ethics

Does anything really matter?

Does anything really matter? Some people say no. Such people are proponents of nihilism, the view according to which nothing matters. According to nihilists, there is no reason to care about anything whatsoever. Nihilists do not deny that people care about things, they claim only that there is no reason to care about anything. Other Does anything really matter?

Objections to Objectivism – Part 2: More Popular Objections

In this post I will examine three more populuar arguments against ethical objectivism from Russ Landau’s textbook The Fundamentals of Ethics (hereafter: FOE).  I will present Landau’s criticisms of these arguments, and I will also present a few of my own criticisms. Objection 4: Moral Objectivity Supports Dogmatism 1. If there are objective moral standards, then Objections to Objectivism – Part 2: More Popular Objections

Objections to Objectivism – Part 1: Three Popular Objections

I have many textbooks, handbooks, and readers on ethics, so I didn’t really need to buy another introduction to ethics this weekend. But I glanced through Russ Landau’s textbook The Fundamentals of Ethics (hereafter: FOE) and the third and final section of his book caught my attention: “Part Three: The Status of Morality”.  In Part Three, Objections to Objectivism – Part 1: Three Popular Objections

Podcast 3: What is Christianity?

I have published my third podcast in the series “Thinking Critically About: Is Christianity True?” http://thinkingcriticallyabout.podbean.com/e/podcast-3-what-is-christianity/ Podcast 3: What is Christianity? March 17, 2017 In this podcast the host examines five key claims about Christianity in order to clarify the meaning of the word “Christianity” in this context. ========================== The two previous podcasts in this Podcast 3: What is Christianity?

The Christian Worldview – Part 1: Worldviews

1.Christianity is a religion (NOT a relationship with Jesus). 2. Religions have several dimensions. Ninian Smart is a widely respected expert in comparative religions. He asserts that religions are complex historical phenomena that have several dimensions, particularly the following six dimensions: 1.Doctrinal and Philosophical 2.Mythic and Narrative 3.Ethical or Legal 4.Ritual or Practical 5.Experiential or The Christian Worldview – Part 1: Worldviews

Unapologetic Review – Part 10: Evaluation of Reason #9

REVIEW OF ANALYSIS OF REASON #9 In Part 9 of this series, I asserted that  the main argument in  Unapologetic is Reason #9, and I argued that Reason #9 invoved the following assumptions: 5. ANY claim that is based on faith cannot be reasonably defended. 6. Philosophers ought NOT recognize and participate in an alleged sub-discipline of philosophy that Unapologetic Review – Part 10: Evaluation of Reason #9

Retributivism, Punishment, and Moral Value

In the comments on another post https://secularfrontier.infidels.org/2017/01/05/memoriam-derek-parfit-1942-2017/ , the contrast between retributivist and consequentialist models of punishment came up. Here is a thought-experiment I present to my classes on this contrast. Suppose that in lieu of life-imprisonment for major crimes, the technology exists to plug offenders into a Matrix-like situation: they are to be imprisoned Retributivism, Punishment, and Moral Value