thoughts on children playing violent video games. My first response was to ask him why he thought it mattered that the players were children. Why not adults playing violent video games too?“

112. KILLING THE AUTHENTIC SELF - Why Is It So Hard To Be Yourself At Work?

March 14, 2022 by DaN McKee in Censorship, Culture, Education, Free, Gender, Identity, Justice, LGBTQ, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Racism, School, Work, EDI

“It’s time that schools became more diverse, and their staff, at least in the short-term, a little less comfortable.“

109. QUITTING MY JOB - The Thought Behind Making A Change

February 14, 2022 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Free, Mental Health, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, School, Work

“I told my form on Friday that this would be my last year at the school. I hadn’t been keeping it a secret, but there also hadn’t really been a relevant opportunity to bring it up.“

108. THOUGHT POLICE - Why Thoughts Might Matter As Much As Deeds

February 07, 2022 by DaN McKee in Censorship, Ethics, Free Speech, Free, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Racism

“Imagine the police-force where you live offer you the choice of one of two officers to be your local law enforcement from now on:
1) An officer who holds prejudiced thoughts against people like you (taken to mean whatever characteristic you want it to that identifies you specifically - i.e. ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, hair colour, accent - whatever).
2) An officer who holds no prejudice against people like you.
Both officers have taken a pledge not to discriminate against certain groups of people and have received training to support this pledge. There will be sanctions in place if such discrimination happens and Officer #1 is fully aware that their prejudiced thoughts would not be condoned if turned into discriminatory action.
Which officer would you choose?“

100. UNVACCINATED NEED NOT APPLY - Ethics, Healthcare Jobs and Mandatory Vaccination

November 15, 2021 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Ethics, Free, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Work

“The anarchist in me naturally balks at any enforcement of mandatory rules from on high. But the ethicist in me can see the moral reasons why those people either looking after the most at risk of dying from Covid-19, or most likely to come into intimate contact with large numbers of members of the public, specifically for health-related reasons, should want to do what they can to protect both themselves and others.“

92. WORKING ON HOLIDAY: Am I Really About To Defend Dominic Raab?

September 06, 2021 by DaN McKee in Culture, Economics, Ethics, Free, Mental Health, Obligation, Philosophy Unleashed, Philosophy, Politics, War, Work

“the issue I would like to consider as we return for the 2021/22 academic year is, surprisingly, given my usual vocal opposition to all things Tory, whether Dominic Raab actually did anything wrong by staying on holiday while Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. Or, more broadly, whether holiday should mean holiday - a total cessation of work - even when your work brings with it important responsibilities.“

85. WALKING IT OFF - Avoiding Atrophy and Learning How to Self-Govern

June 07, 2021 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Authentic Democracy, COVID19, Free, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Work

“The anarchist thinker, Errico Malatesta, once suggested growing up with external authority imposed upon us was like learning to walk in leg braces. We don’t even realise the imposition that is dragging us down, and the limitations put upon our ability to walk, let alone run. We simply trudge as best we can in the belief that this restricted movement is the best propulsion possible because we know no better.“

81. SHALL WE JUST BLOODLANDS IT? - The Existentialist Freedom To Say No

April 26, 2021 by DaN McKee in Culture, Free, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Pop Culture, Existentialism, Television

“It was only a four-part series, and for the first three weeks that Sunday ritual was diligently observed. On the final Sunday of the series, we talked eagerly that morning about what would happen in that evening’s finale.
And then I said something crazy: ‘but what if we don’t watch it?’“

69. WHAT, IF ANYTHING, HAVE I LEARNT FROM HAVING COVID 19? - Reflections on Getting the Plague

January 11, 2021 by DaN McKee in Christmas, COVID19, Culture, Death, Education, Epistemology, Ethics, Free, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

“now it is three weeks since the day I got my positive COVID test, and I cautiously think I may have survived it, I have decided to look back at the experience to see what, if any, philosophical lessons it taught me.“

61. WEAR A MASK - Why Exercising Personal Freedom Should Not Come at the Expense of Others

October 19, 2020 by DaN McKee in Charity, COVID19, Culture, Death, Ethics, Free, Obligation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics

“Unfortunately there is a school of though around masks that equates personal liberty with the freedom not to wear one, regardless of the potential consequences. A selfish conception of what it means to be free that ignores our social connections with, and the needs of, others for personal desire and gain.”

59. IS THIS BLOG DANGEROUS? - On Indoctrination, Ideology and the DfE

October 05, 2020 by DaN McKee in Anarchism, Education, Book, Philosophy Unleashed, Economics, Free, Environment, Philosophy, Free Speech, Authentic Democracy, School, Black Lives Matter, Censorship, Politics

“unlike the politician, doomed to blind allegiance to whatever colour team they are playing for, on whatever side of the aisle, the philosopher has loyalty only to the truth. If you can show me my argument is wrong, I am not only willing to change my mind, logic dictates that I have to.”

50. THE PROBLEM WITH CIS-NORMATIVITY TO A NON-PASSING TRANS WOMAN - A Student Asks Us To Confront The Consequences Of Cis-Normative Thinking

June 15, 2020 by DaN McKee in Culture, Education, Ethics, Free, Identity, Mental Health, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Student Writing, Suicide, Gender

“Cis-normative thinking therefore has disastrous consequences when it perpetuates the idea of passing being a requirement for those who aren’t cisgender“

42. LIFE DURING LOCKE-DOWN - Do We Remain Free While Trapped Inside?

April 27, 2020 by DaN McKee in COVID19, Free, Meaning, Movies, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, Work

“I feel strangely trapped in my own home, and yet my life this last month looks little different to the life I lived before lockdown.”

29. THE VALUE AND LIMITS OF DEMANDING SILENCE - On Remembering Power’s Roots and Reasons in the Classroom

January 20, 2020 by DaN McKee in Education, Ethics, Free, Militarisation, Philosophy, Philosophy Unleashed, Politics, School, Work

“often neither students or teachers remember the justificatory roots for the powers, privileges and obligations which interplay within the classroom, and that this lack of awareness may well be the source of much student/teacher conflict at school.”