Dr Paul Allen

The   Conversion Practices Ban Act  2024 (NSW)   (“the Act”) is now in force, having commenced operation on 4 April 2025. I  previously posted  a paper expressing concerns about the Act's operation in relation to religious freedom. In this post, I want to reiterate briefly some of those concerns  and comment on “guidance” on the operation of the Act provided by NSW government officials. I commend the previous paper to readers for more details. However, the following extracts may help set the scene for my comments on the NSW government guidance. Below, I will be referring to the “ Frequently Asked Questions ” (“FAQ”) page produced by “Anti-Discrimination NSW” (ADNSW)- the version I am commenting on was dated 7 April 2025. (ADNSW is the “online identity” of the body formally known as the “Anti-Discrimination Board” established under the  Anti-Discrimination Act 1977  (NSW); the President of the Board receives initial complaints under the Act- see s ...

Ethics is also part of philosophy. The first Greek philosophers, like Thales, were mainly interested in the material composition of the world. But with Heraclitus, and especially with Plato and Aristotle, people tried to learn from philosophers how to live. Philosophers have typically offered one of three general theories of ethics, sometimes coordinating two of these theories (rarely three of them) together. Teleological Ethics In teleological ethics (a modern variant is utilitarianism), human behavior seeks to achieve a goal, a telos. The goal is usually (as in Aristotle) happiness. But then epistemological questions intervene. How can I know what state of mind is a worthy goal for me to pursue? Who is to say what pleasures are worth pursuing, and which should be deferred? What account should I take of other people, their pleasures, their happiness? What if it appears that I must sacrifice my own pleasure, even my life, for someone else? At best, teleological ethics take...