Archive for the ‘Moral Philosophy’ Category

Instructions for Living Gently in a Violent World

Books that promise to radically change the way I see the world make me skeptical. Living Gently in a Violent World was no different, except insofar as that it actually did. Living Gently is a release by InterVarsity Press in their ongoing series “Resources for Reconciliation,” which addresses...
July 28th, 2009 | Abortion, Book Reviews, Culture, Human Rights, Media, Moral Philosophy, Religion, Reproductive Technologies | Read More

Evangelicals and Liquor Laws: Letting Adults Choose To Drink

By John Mark Reynolds College presidents are not always wrong. Here is one they get right: Americans should rethink our polices toward alcohol and young adults. Eighteen year old adults should have the legal choice to drink in this culture. College faculty and administrators know that thousands of...
August 27th, 2008 | Culture, Moral Philosophy, Religion | Read More

Sin on a Bun:
The Forgotten Vice of Gluttony

The appetite for sex, thought C.S. Lewis, is in “ludicrous and preposterous excess of its function.” How else, he wondered, can we explain the fascination men have with watching a girl publicly undress on a stage? The “strip-tease” shows the absurdity of our propensity for sexual...
May 29th, 2008 | Moral Philosophy, Religion | Read More

Rainbows and Electric Chairs:
A Christian View on Capital Punishment

Earlier this week the Supreme Court debated whether the rape of children should be punishable by execution. In deciding the case of Patrick Kennedy, a Louisiana man who raped his 8-year-old stepdaughter, the Court could determine whether the death penalty is extended to crimes other than murder. The...
April 17th, 2008 | Moral Philosophy | Read More

Prostitution and the Pollution of Moral Ecology

The news of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s dalliances with high-priced prostitutes fills me with sadness, regret, and dread. Sadness over the Governor’s shaming his family in such a public way, regret at having to listen to the smirking schadenfreude of his political enemies, and dread...
March 11th, 2008 | Moral Philosophy, Politics | Read More

In Defense of Moralism

If I told you I was an ornithologist, you could conclude that, like John James Audubon, I study birds. If I say I’m an economist then you would presume that, like Alan Greenspan, I study markets. But if I claim to be a moralist you would not presume that I study morality, but think that, like Gladys...
March 4th, 2008 | Moral Philosophy | Read More

Dung Eaters and the Golden Rule:
An Brief Examination of Naturalistic Ethics

For those who hold a belief in naturalism–the theory that all phenomena can be explained mechanistically in terms of material causes–issues of philosophy are always problematic. When it comes to issues of metaphysics or epistemology, the naturalist can often simply ignore the fact that their...
February 19th, 2008 | Moral Philosophy | Read More

Anthropos and Enemy:
Further Thoughts on Waterboarding

The story so far: My post on waterboarding has stirred quite a reaction on RedState. After Alexham linked to it approvingly, Thomas, Jeff Emanuel, Dan McLaughlin responded with their dissent. This spurred another round of discussion, including posts by Thomas
November 7th, 2007 | Moral Philosophy | Read More

Our Tortured Silence:
The Shameful Response of Christians to Waterboarding

During the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on his nomination as attorney general, Michael Mukasey was asked “Is waterboarding constitutional? Mukasey answered: “I don’t know what is involved in the technique. If waterboarding is torture, torture is not constitutional.” Since...
November 6th, 2007 | Moral Philosophy | Read More

Justice and the Jena Six

Earlier this week we saw one of the most dispiriting scenes in America: tens of thousands of demonstrators converging on a small town in the Deep South to to promote injustice. The rally in Jena, Louisiana for the “Jena Six” called for the release of six criminals in the name of “civil...
September 25th, 2007 | Moral Philosophy | Read More