Tag: Ethics

The unavoidable complexity of morality

I've written before on why science can't determine morality.  This isn't a particularly controversial position (even if many of Sam Harris or Michael Shermer's followers find it so).  No one seems to have found an intellectually rigorous answer to David Hume's is/ought divide, that you can't derive an ought from an is.  To logically determine … Continue reading The unavoidable complexity of morality →

Students showing up at college understanding the fact value distinction is a good thing.

Justin P. McBrayer, an ethics and philosophy of religion professor, has an opinion piece in the New York Times bemoaning the fact that students are showing up for college not believing that moral rules are facts. What would you say if you found out that our public schools were teaching children that it is not true … Continue reading Students showing up at college understanding the fact value distinction is a good thing. →

Wealth may have driven the rise of moralizing religions

One of the things that a lot of people are often surprised to hear, is that most scholars don't believe that religion was always concerned with morality, that moralizing religion didn't exist to any significant extent before the 'Axial Age' circa 500 BC.  Psychologist Nicolas Baumard has a theory about what may have led to moralizing … Continue reading Wealth may have driven the rise of moralizing religions →

Does the Euthyphro dilemma actually prove anything?

I'm not religious.  I don't think morality comes from God, gods, or any religious precept.  But often, when I see debates on whether or not morality can only come from God or religion, an atheist philosopher will mention the Euthyphro dilemma, state or imply that the question was conclusively handled over 2300 years by this Plato … Continue reading Does the Euthyphro dilemma actually prove anything? →

Sam Harris, the fact-value distinction, and the problem with a science of morality

A few years ago, Sam Harris published a book, 'The Moral Landscape', which argued that science could determine moral values.  To say that it received substantial criticism, from scientists, philosophers, and others, would be an understatement. Late last year, Harris issued a challenge for people to submit 1000 word essays challenging the thesis of his book.  He … Continue reading Sam Harris, the fact-value distinction, and the problem with a science of morality →

American positions on moral issues and tensions between the moral foundations

Gallup did a poll on American positions on various moral issues, finding that Americans are now more accepting than ever on a range of issues. Most of these I don't find particularly surprising.  Of course, it turns out that Democrats and Republicans have differences of opinion on many of them.  HuffPost, in their write up of … Continue reading American positions on moral issues and tensions between the moral foundations →

My philosophy, so far — part II | Scientia Salon

Massimo Pigliucci is doing an interesting series of posts on his philosophical positions. In the first part [19] of this ambitious (and inevitably, insufficient) essay I sought to write down and briefly defend a number of fundamental positions that characterize my “philosophy,” i.e., my take on important questions concerning philosophy, science and the nature of … Continue reading My philosophy, so far — part II | Scientia Salon →