Philosophical Ethics: Can We Uphold Both A Moral Law And A Principle That We Should Break It?

In a series of posts this semester, I am going to blog all (or almost all) the lecture topics for the two Philosophical Ethics classes I am teaching this semester. Each of these posts will primarily explicate the reading or a theme that dominated class discussion in a way that should be accessible to novices […]

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Philosophical Ethics: A Possible Kantian Formula For Determining The Permissibility Of Self-Defense

In a series of posts this semester, I am going to blog all (or almost all) the lecture topics for the two Philosophical Ethics classes I am teaching this semester. Each of these posts will primarily explicate the reading or a theme that dominated class discussion in a way that should be accessible to novices […]

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Influential Iranian Imam Supports Interrogations Using Rape

The following quotes from Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, with whom Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is said to “regularly consult,”  are graphic, sickening, and devastating to anyone with a conscience.  Read at your own discretion: Asked if a confession obtained “by applying psychological, emotional and physical pressure” was “valid and considered credible according to Islam,” Mesbah-Yazdi […]

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Why Do Torture And Increased Police Authority Increasingly Appeal To Americans?

The Economist has a chart on views on torture which reports a disquietingly high amount of tolerance among Americans for the practice: OPINIONS on whether the use of torture should be prohibited appear to vary widely around the world. According to opinion polls conducted early in 2008 respondents in western European democracies such as Britain […]

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150 Women Face Flogging For Adultery

Heartwrenchingly disgusting: Almost 150 women living in the Maldives face a public flogging for indulging in extra-marital sex after being convicted by the Muslim country’s conservative courts. Around 50 men also face the punishment. Earlier this month, an 18-year-old woman fainted after she was flogged 100 times having been found guilty of having sex with […]

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Can You Have A Heart Without Having “The Heart of God”?

In reply to my post on whether we need God to care about the poor around the world, Marianne offers this challenge: I have observed that atheists discuss and analyze poverty, but do very little about it. Most of the charities in the world are christian in foundation. You will find very few atheist charities […]

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Gay Rights and Persecution Around the World

Johann Hari celebrates the remarkable progress for gay rights, achieved through peaceful democratic pressure around the world in the 40 years since Stonewall.  But then he highlights some of the places where being gay means being murdered: Jamaica is Taliban Afghanistan for gay people. If caught, gays and lesbians face ten years’ hard labour – […]

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