Query Interesting

Is it OK for a doctor to prescribe a placebo for a hypochondriac patient? Do you owe your ailing sibling a part of your liver if they haven’t spoken to you in years? Does a person’s private diary count as a “found object” for an artist who makes “found art”? The Ethicist Randy Cohen has answers. Plus an excerpt from "Were We Misled", our debate on prewar intelligence, and David Kipen who disputes the auteur theory and argues that screenwriters are the dominant creative force in shaping a movie.