Readers, Due to work and personal arrangements, I am taking an extended break from maintaining The Moral Perspective. I plan to return to blogging on Monday, September 17. Until then, please enjoy my (more than 300!) previous entries in the archive. Cheers, Michael De Dora
Or so argues Ron Lindsay of the Center for Inquiry: I don’t deny that taboos have played a large role in the history of human morality. They can simplify matters, allow for the easy transmission of norms from generation to generation, and, especially for humans who are not accustomed to reason about moral issues, they remove the burden of thinking. Beginning with the Enlightenment, however, many in the West began to question blind adherence to various customs, including customs that were supported by religious authority. Throughout his [new book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion] book, [Jonathan] Haidt warns the reader not to equate the morality of WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) cultures with morality in general. As…
Tagged: ethics, god, morality, philosophy, religion
Does wisdom lead to happiness? Or does happiness lead to the wisdom? Those are the questions raised by a new Richard Nisbett-led psychology study, which Robert Wright has just written about on The Atlantic. Wright’s conclusion: I’m guessing the answer is a little of both: Wisdom leads to well-being, and well-being paves the way for wisdom—and, in particular, for wise action, not just a capacity for wise reasoning. If that’s true, then you can imagine getting swept up in a virtuous circle: Acting wisely reduces conflict in your life and strengthens your social relationships, and this fosters a sense of well-being that makes it easier to act wisely, and so on. But there’s also the vicious circle scenario—a downward spiral featuring growing unhappiness, commensurately unwise action, deeper…
Tagged: ethics, happiness, morality, philosophy, psychology, well-being, wisdom
Keeping on yesterday’s topic, take a look at this interesting story: In a time when it can be difficult to find appropriate role models, some parents are using the actions and credos of Batman, Spidey and other comic book heroes to teach their children. Parents also use comics and superheroes to teach social skills and reading and help broach social and political issues in addition to talking about right and wrong. … For decades, comics have also included story lines that deal more with real-life issues than they do with fighting supervillains or defending the earth from alien invasion. One of the most famous is Iron Man’s “Demon In a Bottle” story line that covered alcoholism in 1979. Story lines in the last…
Which superhero makes for a better moral role model: Batman or Superman? And what does your answer to this question imply about your ethical outlook? Leonard Finkelstein discusses on the blog Rationally Speaking: Those in the Superman camp tend to hold an optimistic view of human nature. They believe that we’re all fundamentally kind and helpful, and always open to self-improvement. Despite the character’s alien background, Superman stands as this camp’s role model because Superman is a moral saint: he exemplifies all the best traits that a human can have, even if no human can ever hope to have them all. By contrast, the Batman camp is pessimistic about humanity. Those in this camp tend to believe … that people are “bastard-coated bastards with bastard filling,”…
I am sad to report that the Center for Inquiry’s petition to the White House on behalf of jailed Indonesian atheist Alexander Aan closed yesterday with 8,000 signatures, well short of the 25,000 needed to secure a response from the administration. Since I’m emotionally drained — I was among several people leading the effort — I won’t say much here. Indeed, you can read my reactions here and here. Instead, I’ll just leave you to chew on this quote, from Russell Blackford: “In the event, we have not only missed a chance to do some good for Alexander Aan (however remote that possibility was); we have made it look as if the secularist movement is a toothless tiger. If we can’t rally 25,000 people to sign a…
Tagged: ethics, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, indonesia, morality, obama, Politics, rights
In country with a rich religious landscape such as the United States, it is almost unavoidable that religious belief will mix with politics. But that doesn’t mean anything goes, which is is why I am so excited about the updated edition of People For the American Way’s pamphlet outlining 12 reasonable guidelines for the relationship between religion and politics: Most Americans embrace freedom of religious expression and the separation of church and state, but the application of these principles in electoral, political and policy settings is a perennial source of controversy. The appropriate role for religion and religious language in political debate is often the source of confusion and conflict across the political spectrum, particularly as our communities grow more diverse religiously. The line between an…
The website Skepchick is running a series in which men speak out against hate directed against women in the secular and skeptic movements. I was invited to participate, and gladly accepted. You can read my full entry here. Here’s a teaser: Women have experienced and to continue to endure social oppression and harassment at the hands of men – even within the secular and skeptic communities. It’s time for us all to condemn this unacceptable behavior. It’s time to articulate as a community why the sexes, and indeed all people, should be treated fairly and equally. And it’s time for us to act in accordance with this thinking, to treat one others with kindness and empathy. Otherwise, not only will women continue to face…
Here’s author Kenan Malik making sense in an interview with The Browser: Throughout their history, one of the great selling points of religions – in particular the monotheistic religions – has been their importance as a bedrock of moral values. Without religious faith, runs the argument, we cannot anchor our moral truths or truly know right from wrong. Without belief in God we will be lost in a miasma of moral nihilism. “To remove God,” as the theologian Alister McGrath has put it, “is to eliminate the final restraint on human brutality”. Looking back on history, one might question just how successful God has been as “the final restraint on human brutality”. What really concerns me, however, is the way that religious concepts of…
That’s all some people are asking for: Dr. Richard Wesley has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the incurable disease that lays waste to muscles while leaving the mind intact. He lives with the knowledge that an untimely death is chasing him down, but takes solace in knowing that he can decide exactly when, where and how he will die. Under Washington State’s Death With Dignity Act, his physician has given him a prescription for a lethal dose of barbiturates. He would prefer to die naturally, but if dying becomes protracted and difficult, he plans to take the drugs and die peacefully within minutes. “It’s like the definition of pornography,” Dr. Wesley, 67, said at his home here in Seattle, with Mount Rainier in the distance. “I’ll…
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