Philosophy
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 of morality. Dancy holds an interesting place in contemporary moral theory for his defense of moral particularism, the view that moral principles neither explain the nature of morality nor do they help us understand whether particular actions are right or wrong.
If you've been paying attention to this blog recently, this view stands in stark contrast to more generalist views, such as that espoused by Sam Harris, in which he claims that moral questions not only have objective answers but can actually be determined by science.
It's great to see philosophy entering the mainstream, but can we please choose someone with more personality and social skills next time?
And in case you're wondering, yes, being a philosopher can get you sexual favors :)
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- Debunking The "naturalistic" Argument Against Gay Marriage, Part Ii
Yesterday we began considering the argument that one hears from gay marriage opponents that the state should not grant equal rights to gay and lesbian couples because being gay is immoral due to its unnaturalness. The argument has two steps: 1) Homosexuality...
- 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...
- Frans De Waal - Moral Behavior In Animals
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...
- Still Trying To Predict Human Behavior
Abstract... The phrase ‘folk psychology’ refers to the ordinary psychology we use to understand each other and ourselves. Although folk psychology may initially seem to be a rather simple sort of thing, it can actually be surprisingly difficult...
Philosophy
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 of morality. Dancy holds an interesting place in contemporary moral theory for his defense of moral particularism, the view that moral principles neither explain the nature of morality nor do they help us understand whether particular actions are right or wrong.If you've been paying attention to this blog recently, this view stands in stark contrast to more generalist views, such as that espoused by Sam Harris, in which he claims that moral questions not only have objective answers but can actually be determined by science.
It's great to see philosophy entering the mainstream, but can we please choose someone with more personality and social skills next time?
And in case you're wondering, yes, being a philosopher can get you sexual favors :)
.
- Debunking The "naturalistic" Argument Against Gay Marriage, Part Ii
Yesterday we began considering the argument that one hears from gay marriage opponents that the state should not grant equal rights to gay and lesbian couples because being gay is immoral due to its unnaturalness. The argument has two steps: 1) Homosexuality...
- 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...
- Frans De Waal - Moral Behavior In Animals
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...
- Still Trying To Predict Human Behavior
Abstract... The phrase ‘folk psychology’ refers to the ordinary psychology we use to understand each other and ourselves. Although folk psychology may initially seem to be a rather simple sort of thing, it can actually be surprisingly difficult...