Can we craft a theory in which space and time aren’t assumed to exist?

In some versions of quantum gravity, time itself condenses into existence.

According to Oriti, the field of quantum gravity now needs more radical ideas to push itself forward. That's because something new is needed to bring the ideas around LQG, which has been developed at the microscopic scale, up to the scale of the Universe as a whole. Over the past decade or so, he has led research in the direction of Group Field Theory (GFT) condensate cosmology, which proposes that the Universe as we know it came about through a kind of hydrodynamic condensation process.

“One can think of this process in GFT condensate cosmology as being analogous to steam,” he says. “Steam is a phase in which the entities which constitute all of space—or atoms of space as we call them—can find themselves condensing into water, which is our analogy for space-time.”

According to this version of LQG, once this transition takes place—at the beginning of the Universe for example—then the familiar constructs of space and time are born. Awkwardly, even speaking of a 'transition' or 'beginning' implicitly assumes the notion of time, or a process happening over time. In the context of these ideas, we must learn to forget that.

Coronavirus is causing a mental health crisis. Here’s how to fight it.

Covid-19 patients and those caring for them could be especially at risk for anxiety, depression, and other conditions.

"Even under more normal circumstances, prolonged loneliness can contribute to depression and anxiety, as well as to physical health problems. One 2016 study, for example, found that being lonely was associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart disease. Today, the ordinary risks of loneliness could be magnified by the stress of living during a pandemic. For people who are social distancing right now, “there is a high risk that they’re going to become more anxious, much more depressed, and it’s going to have longer-term effects,” Rima Styra, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, told Vox.

Overall, a lot of people around the world are experiencing a dip in mental well-being. Factors from “looming severe shortages of resources” to the “imposition of unfamiliar public health measures that infringe on personal freedoms” are likely to increase emotional distress during this time, psychiatry professors Betty Pfefferbaum and Carol S. North wrote in a paper published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine."

"The metaphors of neuroscience – computers, coding, wiring diagrams and so on – are inevitably partial. That is the nature of metaphors..."

Why your brain is not a computer

"The metaphors of neuroscience – computers, coding, wiring diagrams and so on – are inevitably partial. That is the nature of metaphors, which have been intensely studied by philosophers of science and by scientists, as they seem to be so central to the way scientists think. But metaphors are also rich and allow insight and discovery. There will come a point when the understanding they allow will be outweighed by the limits they impose, but in the case of computational and representational metaphors of the brain, there is no agreement that such a moment has arrived. From a historical point of view, the very fact that this debate is taking place suggests that we may indeed be approaching the end of the computational metaphor. What is not clear, however, is what would replace it."

"Technology alters the human condition; it also gives it expression."

The Ancients’ Tech Anxiety 

On the shallowness of reading mythology as sci-fi

Charles T. Rubin

"With respect to inventiveness of robot-like beings, the Greeks displaced some of this wonder to the divine realm. But the inventive Hephaestus, at least, is surely the most human of the all-too-human gods: lame, short, ugly. Mayor endorses the idea that, as scholar Jessica Riskin put it, “mythology blurs the distinction between technology and divine power.” The ancient stories, then, suggest that technology involves a godlike creativity, yet is often used for the satisfaction of our more bestial desires. Daedalus’ wings are a means to and an expression of human freedom, but they empower also the ingrained rashness of youth. Technology alters the human condition; it also gives it expression."

How coronavirus is upending corporate America

"The $10 billion biotech Moderna developed a potential coronavirus vaccine in record time, Andrew Dunn reports. Andrew sat down with Stephane Bancel, the company's CEO, to talk about the company's hopes of pioneering a new way of developing vaccines."

Exp Brain Res. 2019 Dec;237(12):3419-3430. doi: 10.1007/s00221-019-05682-0. Epub 2019 Nov 16.

Increased expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is associated with depression and depressive phenotype in C57Bl/6J mice.

Girard RA1, Chauhan PS1, Tucker TA1, Allen T2, Kaur J2, Jeffers A1, Koenig K1, Florova G1, Komissarov AA1, Gaidenko TA1, Chamiso MB1, Fowler J1, Morris DE1, Sarva K1, Singh KP3, Idell S1, Idell RD4.

Author information

1

Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, TX, 75708, USA.

2

Department of Pathology, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.

3

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Rural and Community Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, TX, 75708, USA.

4

Department of Behavioral Health, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, 11937 US Highway 271, Tyler, TX, 75708, USA. Richard.Idell@uthct.edu.

Abstract

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), which is elevated in numerous disease states, has been implicated as a stress-related protein involved in the pathogenesis of depression. We measured PAI-1 in the plasma of healthy and depressed individuals and assessed plasminogen activator (PA) expression and regulation by PAI-1 in cultured normal human astrocytes (NHA). Elevated plasma PAI-1 levels were found in depressed patients. Brain tissues from depressed individuals also showed stronger expression of hippocampal PAI-1 by confocal imaging in comparison to healthy individuals. Using a lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory model of depression in mice, we measured PAI-1 in murine plasma and brain, by ELISA and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Similar elevations were seen in plasma but not in brain homogenates of mice exposed to LPS. We further correlated the findings with depressive behavior. Ex vivo experiments with NHA treated with proinflammatory cytokines implicated in the pathogenesis of depression showed increased PAI-1 expression. Furthermore, these studies suggest that urokinase-type plasminogen activator may serve as an astrocyte PA reservoir, able to promote cleavage of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) during stress or inflammation. In summary, our findings confirm that derangements of PAI-1 variably occur in the brain in association with the depressive phenotype. These derangements may impede the availability of active, mature (m)BDNF and thereby promote a depressive phenotype.

'Your Bills Don’t Get Sick': Workers Say Coronavirus Prevention Isn’t Easy

"Uber, Lyft, Doordash and other delivery companies have advised drivers or delivery workers to stay safe — and to stay home if they aren’t feeling well. But advocates argue that creates a difficult choice for many workers."

Coronavirus cases keep rising in Los Angeles, across California: Here is what you need to know

California is emerging as an epicenter for the coronavirus in the United States, with the spread continuing and a cruise ship off the coast with people who contracted the virus.

Am J Psychoanal. 2020 Feb 17. doi: 10.1057/s11231-020-09231-5. [Epub ahead of print]

The morality of evolution and a return to subjectivity.

Rendón M1.

Author information

1

, 975A Heritage Village, Southbury, CT, 06488, USA. mariorendon7@gmail.com.

Abstract

Today societies display, almost uniformly, an aggressive demeanor that can hardly be covered by diplomacy; they are always prepared for war. The prophecy is repeatedly fulfilled and today we are engaged in protracted wars while fearing universal destruction. This basic attitude irremediably corrupts our consciousness and blemishes our self. The biological underpinnings of how we got to this point, psychologically, and the historical sublimations involved are explored here. The result, today, is that we live using a minimum of our human capacity at the huge cost in crucial energetic waste, while nature has started to protest. The self-feeding destructive mechanism is inordinate objectification, at the expense of our unique subjective power. Evolutionarily designed for balanced self-regulation-the sublimation of a dual instinctual disposition backed up by a dimorphic body and brain-nature warns us we have detoured from the moral blueprint and, were we to continue it will be at our own risk. We need to review our moral theories and return to our critical pre-patriarchal subjectivity, which was resourceful, dually-fed, balanced, and discriminating. That subjectivity is now largely replaced by pre-emptive, ideological cognitive modules and stereotypes that block intelligent dialogue and appear to be already modeled on a false Utopia of artificial intelligences.

Nelson Riddle / Route 66

"...virtually all of the increase in current smoking prevalence in Minnesota is associated with the e-cig tax and the associated decrease in successful quits."

The Impact of E-Cig Taxes on Smoking Rates: Evidence From Minnesota

"Specifically, the 95 percent e-cig tax in Minnesota, the first such tax increase in the nation, led to a decrease in cigarette smoking cessation by about 1.14 percentage points -- approximately a 5 percent increase in relative smoking participation. In fact, virtually all of the increase in current smoking prevalence in Minnesota is associated with the e-cig tax and the associated decrease in successful quits."

The Hysteria Of Coronavirus And How To Avoid It

The Inconvenient Truth about Your “Authentic” Self

To actually feel authentic, you might have to betray your true nature

"But authenticity is a slippery thing. Although most people would define authenticity as acting in accordance with your idiosyncratic set of values and qualities, research has shown that people feel most authentic when they conform to a particular set of socially approved qualities, such as being extroverted, emotionally stable, conscientious, intellectual and agreeable.

This is the paradox of authenticity: In order to reap the many of the benefits of feeling authentic, you may have to betray your true nature."

“Your kids should not live their lives in fear of getting sick,” Yudovich said. “Coronavirus is no more infectious than any other virus.”

Houston doctor: Here’s how to talk to your kids about coronavirus

“Your kids should not live their lives in fear of getting sick,” Yudovich said. “Coronavirus is no more infectious than any other virus.”

#Coronavirus - Are there two strains and is one more deadly? ("...One is not more deadly than the other.")

Coronavirus: Are there two strains and is one more deadly?

"But the differences between the two identified strains are tiny. In fact, they can’t really be considered to be separate “strains”, says Jones. And many of the genetic differences won’t affect the production of proteins, and so won’t change the way the virus works, or the symptoms it causes, he says. One is not more deadly than the other."

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2236544-coronavirus-are-there-two-strains-and-is-one-more-deadly/#ixzz6FqEN8KVB

Amid growing coronavirus cases, another number increasing: recoveries

At least 15 coronavirus patients in the U.S. are said to have recovered.

Isolation does not mean a patient is particularly dangerous. The measure is put into place simply to prevent spread of the virus in the community.

"That's why these seemingly drastic measures are being taken," Safdar, the medical director of infection control and prevention at UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin, told NBC News. "If you're a positive COVID-19 case, you stay in isolation until testing shows that you are negative."

J Thorac Dis. 2019 Jan;11(Suppl 1):S81-S88. doi: 10.21037/jtd.2019.01.46.

Update on emerging biomarkers in lung cancer.

Bernicker EH1, Allen TC2, Cagle PT3.

Author information

1

Houston Methodist Hospital, Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

2

Department of Pathology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA.

3

Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.

Abstract

There has been considerable progress made in identifying oncogenic driver mutations in advanced lung cancer. The recognition that lung cancer is actually an umbrella classification that is comprised of multiple molecular subgroups has had a profound impact on how medical oncologists make treatment decisions. These mutations are clinically important as available targeted therapies can achieve significant responses and prolonged disease control. This review will summarize the current guidelines for biomarker testing and available therapeutic agents.

Testing for coronavirus is expanded to patients who have a doctor’s order, CDC says

Experts have questioned whether the United States can meet the likely surge in testing demand that will follow the change in guidelines.

Two kinds of coronavirus tests in the United States have FDA emergency use authorizations and are in use nationwide.

One kind is the CDC test kits that are distributed to public health laboratories across the country, and another test has been designed and used by New York state.

At least 163 coronavirus cases have been reported across 16 states, most of them in California and Washington states.

"The problem is that deep learning has no way of checking its deductions against “common sense'..."

The AI delusion: why humans trump machines

Artificial intelligence may never match the brain

The problem is that deep learning has no way of checking its deductions against “common sense,” and so can make ridiculous errors. It is, say Marcus and Davis, “a kind of idiot savant, with miraculous perceptual abilities, but very little overall comprehension.” In image -classification, not only can this shortcoming lead to absurd results but the system can also be fooled by carefully constructed “adversarial” examples. Pixels can be rejigged in ways that look to us indistinguishable from the original but which AI confidently garbles, so that a van or a puppy is declared an ostrich. By the same token, images can be constructed from what looks to the human eye like random pixels but which AI will identify as an armadillo or a peacock.

These blind spots become particularly troubling when AI slavishly recreates human biases—for example, when camera image-processors insist that someone with east Asian eyes must have “blinked.” Mitchell, as well as Marcus and Davis, warn that the dangers of AI are not about Skynet-style robot takeovers but unthinking applications of inadequate systems. Even if an AI system performs well 99 per cent of the time, the occasional failure could be catastrophic, especially if it is being used to drive a car or make a medical diagnosis.

The trouble is, though, it’s not obvious how to do better. These authors argue—and it’s a view widely held among AI researchers—that we need to make systems that think more like humans. But what does that mean?

Bodies 'pile up' in morgue as Iran feels strain of coronavirus

"Under Islamic tradition in Iran, corpses are typically washed with soap and water before burial. But two medical workers in Qom told CNN that in some cases precautions related to the outbreak are preventing staff from observing traditional Islamic guidelines for burial."

Five Lessons for Aspiring Female Scientists

That’s why it’s troubling that women continue to lag behind men in STEM professions. Globally less than 30% of researchers are women, and just 11% of senior research roles in Europe are held by women. These disparities reflect enduring gender stereotypes and social bias that deter girls and women from entering STEM fields. But the tide is turning—and female scientists are making extraordinary contributions to molecular microbiology, physics, plant biology, material science, space exploration, and so much more.

 

Coronavirus confirmed in Tennessee

"Academe is awash in refrains about its own importance. Is anyone feeling better yet?"

The Rise of Reassurance Lit

Academe is awash in refrains about its own importance. Is anyone feeling better yet?

"To say that the humanities are in the throes of a collective depression would be cheap psychology. But I question whether it is advisable for any profession, even one that feels itself oppositional and endangered, to fortify itself with a torrent of self-love.

The best arguments on behalf of the humanities articulate ideals that allow us to measure our own efforts at teaching and research in relation to a set of standards. Reassurance lit, by contrast, is indiscriminate, assuring each of us of our value, often in grandiose terms."

"CAR-T therapy works with the patient’s own immune cells to help them take on cancer. Blood is drawn from the patient, treated, re-engineered to fight cancer cells, then reintroduced back into the bloodstream through infusion."

CAR-T—the Future of Medical Progress Is Now

"CAR-T therapy works with the patient’s own immune cells to help them take on cancer. Blood is drawn from the patient, treated, re-engineered to fight cancer cells, then reintroduced back into the bloodstream through infusion." 

"The meaningful threat of garbage language — the reason it is not just annoying but malevolent — is that it confirms delusion as an asset in the workplace."

Garbage Language

Why do corporations speak the way they do?

By Molly Young

 "He proposed (I’d argue) that we just give up on functional speech altogether — drop the charade that our personal realities share a common language. Choosing to speak poetically (by which he meant intentionally calling things what they are not) was his ironic solution. Language is always a matter of intention. No two people could have less in common than when they are saying the same thing, one sincerely and one with snark. And so with every exchange, you have to acknowledge a reality where words like optionality and deliverable could be just as solid as blimp and pretzel. What happens if you ask a Megan or a Steph Korey or an Adam Neumann what they mean? I imagine a box with a series of false bottoms; you just keep falling deeper and deeper into gibberish. The meaningful threat of garbage language — the reason it is not just annoying but malevolent — is that it confirms delusion as an asset in the workplace."

#Coronavirus deaths in California and Washington state bring U.S. toll to 11

Live updates: Coronavirus deaths in California and Washington state bring U.S. toll to 11

"Governments are struggling to contain anxiety among households, businesses and investors about a prolonged economic impact. South Korea proposed a $10 billion stimulus package Wednesday as its cases soared past 5,200, the highest national count outside China. Elsewhere, authorities are warning against hoarding emergency supplies and price gouging, and some large-scale events, including the London Book Fair, have been canceled."

Percy Faith & His Orchestra - A Summer Place theme

Percy Faith & His Orchestra - A Summer Place theme (video/audio edited & restored) HQ

"...childhood maltreatment is more prevalent and is associated with increased risk for first mood episode, episode recurrence, greater comorbidities, and increased risk for suicidal ideation and attempts in individuals with mood disorders."

Am J Psychiatry. 2020 Jan 1;177(1):20-36. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010020. Epub 2019 Sep 20.

The Devastating Clinical Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect: Increased Disease Vulnerability and Poor Treatment Response in Mood Disorders.

Lippard ETC1, Nemeroff CB1.

Author information

1

Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Early Life Adversity Research, and Mulva Clinic for Neuroscience, Dell Medical School, University of Texas, Austin (Lippard, Nemeroff); Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, University of Texas, Austin (Lippard, Nemeroff); and Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin (Lippard).

Abstract

A large body of evidence has demonstrated that exposure to childhood maltreatment at any stage of development can have long-lasting consequences. It is associated with a marked increase in risk for psychiatric and medical disorders. This review summarizes the literature investigating the effects of childhood maltreatment on disease vulnerability for mood disorders, specifically summarizing cross-sectional and more recent longitudinal studies demonstrating that childhood maltreatment is more prevalent and is associated with increased risk for first mood episode, episode recurrence, greater comorbidities, and increased risk for suicidal ideation and attempts in individuals with mood disorders. It summarizes the persistent alterations associated with childhood maltreatment, including alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and inflammatory cytokines, which may contribute to disease vulnerability and a more pernicious disease course. The authors discuss several candidate genes and environmental factors (for example, substance use) that may alter disease vulnerability and illness course and neurobiological associations that may mediate these relationships following childhood maltreatment. Studies provide insight into modifiable mechanisms and provide direction to improve both treatment and prevention strategies.

Stores in central Texas are running out of medical masks after possible case of coronavirus reported

Stores around Brazos Valley are completely out of medical masks, KBTX reports

When Are Vaccine Mandates Appropriate?

AMA J Ethics. 2020 Jan 1;22(1):E36-42. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2020.36.

When Are Vaccine Mandates Appropriate?

Shachar C1, Reiss DR2.

Author information

1

The executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is also a lecturer on law at Harvard Law School.

2

A professor of law and the James Edgar Hervey '50 Chair of Litigation at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in San Francisco.

Abstract

Vaccine refusal is a serious public health problem, especially in the context of diseases with potential to spark global pandemics, such as Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This article examines whether and when compelling vaccination through mandates and criminalization, for example, are appropriate. It argues that some legal approaches are ethical when they preserve social stability, trust in government, therapeutic research opportunities, or when they diminish disease severity.

Coronavirus symptoms similar to severe flu

The coronavirus is a family of viruses that can cause illnesses, ranging from the common cold to pneumonia. But the strain making headlines is more virulent, says John Thyng, Medical Director for the Emergency Department at A.R. Gould Hospital.

"Unfortunately the strain that we're finding coming out of China, or they found in China, actually leads to very severe illness, with high fevers, pneumonia, can cause respiratory failure, causes kidney failure, and - and can cause death," says John Thyng.

"The virus, which was first discovered in Wuhan in December, has spread to every province in China, except the remote autonomous region of Tibet." #Coronavirus

Wuhan healthcare workers speak of challenges while dealing with coronavirus outbreak

"The virus, which was first discovered in Wuhan in December, has spread to every province in China, except the remote autonomous region of Tibet."

"Tens of millions of people are reportedly in quarantine or lockdown across China as the government deals with the outbreak..." #Coronavirus

Chinese president warns of 'accelerating spread' of coronavirus and grave public health situation

"Life is of paramount importance. When an epidemic breaks out, a command is issued. It is our responsibility to prevent and control it," Xi said at a meeting of the leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC), according to state-run media outlet Xinhua News Agency.

Tens of millions of people are reportedly in quarantine or lockdown across China as the government deals with the outbreak, which coincides with celebrations of the Lunar New Year.

"Like all viruses, this coronavirus is capable of mutating quickly. That means much of the information scientists have gathered may only be temporarily accurate." #Coronavirus

The coronavirus from China is new, and that makes everything dicier

"Like all viruses, this coronavirus is capable of mutating quickly. That means much of the information scientists have gathered may only be temporarily accurate."

"Because its incubation period is likely to be as much as a week, travelers can be harboring the infection and show no symptoms." #Coronavirus

What must be done to head off the coronavirus threat

"First, we need to better understand the nature of this bug, and its severity. The illness may be more widespread than we realize in the fog of viral war.  A key to containing the virus’s wider spread will be developing effective point-of-care diagnostics to implement more widespread screening of patients."

"But there’s little evidence to suggest that the face masks worn by members of the public prevent people from being infected by breathing in the virus..." #Coronavirus

Coronavirus FAQs: Do Masks Help? Is The Disease Really So Mysterious?

There’s a run on masks in China, with the belief that wearing one in public will protect an individual from exposure to droplets sneezed or coughed out by someone infected with the Wuhan virus.

But there’s little evidence to suggest that the face masks worn by members of the public prevent people from being infected by breathing in the virus, says William Schaffner, a professor in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “There really are no good, solid, reliable data.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the kind of flimsy masks that people often buy in pharmacies may not tightly fit the face, so the wearer can still breathe in air — and infected droplets.

How College Became a Commodity

Market-based thinking is at the heart
of how academe thinks of itself.
That’s a travesty.

"Since the 1970s, and especially since the 1990s, research universities have become major economic actors, not only in market-oriented competition for students but in the commodification of ever greater swaths of their activities, including faculty research. Tightening relationships with industry allows businesses to capture and monetize the intellectual property created by publicly funded research. These changes have been accompanied by major shifts in administrative philosophy, such as the application of metrics to scholars’ and departments’ 'performance' — a direct borrowing from corporate-management fads."

"But a writer who carries the thought police around in his head, who always feels compelled to ask: Can I say this?..."

The Enemies of Writing

A writer who’s afraid to tell people what they don’t want to hear has chosen the wrong trade.

"At a moment when democracy is under siege around the world, these scenes from our literary life sound pretty trivial. But if writers are afraid of the sound of their own voice, then honest, clear, original work is not going to flourish, and without it, the politicians and tech moguls and TV demagogues have less to worry about. It doesn’t matter if you hold impeccable views, or which side of the political divide you’re on: Fear breeds self-censorship, and self-censorship is more insidious than the state-imposed kind, because it’s a surer way of killing the impulse to think, which requires an unfettered mind. A writer can still write while hiding from the thought police. But a writer who carries the thought police around in his head, who always feels compelled to ask: Can I say this? Do I have a right? Is my terminology correct? Will my allies get angry? Will it help my enemies? Could it get me ratioed on Twitter?—that writer’s words will soon become lifeless. A writer who’s afraid to tell people what they don’t want to hear has chosen the wrong trade."

"Fear and mistrust may be one of the greatest challenges authorities face in eliminating infectious diseases."

Coronavirus is the latest round in an age-old struggle

Mistrust and realpolitik complicate efforts to protect public health

"Today’s strategy of containment — one of the key measures deployed against endemic diseases — would be familiar to civil authorities and medical personnel as far back as the ancient world. “Quarantine” has its roots in the Venetian Republic’s 14th century efforts to keep out the plague. But the maritime power would have been hard-pressed to institute a cordon sanitaire on a Chinese scale. The ability to lock down cities the size of Wuhan, which is about as big as London, is a reflection of the power of Beijing’s ever more authoritarian rule. 

Misinformation, and disinformation, are also still prevalent. During the outbreak of Spanish flu in 1918-19, conspiracy theories of enemy bioweapons circulated. An 1853 outbreak of yellow fever in New Orleans was blamed on immigrants. On social media, wild claims are already circulating that the coronavirus was manufactured on behalf of vested interests seeking to sell vaccines. Fear and mistrust may be one of the greatest challenges authorities face in eliminating infectious diseases."

Conserv Biol. 2020 Jan 18. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13463. [Epub ahead of print]

The moral residue of conservation.

Batavia C1, Nelson MP1, Wallach AD2.

Author information

1

Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, 321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.

2

Centre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia.

Abstract

Should conservationists use lethal management to control introduced wildlife populations? Should they kill individual animals to protect endangered species? Are tradeoffs that prioritize some values at the expense of others morally appropriate? These sorts of ethical questions are common in conservation. In debating such questions, conservationists often seem to presume one of two possible answers: the act in question is right, or it is wrong. But morality in conservation is considerably more complex than this simple binary suggests. A robust conservation ethic requires a vocabulary that gives voice to the uncertainty and unease that arise when what seems to be the best available course of action also seems to involve a measure of wrongdoing. The philosophical literature on moral residue and moral dilemmas supplies this vocabulary. Moral dilemmas arise when one must neglect certain moral requirements to fulfill others. Under such circumstances, even the best possible decision leaves a "moral residue," which is experienced emotionally as some form of grief. In this essay we introduce the concept of moral residue, offering three philosophical accounts to explain its origins and implications, and illustrating each with a conservation example. We argue that moral residue is integral to the moral experience of conservationists today, and we suggest grief is an appropriate response to many decisions conservationists must make.