Philosophy
I've been reading and hearing an unusual number of people discussing the drinking age lately, so I thought I'd throw it out there. It's been twenty-three years since the national age was raised, so I'm not sure why this is suddenly an interesting topic, or whether it has just been an unusual streak where I'm coming in contact with more libertarian types, but it seems like an interesting topic for a warm day in the Mid-Atlantic, the sort of day to kick back with a nice cold beer.
The question is one that pits rights against utility. On the one hand, we are taking individuals who are given adult responsibilities in a large number of other ways (being drafted into the military during wartime is usually the example employed) and limiting their rights to engage in an activity otherwise legal and socially acceptable.
The argument on the other side is that those below the age of twenty-one tend to have mental faculties that are still forming and who tend not to make the best decisions. Young people tend to underestimate dangerous situations and have a sense of invulnerability. They also have drivers licenses. So, innocent lives will be protected if we limit access to alcohol until they mature a bit more.
The counter-argument here often invokes Europe where drinking age is much lower and where they do not have the alcohol problems we have here. Would lowering the drinking age in this culture lead to similar effects or are the two cultures different enough that we would just be pouring gasoline on the fire?
Is the fact that those under the legal drinking age have fairly ready access if they are clever enough relevant at all? Surely, making it more difficult even if it is not impossible is helpful.
So, should the drinking age be lowered? Abolished? Maintained?
- Monkeys And Alcohol
A friend of mine sent this link to me. It's a BBC nature program that looks at monkey's drinking habits on St. Kitts. Given that monkeys seem to have drinking patterns similar to those of humans -- most drink only moderately, others not at all,...
- What Should Replace The War On Drugs?
We've been fighting a war on drugs...which explains why we've been doing it so badly. The Rockefeller plan of locking up ever more non-violent offenders surely is not the answer. But simple legalization in this culture would probably work about...
- Countering The Slippery Slope Nonsense: Why Gay Marriage Doesn't Lead To Box Turtle Nuptials
One of the standard arguments provided by the homophobic right against gay marriage is a form of what we call the domino fallacy or the slippery slope argument. The idea is that if you take that seemingly innocuous first step, it automatically leads to...
- Marriage For (and Against) Dummies
I'm working on the section of (what will hopefully be) my new book, Was It Morally Good For You, Too?: A Guide to Rational Ethics in Sex, Politics, and Other Dirty Words to be called "The Ins and Outs of Sexual Ethics." Comments and criticisms gratefully...
- Alcohol And The Creative Process, Especially Writers
"Writers and Rum" by Adam Gopnik January 9th, 2014 The Atlantic “Writers in this office used to drink,” a grizzled veteran of these corridors once said sternly to a couple of pup reporters, whom he had discovered taking turns trying on a...
Philosophy
Drinking Age
I've been reading and hearing an unusual number of people discussing the drinking age lately, so I thought I'd throw it out there. It's been twenty-three years since the national age was raised, so I'm not sure why this is suddenly an interesting topic, or whether it has just been an unusual streak where I'm coming in contact with more libertarian types, but it seems like an interesting topic for a warm day in the Mid-Atlantic, the sort of day to kick back with a nice cold beer.
The question is one that pits rights against utility. On the one hand, we are taking individuals who are given adult responsibilities in a large number of other ways (being drafted into the military during wartime is usually the example employed) and limiting their rights to engage in an activity otherwise legal and socially acceptable.
The argument on the other side is that those below the age of twenty-one tend to have mental faculties that are still forming and who tend not to make the best decisions. Young people tend to underestimate dangerous situations and have a sense of invulnerability. They also have drivers licenses. So, innocent lives will be protected if we limit access to alcohol until they mature a bit more.
The counter-argument here often invokes Europe where drinking age is much lower and where they do not have the alcohol problems we have here. Would lowering the drinking age in this culture lead to similar effects or are the two cultures different enough that we would just be pouring gasoline on the fire?
Is the fact that those under the legal drinking age have fairly ready access if they are clever enough relevant at all? Surely, making it more difficult even if it is not impossible is helpful.
So, should the drinking age be lowered? Abolished? Maintained?
- Monkeys And Alcohol
A friend of mine sent this link to me. It's a BBC nature program that looks at monkey's drinking habits on St. Kitts. Given that monkeys seem to have drinking patterns similar to those of humans -- most drink only moderately, others not at all,...
- What Should Replace The War On Drugs?
We've been fighting a war on drugs...which explains why we've been doing it so badly. The Rockefeller plan of locking up ever more non-violent offenders surely is not the answer. But simple legalization in this culture would probably work about...
- Countering The Slippery Slope Nonsense: Why Gay Marriage Doesn't Lead To Box Turtle Nuptials
One of the standard arguments provided by the homophobic right against gay marriage is a form of what we call the domino fallacy or the slippery slope argument. The idea is that if you take that seemingly innocuous first step, it automatically leads to...
- Marriage For (and Against) Dummies
I'm working on the section of (what will hopefully be) my new book, Was It Morally Good For You, Too?: A Guide to Rational Ethics in Sex, Politics, and Other Dirty Words to be called "The Ins and Outs of Sexual Ethics." Comments and criticisms gratefully...
- Alcohol And The Creative Process, Especially Writers
"Writers and Rum" by Adam Gopnik January 9th, 2014 The Atlantic “Writers in this office used to drink,” a grizzled veteran of these corridors once said sternly to a couple of pup reporters, whom he had discovered taking turns trying on a...