“The problem of evil” is the common term for a certain argument against the existence of God. Or at least, the existence of the so-called “omni god”: one who is omniscient (all-knowing), omnibenevolent (all-loving) and omnipotent (all-powerful). The argument goes, basically, that evil would not exist in a universe created […]
Read MoreBeing good at slinging a ball around doesn’t make you a hero, part 327
As the Penn State report is being reviewed, and people are talking about how a man could rape multiple children over a sustained period with the protection of his colleagues, I see explanations of “hero worship” and comparisons to the Catholic church again and again. I won’t say these explanations […]
Read MoreHow to cash in on internet guilt giving
Note: In case, for some reason, it isn’t clear that I am not trying to disparage any of the people discussed here in the slightest, let me say that I am not trying to disparage anyone discussed here in the slightest. I’m going to describe a phenomenon and how I […]
Read MoreWhat’s wrong with “Don’t rape”
This post is about why I don’t like this sign: Trigger warning: A detailed discussion of rape and morality to follow. Maybe you’ve seen it making the rounds on Facebook or Tumblr. It’s popped up for me a few times, and each time I cringe, but don’t comment to explain […]
Read MoreToo far from food
What my brain does when it hears the word “steak” Beatrice Marovich has a fascinating essay at Religion Dispatches called “Eat, Pray, Kill: The Basic Brutality of Eating,” in which she writes about the ethical quandaries of food in the context of secular morality and religious traditions. It’s fascinating to me both […]
Read MoreBiased ! = wrong
Let me say this, right from the start: I love biases. No, I don’t love that they exist, but I think they’re endlessly fascinating. I love thinking about them, identifying them, figuring out where they come from. Studying biases is how I came to the realization that the way we generally […]
Read MoreThe phenomenon of the petty tyrant
Researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business decided to examine the relationship between status and power in how people treat each other. So they organized a study that involved telling participants they would be working on a business exercise with another student, and randomly assigning each participant a role […]
Read MoreCoulda been, shoulda been, never woulda been
Apparently October 9th is National Pro Life Cupcake Day. Did you know? It’s a day when pastries become political…poor pastries. Pressed into service on behalf of highly controversial issue which doesn’t have, so far as I can tell, any direct connection to wax paper wrappers and frosting. But, one might […]
Read MoreIs empathy enough?
David Brooks has an interesting essay in the New York Times called The Limits of Empathy. In it he discusses the wealth of research published lately on how empathy works as a psychological response, and makes a case that it can’t and shouldn’t be considered the true foundation for morality. […]
Read MoreSuppositions
Human nature, by Junior Lopes Here are a few…let’s call them suppositions I’ve reached in the process of doing a very cultural degree program followed by a very cognitive one: 1. Perspective always matters. None of us are truly objective, because we speak from a perspective by necessity. But by […]
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