Camels With Hammers - Philosophy, Ethics, Atheism, Nietzsche

Pick My Brain!

October 18, 2018 By Daniel Fincke

Do you have any questions or ideas that you would like to run by a philosopher in a one-on-one conversation? I have a PhD in Philosophy and more than fifteen years’ teaching experience, both in universities and in my private classes, and I am willing to sit down with you for a free 75 minute session where you can pick my brain on any philosophical topic that you would like. I will be available the rest of the year on… Read more

Study Ethics or John Locke’s Political Philosophy With Me in October 2018!

September 6, 2018 By Daniel Fincke

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From October 7-October 28, these are the topics my once weekly live, interactive, videoconference philosophy classes will be covering: October 7-28 Sundays at 9am-11am Eastern: Ethics, CONSEQUENTIALISM AND DEONTOLOGY Are morally right actions those that maximize the amount of good in the world (and minimize the bad) or are they ones that respect formal principles that are of paramount importance irrespective of whether they actually lead to better outcomes in particular cases? This is the core dispute between consequentialists and deontologists…. Read more

Atheists Should Persuade, But Not Proselytize.

September 1, 2018 By Daniel Fincke

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Should atheists engage in proselytization? I solicited questions about my philosophy of atheism on Facebook and that’s the topic of the first question: Do you think trying to “convert” people to atheism is a good idea generally or at least sometimes? I don’t think atheism is something you “convert” to. Atheism is just one philosophical position, not an entire system of beliefs or anything like the complex set of beliefs and practices and communities that religions involve. There are religions… Read more

Making Arguments Less Tediously Repetitive, Contentious, Alienating, Depressing, and Futile

May 4, 2018 By Daniel Fincke

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It’s easy to get impatient in a disagreement about ideas. In particular I sometimes get very impatient when someone says something that I have heard said many times before and am tired of rebutting. A couple such occasions I got so quickly fed up that I tried to not only dispatch with what they actually just said as quickly as possible but then anticipated the next several things that I expected them to say and explained why I thought all of… Read more

Why ‘The Last Jedi’ Made Sense (Spoilers Galore)

December 16, 2017 By Daniel Fincke

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Having given my spoiler-free review of The Last Jedi, it’s time to break down the movie bit by bit into what I thought it was all about and what I liked and didn’t like. As I have encountered criticisms of the film online I’ve “special-editioned” this post you’re about to read, adding more commentary and defense to bolster it. Prologue In his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche appropriates Zarathustra, the great historical founder of the transformative Persian religion Zoroastrianism, to explore his own philosophy…. Read more

The Last Jedi (Spoiler Free Review)

December 16, 2017 By Daniel Fincke

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It’s a Star Wars that takes genuine risks again and is driven by ideas rather than formulas for the first time since Lucas gave up the reins. Read more

Our Wedding Video

December 8, 2017 By Daniel Fincke

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You really know you’ve found the right spouse when you are living with her on a foreign continent in a country where you don’t know the language and it’s the most at home you’ve ever felt in your life. Read more

Study Philosophy With Me In 2018!

December 8, 2017 By Daniel Fincke

Explore philosophy with a former professor in live, personalized, interactive, small group, video-conference philosophy classes. Read more

Have I Considered Catholicism Sufficiently?

July 19, 2017 By Daniel Fincke

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A Catholic apologist agrees with me that I had good reasons to leave Calvinism, but claims I didn’t have good reasons to leave Christianity. Read more