Category Archives: Applied Ethics

Ross Douthat Claims Arguments Against Gay Marriage Lose Because They’re Just “Too Abstract”

November 30, 2009 – 7:43 pm

Ross Douthat half admits to the intellectual bankruptcy of his opposition of to same-sex marriage and then tacitly demonstrates it with his pathetic reply when pushed to address the topic last month at the New School:
“I am someone opposed to gay marriage who is deeply uncomfortable arguing the issue in public.”
Mr. Douthat indicated that he [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Atheism, Christianity, Civil Rights, Faith, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homosexuality, LGBTQAA, Law, Law & Politics, News, News Discussion, Politics, Pope Benedict XVI, Religion, Roman Catholic Church, Same Sex Marriage, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Theocracy, Theocrats | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Lego

November 10, 2009 – 6:35 pm

xkcd, of course.
Your Thoughts?

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Bio-Medical Ethics, Comic Strips | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Loving Wives And Loving Countries

October 20, 2009 – 11:55 am

On Bloggingheads, philosophers Simon Keller and Niko Kolodny dissect love.  If you don’t have the hour to watch the whole thing or if you are only interested in one of the subtopics they discuss, below is the set of topics.  The time listed next to each topic indicates how long that portion of video runs.
Love [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Love, Moral Psychology, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Racism, Virtues | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Philosophical Ethics: Rawls’s Maximin Principle

October 19, 2009 – 2:45 pm

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 [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Civil Rights, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, Law, Law & Politics, Morality, News Discussion, Philosophical Ethics, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (13)

Philosophical Ethics: Can We Uphold A Moral Law And A Principle That We Should Break It?

October 19, 2009 – 3:21 am

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 [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Andrew Sullivan, Civil Liberties, Contemporary Ethics, Duty, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Law, Law & Politics, Moral Psychology, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Torture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (10)

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

October 14, 2009 – 12:16 am

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 [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Autonomy, Contemporary Ethics, Duty, Ethics, Historical Ethics, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Torture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Judge This: Who Is Responsible For This Death?

October 7, 2009 – 10:53 am

A new variation of James Rachels’s classic thought experiment against the distinction between killing and letting die from Chaos Pet:

Well, who is really responsible?  Bob?  George?  Both?  Neither?
Your Thoughts?

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Bio-Medical Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (10)

My Thoughts On Blasphemy Day

September 30, 2009 – 9:15 am

So today is “Blasphemy Day.”  Here’s what it’s about:
Blasphemy Day International is an international campaign seeking to establish September 30th as a national day to promote free speech and stand up in a show of solidarity for the freedom to mock and insult religion without fear of murder, violence, and reprisal. It is the obligation [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Atheism, Civil Liberties, Cultural Secularism, Free Speech, Friendly Atheist, Law, Nietzsche, Pat Condell, Political Secularism, Politics, Secularism, Separation of Church and State | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Judge This: Should The US Military Be Sponsoring The Proselytization Of US Troops?

September 29, 2009 – 10:37 am

Unreasonable Faith reports on news that it’s already happening:
“Operation Straight Up” has been allowed to provide entertainment to troops with the goal of “sharing the gospel with soldiers in combat” — something they say has never been allowed before:
Capt. Chris Plekenpol, a spokesman for OSU, was responsible for the lives of 100 men during his [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Ethics, Military, News, News Discussion, Religious Extremism, Separation of Church and State, World Affairs | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Camels With Hammers Philosophy

September 27, 2009 – 9:55 pm

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 [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in About this Blog, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authority, Autonomy, Christianity, Contemporary Ethics, Cultural Secularism, Duty, Epistemology, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Evolutionary Psychology, Faith, Fundamentalism, God, Historical Ethics, Historical Philosophy, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Metaethics, Metaphysics, Moral Psychology, 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 | Comments (3)

Judge This: Derren Brown False Lesson In Mathematics For Britain

September 12, 2009 – 10:20 am

I was really irritated last night by Derren Brown’s choice to use his lottery trick on national TV in Britain to propagate fundamentally bogus mathematical thinking and to convince a group of people that their belief in their abilities to reach into the subconscious was able to generate knowledge of winning lottery ticket numbers.  It’s [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Cutural Criticism, Education, Ethics, Philosophy, Pop Culture, Pseudoscience, TV | Tagged , , , , | Comments (4)

Influential Iranian Imam Supports Interrogations Using Rape

September 3, 2009 – 3:27 pm

The following quotes from Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, with whom Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is said to “regularly consult,”  are graphic, sickening, and devastating to anyone with a conscience.  Read at your own discretion:

Asked if a confession obtained “by applying psychological, emotional and physical pressure” was “valid and considered credible according to Islam,” Mesbah-Yazdi replied: [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Fundamentalism, Islam, News, Rape, Religious Extremism, Torture, Women's Issues, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Walter Sinnott-Armstrong On Morality Without God

August 30, 2009 – 1:39 pm

From Philosophy Bites, comes Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on Morality Without God.
Sinnott-Armstrong is the editor of the spectacular series of volumes on moral psychology featuring essays featuring both philosophers and psychologists in interaction with each other.  Now he has a new book out, Morality Without God.
(via Atheist Media Blog)
Your Thoughts?

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Atheistic Ethics, Bio-Medical Ethics, Ethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Philosophy | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Judge This: Outsourcing Pregnancy To India

August 29, 2009 – 3:23 pm

Full video of Sandel’s lecture here.
Your Thoughts?

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Bio-Medical Ethics, Ethics, Feminism, Politics, Women's Rights, Women's Issues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment

What Does Dexter Reveal About America?

August 19, 2009 – 1:28 pm

Michael C. Hall discussed the European response to Dexter and how it differs from the American one.
…people are fascinated.  And I think in some markets overseas, they’re interested in the show in that it’s an American show, interested in what it might say or might not say about American culture, so that’s an added wrinkle.  [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Ethics, Moral Psychology, Nietzsche | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Logic, Numbers, and Mary’s Conception

August 15, 2009 – 7:05 pm

Numbers 5:14, 18, 44:
If feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure—then he is to take his wife to the priest…. After the priest has had the woman stand before the LORD, he shall [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Abortion, Christianity, Jesus, Law, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Disambiguating Faith: Faith As Loyally Trusting Those Insufficiently Proven To Be Trustworthy

August 12, 2009 – 6:59 pm

Yesterday I began my series of posts attempting first to disambiguate the various senses of the word faith, to explore how the various practices referred to under this one word’s umbrella all relate to each other and how they can be ethically and epistemologically assessed, both as they occur individually and in various combinations with [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Disambiguating Faith, Ethics, Faith, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Philosophy, Virtues | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Why Do Torture And Increased Police Authority Increasingly Appeal To Americans?

August 5, 2009 – 8:03 pm

The Economist has a chart on views on torture which reports a disquietingly high amount of tolerance among Americans for the practice:
OPINIONS on whether the use of torture should be prohibited appear to vary widely around the world. According to opinion polls conducted early in 2008 respondents in western European democracies such as Britain and [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, George W. Bush, Moral Psychology, Philosophical Ethics, Psychology, Racism, Religious Extremism, Torture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

What’s Wrong With Prejudice And Is It Prejudicial To Dislike Someone Over His Bad Thinking?

August 4, 2009 – 10:27 am

Over at Unreasonable Faith, guest contributor Custador thinks he is a bigoted atheist:
The knowledge that my cousin is a creationist has actually made me dislike him. I wonder now if I’m any better than any other prejudiced person — a racist or a sexist or a homophobe — because I pre-judge a group of people [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Epistemology, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Faith, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Moral Psychology, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Prejudice, Secularism, Virtues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (6)

Is It Wrong To Advertize Abortion Services On TV?

July 30, 2009 – 8:29 pm
By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Abortion, Ethics, Feminism, News Discussion, Politics, Women's Issues | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Is The Christians’ God Pro-Life?

July 30, 2009 – 9:12 am

Daniel Florian sums up the case that indeed he is not:
Dear Pro-Lifer,
Your God is not pro-life.
You might find that statement surprising, but I know this from your own holy book. Despite what you may have been told, the Bible is not a pro-life document.
It is, in many parts, pro-death. In one of the first stories [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Abortion, Bible, Christianity, Fundamentalism, God, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , | Comments (4)

Is Much Of What We Think About Weight And Health Wrong?

July 29, 2009 – 7:10 pm

Paul Campos argues so in this thought provoking interview with Megan McArdle, which I recommend reading in full:
Obesity is defined completely arbitrarily as a body mass index of 30 or higher (175 pounds for an average height woman). Now body mass follows more or less a normal distribution, whiich means if the the mean body [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Biology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Judge This: The Ethics and Customs Of Tipping

July 29, 2009 – 1:19 pm

I love egg and cheese sandwiches in the morning.  Every once and a while I go to my local diner and order one takeout.  I never stay there to eat egg and cheese sandwiches but in the past I have gone there as frequently as once a week to eat dinner with a friend.
But when [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Ethics | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)

The Mother Teresa Debate

July 29, 2009 – 1:14 pm

Thanks to Unreasonable Faith for the find.

Your Thoughts?

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Christianity, Christopher Hitchens, Fundamentalism, Religion, Videos | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment

An Argument For Gay Marriage And Against Traditionalism

July 27, 2009 – 9:26 am

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 [...]

By Daniel Fincke | Also posted in Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Autonomy, Civil Rights, Cultural Secularism, Culture, Ethics, Evolutionary Psychology, Gay Marriage, Homosexuality, Jesus, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)