A Brief Overview Of My Dissertation

November 7, 2009 By 5 Comments

Nietzsche’s writings on morality are famously provocative and controversial.  His criticisms of morality in both theory and practice are so extensive and rhetorically scathing that many philosophers assume that he can offer little or nothing constructive to moral philosophy.  Additionally, his glorification of the will to power sounds prima facie like a celebration of excessively [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Autonomy, Contemporary Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Duty, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Featured, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, Moral Psychology, Morality, My Theory of Morality's Rational Foundations and Nature, New Atheism, Nietzsche, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Virtues Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Philosophical Ethics: A Possible Kantian Formula For Determining The Permissibility Of Self-Defense

October 14, 2009 By 3 Comments

In a series of posts this semester, I am going to blog all (or almost all) the lecture topics for the two Philosophical Ethics classes I am teaching this semester. Each of these posts will primarily explicate the reading or a theme that dominated class discussion in a way that should be accessible to novices [...]

Filed Under: Applied Ethics, Autonomy, Contemporary Ethics, Duty, Ethics, Featured, Historical Ethics, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Torture Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Philosophical Ethics: “But Why MUST I?” Kant’s Ironic Formulation Of Liberty As Duty

October 4, 2009 By 1 Comment

In a series of posts this semester, I am going to blog all (or almost all) the lecture topics for the two Philosophical Ethics classes I am teaching this semester. Each of these posts will primarily explicate the reading or a theme that dominated class discussion in a way that should be accessible to novices [...]

Filed Under: Authority, Autonomy, Duty, Ethics, Featured, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Secularism Tagged With: , , , , 1 Comment

Philosophical Ethics: Kant, The Good Will, And Rational Actions

October 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In a series of posts this semester, I am going to blog all (or almost all) the lecture topics for the two Philosophical Ethics classes I am teaching this semester. Each of these posts will primarily explicate the reading or a theme that dominated class discussion in a way that should be accessible to novices [...]

Filed Under: Autonomy, Duty, Ethics, Featured, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, My Theory of Morality's Rational Foundations and Nature, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment

Camels With Hammers Philosophy

September 27, 2009 By 1 Comment

After this introductory paragraph, every sentence in this post will summarize and link a different post expressing my views, primarily on topics related to atheism, philosophy, and ethics—which are the primary preoccupations of this blog. I am organizing all of these links into this one summary statement of “Camels With Hammers’ Philosophy.” This post will [...]

Filed Under: About This Blog, Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authority, Autonomy, Christianity, Contemporary Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Duty, Epistemology, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Evolutionary Psychology, Faith, Featured, Fundamentalism, God, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Metaphysics, Moral Psychology, My Theory of Morality's Rational Foundations and Nature, Nietzsche, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Political Secularism, Politics, Psychology, Religion and Science, Religious Extremism, Religious Rights, Religious Secularism, Secularism, Sociobiology, Teleology, Virtues, Why I Am Not A Christian Tagged With: 1 Comment

An Argument For Gay Marriage And Against Traditionalism

July 27, 2009 By 12 Comments

I am puzzled by appeals to history to oppose gay marriage because history is only the story of what people have done and never of itself directly tells us anything about right or wrong.  Results of history can serve as warnings about effective and uneffective approaches to goal x or goal y but what people [...]

Filed Under: Applied Ethics, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Autonomy, Civil Rights, Cultural Secularism, Culture, Ethics, Evolutionary Psychology, Gay Marriage, Homosexuality, Jesus, Moral Psychology, My Theory of Morality's Rational Foundations and Nature, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Political Secularism, Politics, Psychology, Religion, Religious Secularism, Same Sex Marriage, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Social Psychology, Sociobiology, Sociology, Virtues Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 12 Comments

Kantian Reasons To Lie To The Murderer At The Door?

July 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Michael Cholbi thinks he has some: First, the lie is not meant to advance the happiness either of the liar or of the potential murder victim, but to thwart the abuse of the victim’s autonomy that her murder would represent. Hence, if lying to the murderer is manipulation at all, it is manipulation in the [...]

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“Should You Try To Cure Gays?”

July 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Your Thoughts?

Filed Under: Autonomy, Christianity, Ethics, Fundamentalism, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Moral Psychology, Religion, Videos Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment

Towards A “Non-Moral” Standard Of Ethical Evaluation

July 6, 2009 By 2 Comments

In a previous post, I raised some remarks from psychologist of morality Jonathan Haidt, in which he discussed his theory that moral thinking appeals to 5 essential modules hardwired into our brains by evolution.  In the interview I cited from a couple of years ago he only referred to 4 of the 5 modules but [...]

Filed Under: Atheistic Ethics, Authority, Autonomy, Duty, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Evolutionary Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, My Theory of Morality's Rational Foundations and Nature, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Sociobiology, Virtues Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Playing Sarkozy’s Advocate

June 29, 2009 By 5 Comments

Njustus has kindly accepted my gauntlet to readers to offer on the possibility of the French government outlawing women from publicly wearing burqas.  And his reply is a good one: From a Lockean ’social contract’ perspective, I believe the state should have the power to regulate the wearing of burqas if it can offer a [...]

Filed Under: Applied Ethics, Autonomy, Ethics, Islam, News Discussion, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Separation of Church and State, Women's Rights Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments