Philosophy
As you probably know, one of the most popular arguments for the existence of God is known as the moral argument. There are variations on the theme, but one of the general ideas is that the human moral sense cannot be successfully explained by mindless naturalistic principles, partly because human morality seems to be an altogether unique phenomenon in the biological world, without any antecedents in our ancestors or parallels in our living cousins. Even some prominent biologists believe this!
But is it really true that there are no antecedents or parallels of a moral sense in other animals, or is that really just a straw man created by creationists and theologians to rationalize their beliefs? Well, whenever someone makes claims that can be easily verified empirically, we can simply turn to the evidence and see how such claims stand up to experimental scrutiny, and as world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal shows in the following TEDTalk presentation, there are all kinds of examples of moral behavior in the animal world, often including two crucial components of morality: fairness and empathy.
And yes, since de Waal is a primatologist, you can expect to see plenty of examples of monkey moral behavior, and since we're dealing with monkeys, of course there will be some hilarity :)
- Bullshit Or Not: Nietzsche Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- ?kant?s Moral Argument Cannot Be Defended.? Discuss.
The claim that Kant?s moral argument cannot be defended is questionable. Freud is someone who would agree with this claim. For Freud our moral awareness comes through a clash between our subconscious desires, instincts or wants (known as the id) and societal...
- Peter Singer - The Life You Can Save, In 3 Minutes
We all like to think that we are good, moral, compassionate people. Of course, that's always easier said than done. Often, we tend to consider ourselves good simply because we are not out doing evil stuff, but not doing evil doesn't make you good;...
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I've always liked Craig Ferguson. He strikes me not only as a funny dude but also as a decent human being, and my admiration for him has just grown since he decided to invite to his show a professional philosopher, Jonathan Dancy, to discuss the nature...
- Moral/ethical Question
The John Templeton Foundation often posts moral/ethical questions. Here is one with a selected response by Christine M. Korsgaard. If you are interested in other responses, just ask. Does moral action depend on reasoning? Christine M. Korsgaard [Christine...
Philosophy
Frans de Waal - Moral Behavior in Animals
But is it really true that there are no antecedents or parallels of a moral sense in other animals, or is that really just a straw man created by creationists and theologians to rationalize their beliefs? Well, whenever someone makes claims that can be easily verified empirically, we can simply turn to the evidence and see how such claims stand up to experimental scrutiny, and as world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal shows in the following TEDTalk presentation, there are all kinds of examples of moral behavior in the animal world, often including two crucial components of morality: fairness and empathy.
And yes, since de Waal is a primatologist, you can expect to see plenty of examples of monkey moral behavior, and since we're dealing with monkeys, of course there will be some hilarity :)
- Bullshit Or Not: Nietzsche Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- ?kant?s Moral Argument Cannot Be Defended.? Discuss.
The claim that Kant?s moral argument cannot be defended is questionable. Freud is someone who would agree with this claim. For Freud our moral awareness comes through a clash between our subconscious desires, instincts or wants (known as the id) and societal...
- Peter Singer - The Life You Can Save, In 3 Minutes
We all like to think that we are good, moral, compassionate people. Of course, that's always easier said than done. Often, we tend to consider ourselves good simply because we are not out doing evil stuff, but not doing evil doesn't make you good;...
- Moral Philosophy Hits Late Night Tv
I've always liked Craig Ferguson. He strikes me not only as a funny dude but also as a decent human being, and my admiration for him has just grown since he decided to invite to his show a professional philosopher, Jonathan Dancy, to discuss the nature...
- Moral/ethical Question
The John Templeton Foundation often posts moral/ethical questions. Here is one with a selected response by Christine M. Korsgaard. If you are interested in other responses, just ask. Does moral action depend on reasoning? Christine M. Korsgaard [Christine...