On Monday, Charles reflected on a BBC report concerning business investments in Burma, and considered the moral implications of economic sanctions on that country
On Thursday, Sam shared several interesting thoughts on the midterm election; Han posed a few questions in response to the Republican-led revival of debate over the 17th Amendment, which provided for direct election of senators; and Charles asked whether contraception should be thought of as a health issue or a lifestyle choice, and discussed possible answers to that question
In Others’ Words
For New Jersey The Start Ledger, Paul Mulshine characterized the Stewart-Colbert rally as lacking in substance
Stephanie Pappas explained at LiveScience that there are moderate views left in American politics, but that you won’t see them on television or in Congress
The Florida Student Philosophy Blog had its 116th Philosophers’ Carnival, providing many great posts on philosophy from last month
Han explored what it means to call someone ‘immoral’ before blaming a pandemic of moral relativism for preventing society from doing any good moral philosophy
On Thursday, Han described today’s public discourse as impoverished and conducive to a sort of arms race of extreme views and modes of expression, and Sam defended Jon Stewart as critic and comedian in the wake of his recent interview with President Barack Obama
Harvard historian James T. Kloppenberg found President Obama to be a kind of “philosopher president”
James Rowley for Bloomberg explained that Congressman John Boehner’s blue-collar beginnings could help us understand and predict the representative’s views
Susan Milligan argued for US News & World Report’s Politics & Policy blog that a Republican sweep of the upcoming elections would be a great thing for the Democrats
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On Monday, Han pointed us to a piece at Newsweek disparaging the tea party’s veneration for the Constitution, and Charles explored the place of fear and revulsion in policy debates in response to a piece at Project Syndicate
On Tuesday, Luke considered two Supreme Court Justices and their respective forms of constitutional originalism in light of Han’s post on Monday; Charles reflected on the decline of multiculturalism in Europe, and compared European immigration to immigration in the United States; and Han rallied to the side of contemporary philosophy and American university education in the face of a critique at The Wall Street Journal
On Wednesday, Jake reflected on a proposed parallel between fire insurance and health care, and argued that health care is not a collective good
On Thursday, Han highlighted an initiative in the United Kingdom to create the world’s first philosophy town, and warned that the project could create confusion and dogmatism if completed hastily; Sam explored forward-thinking policy measures in Europe and emphasized the importance of setting aside our moral feelings when making long-term decisions; and Charles reported on a new policy at Westfield High School in Virginia, and the tendency of fairness to require reducing everyone to the lowest common denominator
On Monday, Han reviewed Israel’s decision to require new citizens to declare loyalty to a “Jewish and democratic state,” and argued that Israel cannot call itself pluralistic
On Tuesday, Han examined dogmatism’s effect on democratic deliberation in light of a recent video for the “10:10” campaign, and
Charles considered the deeper implications of whether or not people should be allowed to hang their laundry out to dry
On Wednesday, Jake spoke out against the unfortunate influence and use of money in elections, and suggested we consider banning political TV ads
On Thursday, Han reported on the possibility for cyclic third-party neglect, and pointed us to a specific case in the California gubernatorial race, and Charles linked us to some interesting information on Icelandic culture before explaining would be required to improve our culture
In Others’ Words
William Grimes reported on the death of famous moral philosopher Philippa Foot for the New York Times
Steve McCann called President Obama a “liar and demagogue” at American Thinker
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, local Virginia politicians warn of the onset of socialism in America
USA Today’s Faith & Reason blog recounted Philippa Foot’s famous ‘Trolley Problem’, and shared some tributes to Foot
, in which Jonah Goldberg criticized liberals who legislate without considering the constitutionality of their legislation, and Charles examined distortion and libel in light of the recent film about Facebook’s origins, The Social Network
On Tuesday, Charles mentioned a recent Rutgers suicide case before discussing questions concerning murder and unintentional death, bullying, and privacy
On Wednesday, Han defended McDonald’s Happy Meals against a proposed ban in San Francisco, and guest poster Joanna Langille reflected on the decision of Ontario’s Superior Court to strike down federal laws criminalizing prostitution by tracing human dignity in Western intellectual history and explaining what it means for the prostitution debate
On Thursday, Sam examined a recent attempt to limit what food stamp users can purchase to get at a deeper question concerning government authority and individual autonomy, and Charles criticized ‘silly laws’ like the one prohibiting firefighters from saving the house of a Tennessee who didn’t pay
David Murdter discussed for The Cornell Daily Sun, in his ‘Column to Restore Rationality’, the two rallies to be put on by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
to a New York Times report on the privatization of some public libraries, and Charles pointed to several cases of sexual hypocrisy and tragedy, blaming them on theological conservatism’s creation of strict taboos
On Thursday, Charles claimed that while targeted sanctions on some Iranian officials are morally unproblematic, larger economic sanctions against the whole of Iran could be as harmful as a war
Patrick Deneen at Front Porch Republic discussed the difference between classical liberalism and conservatism in order to show that America is, actually, liberal
some of the light it sheds on civilian deaths during wartime and military insubordination
On Monday, Han compared American and Chinese efforts to create a ‘green’ economy in light of Thomas Friedman’s New York Times Op-Ed before exploring the differences between the two countries’ political systems that would affect those efforts, and Charles laid out some evocative ethical questions in the wake of the realization that demand for medical services will always outstrip the ability to meet that demand
On Tuesday, Han agreed with Damon Linker’s suggestion that some religious beliefs can be inappropriate for a democratically-elected politician, and explained his position by reference to some of John Rawls’ thoughts on justice in liberal societies; Luke reflected on a New York Times article about the ethical implications of certain kinds of clinical trials for new drugs, and suggested a solution to an apparent problem with these trials; and Charles defended liberal democratic societies like our own in response to Han’s post on Monday, which highlighted some of the advantages of technocratic or authoritarian governments like that of China
On Thursday, Han pointed us to a Time piece by Adam Cohen disparaging Supreme Court Justice Scalia for his ‘originalist’ interpretation of the Constitution; Charles looked at the Supreme Court’s refusal to overturn the death sentence of a borderline mentally-disabled Virginia woman, and argued that the death penalty might not be justified by pointing to its effectiveness as a deterrent of future crimes; and Sam noted the amount of philosophical language in new Republican rhetoric, indicated that the party’s plan relies very much on the repeal of previous legislation, and asked “whether it’s right to govern by appeal”
In Others’ Words
411mania explored Tea Party Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell’s views on sexuality and religion, especially masturbation
For The Atlantic, Gabriella Coleman took an anthropological look at hackers, and provided some interesting information on the politics of hacking
The Philosophers’ Magazine shared another part of its Ideas of the Century series
Youtube user ThinkingMatters posted a debate between atheist philosopher Raymond Bradley and Christian philosopher/blogger Matt Flannagan on whether or not God is the source of morality
On Monday, Sam criticized Democratic politicians’ campaign strategy of hiding their party affiliation as dangerous to our democratic system, and Charles discussed the duty to defend something you believe to be morally wrong because it is the law of the land in light of a recent California ruling against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
On Tuesday, Charles examined the state of education in the US and entertained the suggestion that elitism is the largest roadblock to educational reform, and Luke defended General David Petraeus’ denouncement of a Florida church’s plan to burn copies of the Koran
On Wednesday, Han condemned the news media’s obsession over Rev. Terry Jones, the Florida minister who planned to burn the Koran, as unfortunate and harmful ‘voyeurism’, and guest poster Ryan Berg analyzed arguments for the ‘childfree’ movement, which discourages parenting, before suggesting some valid criticisms
On Thursday, Charles asked whether it is appropriate to appropriate for countries like France
On Wednesday, Han reviewed a piece in The National Review by Pascal Bruckner diagnosing Europe of a sort of ‘self-hatred’, and suggested national guilt might be a very good thing
On Thursday, Charles evaluated the moral issues to be struggled with before deciding for or against the legalization of prostitution, and discussed arguments in a debate at the Economist on that subject, and Jake shared arguments
On Monday, Sam explored a change in a race-based policy at an elementary school in Mississippi and explained its larger meaning, and Charles pointed to an interesting Project Syndicate series on free trade before discussing criticisms and benefits of a free trade approach
On Tuesday, Luke evaluated Glenn Beck’s recent criticism of President Obama’s religious beliefs; Charles suggested, in light of some news about Mexican federal police, that criminal punishment might not be enough to end corruption; and Ethan differentiated between and discussed different environmental protection philosophies in response to a New York Times op-ed on wilderness areas
On Thursday, Charles disparaged the suggestion, from people like the recent hostage taker at the Discovery Channel headquarters, that human civilization needs to dismantle in the name of the environment; Luke continued his investigation of CEO salaries and lauded politicians’ recent decision to require companies to release the pay ratio between CEOs and normal employees; and Jake expanded on his piece in today’s Christian Science Monitor by considering America’s moral responsibility for the Mexican drug war
In Others’ Words
Philosophy In A Time Of Error criticized Larval Subjects for forgetting Michel Foucault in a recent discussion of Martha Nussbaum and ethical thought
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote a piece on a couple of the most recent US presidents and the American Character for Time
Larry Arhart at Darwinian Conservatism wrote of Aristotle as a biologist, and connected the philosopher to Charles Darwin
Some folks at xkcd are having an interesting conversation about free will
Gene Kinsey at Living The Grand Life wrote in opposition to perceived Islamophobia
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