Monday, 14 August 2017

If a persons beliefs conflict with the law or lead to bias against groups, should the government protect the exercise of those beliefs? Why or why...

A good way
to think through this is the "harm principle" of John Stuart Mill. This principle
states that an individual's liberties should only be restricted when exercise thereof would do
harm to other people.

This suggests first that thought and speech should be
free. A person may express a repugnant idea so long as that expression does not advocate or lead
to direct harm of others. So, for example, flat earthers are silly but do not harm people. If
someone believes that people with red hair are genetically inferior, again the belief is silly
but the government should only step in if that belief results in discrimination in hiring,
school admissions, housing, or other practical areas.

A more serious case
might be medical beliefs. For example, a Christian Scientist might reject various medical
treatments for themselves but refusing the best medical treatment to their children could
constitute child abuse. Similarly, the anti-vaxx movement can endanger many people and the
government has the right to ban people who are unvaccinated from endangering the lives of
others.

href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/30/time-get-much-tougher-anti-vaccine-crowd/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/30/time-g...

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