Philosophy
I was listening to a discussion about Newt Gingrich's conversion to Catholicism this morning and it glossed over the fact that he was with his current wife before he was no longer with his previous wife. It is clear that he committed adultery, but did she? In taking his nuptial vows, he entered into a contract that he broke. Clearly, this is wrong. But the mistress who would later become his next wife, took no such vow. He entered into the contract with his previous wife, she has no relationship whatsoever with her. Does the fact that the man to which she feels a physical attraction is already married cast any moral obligation upon her when she never acted in a fashion that would give her additional moral obligations? If someone steals your spouse, you would be furious at both of them. You have clear moral grounds to be enraged at the cheating spouse. If the person who seduced your spouse away knew s/he was already married, do you then have moral grounds for your umbrage?
- Best Friends
Given that "best" is a superlative, can one have more than one best friend? How many could one have and still rightly claim that all are best friends? We have special moral obligations to friends on the basis of the relationship, but are there special...
- The Social Contract And Generations To Come
Hopefully by now, everyone has seen this clip of Elizabeth Warren. Phil, a longtime Playground friend, asked me about a claim she makes at the end. She says that "part of the underlying social contract is that you take a hunk of that [earnings] and pay...
- The Complexities Of Infidelity
I've been thinking about the Governor Sanford Affair sparked by Governor Sanford's affair and JimB goes and sends me this message, To celebrate my birthday, a few of us decided to travel to Montreal as part of our quest to visit the best breweries...
- Zoos And Moral Responsibility
An interesting question from Lee:I posted a link to a diary on DailyKos asking people to petition Mayor Bloomberg to maintain funding to the Bronx Zoo. I included a link where one could donate to the zoo itself. A friend replied, somewhat facetiously,...
- On The Self-righteousness Of The Fit
There is a certain sense of moral superiority among those who do everything needed in order to keep themselves in good physical shape. Working out is hard and painful. It takes discipline in the gym and more importantly, to get to the gym. Not eating...
Philosophy
Did Newt Gingrich's Wife Commit Adultery Too?
I was listening to a discussion about Newt Gingrich's conversion to Catholicism this morning and it glossed over the fact that he was with his current wife before he was no longer with his previous wife. It is clear that he committed adultery, but did she? In taking his nuptial vows, he entered into a contract that he broke. Clearly, this is wrong. But the mistress who would later become his next wife, took no such vow. He entered into the contract with his previous wife, she has no relationship whatsoever with her. Does the fact that the man to which she feels a physical attraction is already married cast any moral obligation upon her when she never acted in a fashion that would give her additional moral obligations? If someone steals your spouse, you would be furious at both of them. You have clear moral grounds to be enraged at the cheating spouse. If the person who seduced your spouse away knew s/he was already married, do you then have moral grounds for your umbrage?
- Best Friends
Given that "best" is a superlative, can one have more than one best friend? How many could one have and still rightly claim that all are best friends? We have special moral obligations to friends on the basis of the relationship, but are there special...
- The Social Contract And Generations To Come
Hopefully by now, everyone has seen this clip of Elizabeth Warren. Phil, a longtime Playground friend, asked me about a claim she makes at the end. She says that "part of the underlying social contract is that you take a hunk of that [earnings] and pay...
- The Complexities Of Infidelity
I've been thinking about the Governor Sanford Affair sparked by Governor Sanford's affair and JimB goes and sends me this message, To celebrate my birthday, a few of us decided to travel to Montreal as part of our quest to visit the best breweries...
- Zoos And Moral Responsibility
An interesting question from Lee:I posted a link to a diary on DailyKos asking people to petition Mayor Bloomberg to maintain funding to the Bronx Zoo. I included a link where one could donate to the zoo itself. A friend replied, somewhat facetiously,...
- On The Self-righteousness Of The Fit
There is a certain sense of moral superiority among those who do everything needed in order to keep themselves in good physical shape. Working out is hard and painful. It takes discipline in the gym and more importantly, to get to the gym. Not eating...