One-minute video clip: “If my sister rejected Islam, I would reject her. She MUST believe in God.” The #ExMuslim reality, with a sparkling smile. pic.twitter.com/HpxeFzMfva — ExMuslim TV (@ExMuslim_TV) January 29, 2017 As hinted in the clip, honor killings are not far from this. But on the family values issues, Ms. Azariya reminds me of […]
Muslims, Christians, and family — not so different? Read More »
Football player Marshawn Lynch in an interview, on his independence of judgment: “If you tell me to do something and I want to know why and you don’t want to tell me why — No.” Take that, hero-of-the-Old-Testament Abraham, whose blind faith made him willing to kill his son Isaac when commanded. Sources: American Way,
Marshawn Lynch (NFL) versus Abraham (Genesis) on morality Read More »
Romance is in the air, so here is a repost of my round-up of philosophers talking to their sweethearts – collected from conversations overheard at smoky cafés, college libraries, mountain caves, and seminar rooms the world over. The Aristotelian: “I wish to marry you, for I know that my happiness, both of body and soul,
“Should I marry you?” How philosophers answer Read More »
[Kant died on February 12 in 1804.] Duty, not inclination: “Now an action done from duty must wholly exclude the influence of inclination and with it every object of the will, so that nothing remains which can determine the will except objectively the law, and subjectively pure respect for this practical law, and consequently the
Kant on what makes one morally worthy Read More »
I haven’t read it yet, but this is a great idea for a book: Arguments for Liberty, edited by Aaron Ross Powell and Grant Babcock. Published by Cato in 2016, the volume collects nine essays by nine scholars, each arguing for liberty from a different philosophical perspective. I expect that this volume is meant to
*Arguments for Liberty* by Powell and Babcock Read More »
At TRI, my short article “Trump’s Corruption Mandate” begins this way: “Donald Trump’s astonishing election victory was in part a backlash against increasingly corrupt American politics. “Transparency International publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking all nations from most to least clean in their political conduct. The United States entered the twenty-first century by falling
Trump’s Corruption Mandate Read More »
Recently, I met a young man in Miami. Instead of taking a taxi I decided to try Uber for the first time. Rafael (not his real name) showed up a few minutes later. Traffic was bad in rush-hour Miami, and along the way we started chatting. He was a Cuban, I learned, and until recently
Uber, Cuba, and Freedoms Small and Large [Good Life series] Read More »
At TRI, my commentary on the University of Washington shooting, Milo Yiannopoulos, postmodernism, and the alt right begins this way: “A protester was shot at the University of Washington during a clash between rival factions — one faction physically blocking an audience from hearing a speech, the other faction seeking to hear a rabble-rousing orator.
Political protest in a “post-fact era” [Commentary at TRI] Read More »