Tag Archives: Focus on Research

Focus on research: Can Plato help us pick the next president?

By Sarah Clark Miller

Editor’s note: This column originally appeared on Penn State News through a partnership between the Rock Ethics Institute and Penn State Today. You are invited to ask a question by filling out and submitting this form. An archive of the columns can be found on the Rock Ethics Institute website

Question: What can the power of invisibility teach us about the role of ethical leadership in contemporary democracy?

An ethicist responds: Caucus season is here. In picking the next president, how do we choose the best candidate? Common criteria include candidates’ takes on specific issues, their ability to serve as commander in chief, and how we imagine they would navigate delicate international imbroglios. It is telling that we are less likely to consult a crucial set of concerns regarding whether candidates would lead in a manner that is just, virtuous, and compassionate.

Enter one of the oldest philosophical thought experiments, Plato’s Ring of Gyges, a tale about a shepherd who finds a magic ring that grants him the power of invisibility when he turns the bezel toward his palm. Imagine the possibilities. If you found a ring of invisibility, how would you use it? For good? For evil? To promote justice? For personal gain? To play amusing pranks on unsuspecting colleagues?  Continue reading Focus on research: Can Plato help us pick the next president?

Focus on research: Understanding the weather roller coaster

Focus on research: Who politicized the environment and climate change?

By Brian C. Black

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

An environmental activist friend of mine recently shook her head and marveled at the extraordinary accomplishments of the last several months. “Still lots of work to be done,” she said. “But wow! This has been an epic period for environmentalists!”

From the rejection of the Keystone pipeline to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP21), “epic” may be an apt descriptor for someone who is an environmentalist.

However, nothing galvanizes opposing forces to action better than significant wins by their foes. And 2016 appears to promise that environmental issues – particularly climate change – will be more politicized than ever before.

It wasn’t always this way.  Continue reading Focus on research: Who politicized the environment and climate change?

Focus on research: Go nuts on Valentine’s Day & enjoy American Heart Month

By Jennifer Fleming

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in The Centre Daily Times as an installment of the paper’s Focus on Research column. Focus on Research highlights  research projects and topics being explored across all disciplines at Penn State. Each column features the work of a different researcher.

For centuries, Valentine’s Day has symbolized one of the most romantic days of the year. As far back as the 18th-century in England, people showed their love by giving flowers, candy and greeting cards — known as “valentines” — and today the tradition continues. But February is about more than celebrating Valentine’s Day — February is American Heart Month. And, yes, it is possible to keep your sweetheart happy and their heart healthy — and yours, too.  Continue reading Focus on research: Go nuts on Valentine’s Day & enjoy American Heart Month

Focus on research: Young voters embrace Sanders, but not democracy

By Christopher Beem

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

When it comes to democracy, the kids aren’t all right.

Research recently presented by Roberto Foa and Yascha Mounk shows growing disillusionment with democracy – not just with politics or campaigns, but with democracy itself.

This growth is worldwide, but it is especially strong among young Americans. Fewer than 30 percent of Americans born since 1980 say that living in a democracy is essential. For those born since 1970, more than one in five describe our democratic system as “bad or very bad.” That’s almost twice the rate for people born between 1950 and 1970.  Continue reading Focus on research: Young voters embrace Sanders, but not democracy