Recent Responses
Am I morally bound to tell my sex partner if I fantasize about someone else whilst making love to her? Or the subject of the fantasy for that matter? SteveB
Alan Soble
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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In my reply to Tom's reply, I asked for argument, reasons, what philosophers are supposed to do as philosophers, if not duty-bound to do. And, finally, he did it. Thank you, Tom. Maybe I am thick and hence couldn't read the argument(s) that really did exist between or amongst those three short... Read more
I have been thinking about the nature of "virtue" as it relates to culture and subcultures. My thought is that a clear way of defining a culture would be to identify the set of virtues that are respected. This would be appropriate with respect to understanding certain political leanings as well. For example, I suspect that many Repubicans would place the virtue of "Constancy" high on their lists, while many Democrats would place "Tolerance" highly. This leads to my question, Has any philosopher proposed a universal set of virtues? There are a couple of ways of looking at this. First, is there a set of virtues that is considered to be universal in that every culture recognizes and appreciates the same set? The second approach is whether there is a larger, yet still finite, set from which one could identify specific virtues that define a specific culture?
Jyl Gentzler
February 5, 2006
(changed February 5, 2006)
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You might also want to look at Martha Nussbaum's "Non-Relative Virtues: An Aristotelian Approach," in Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, eds., The Quality of Life (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993).
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I was wondering "Where in my body does my sense of self seem to be centred?" For me, the answer was "In my skull behind where my eyes are." That is, I associate myself with where my primary senses are, i.e. the eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Assuming this is a normal reaction, does a person who is lacking one or more senses (e.g. blind from birth) subjectively feel centred in another part of their body? If the answer is yes, does this give any insight into the nature of self-awareness?
Lynne Rudder Baker
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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I think that it is common to associate one's sense of oneself with a specific bodily location. I recall thinking (when I was a young child) that my thoughts were located in my throat right behind my tongue. I now believe that my thoughts are not located anywhere--not in my brain, not... Read more
Is the question of whether God (or a god) can be posited as the 'designer' of the universe related in any way to the question of whether we can know anything about an author from studying their books?
Douglas Burnham
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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The two questions you name are often taken to be analogous. The analogy is structured something like a designing God is to the designed universe as an author is to the book she writes. Accordingly, the history of such thoughts contains phrases such as 'the author of our being' or 'the boo... Read more
I always wanted to know what influences the tastes we have? Is it a rational justification or a causal consequence? I know that's two questions but to put it this way: in the end why do I prefer blue shirts more than yellow ones, why do I prefer Salinger more then Stephen King? I can imagine that my tastes are determined by my emotions, my culture, my education or my genetics but that doesn't seem to answer anything since I have the profond impression that I choose, what I like and what I don't, freely and rationaly. More generaly, I believe that the question "What influences the moral values we have?" is an equivalent question.
Nicholas D. Smith
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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Huge question--too huge for me to try to answer fully. But I will say this: I seriously doubt that your preference for blue shorts over yellow ones is free and rational. It may be that it is rational to buy shirts you find more attractive, but I doubt that your attraction to blue over... Read more
Is the question of whether God (or a god) can be posited as the 'designer' of the universe related in any way to the question of whether we can know anything about an author from studying their books?
Douglas Burnham
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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The two questions you name are often taken to be analogous. The analogy is structured something like a designing God is to the designed universe as an author is to the book she writes. Accordingly, the history of such thoughts contains phrases such as 'the author of our being' or 'the boo... Read more
Given the complexity of human relations, given the death of "till death do us part" and given the near-acceptance of a normal human acquiring more than one partner during his/her lifetime, we have entered an age where the phrase "I love you" has been devalued from the "I love you, for ever and ever" of our forefathers to the "I love you at the moment" of today. My question therefore is: Is it possible to love two people at once?
Nicholas D. Smith
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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I guess I want to begin by saying that I deny your premise. I think we actually have very little reason for thinking that our forefathers were more loving, or meant more when they said "I love you" than we do. It may be true that marriages did not as often end in divorce as they do no... Read more
When someone accepts responsibility for a pet, what are the moral and ethical imperatives they are (or should be) committing to? What is the appropriate context for making decisions about whether the pet is to be kept safely indoors (probably living longer) or let free to roam outdoors (with all the risks that carries)? Or whether to give an ailing pet expensive surgery or have them put them to sleep? Some people feel that their pet is deserving of or entitled to the same care as their own children. Others feel some lesser committment is sufficient. And so on. How does one make such decisions if not by analogy to ones obligations to other humans, which many of us fail to fulfill anyway?
Nicholas D. Smith
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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The way you put this question seems to presuppose an approach to ethical reasoning that is driven by rules (imperatives). For those of us attracted to others approaches (in my case, virtue theory), it is difficult to respond to your inquiry in that form. Moreover, I think the context... Read more
How can God exist if every thing that exists is finite? If an entity is infinite does that not conclude that it does not exist? My question is, have I even scratched the surface at disproving the existence of God? Descartes said that an infinite essence created all living things, but if this is the case, how can nothingness create existence? A comment would be much obliged. This is driving me crazy. Any opinions?
Oliver Leaman
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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In fact, it is often said that the finitude of everything in the world of generation and corruption is only possible if at least one thing is infinite, since there would otherwise be an infinite regress of one thing bringing about something else.
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My girlfriend has an eating disorder. Is it morally wrong to use her love for me in order to get her to seek help (something she doesn't want to do)?
David Brink
February 2, 2006
(changed February 2, 2006)
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I see nothing wrong with your using your girlfriend's love for you to get her to seek medically and/or psychologically necessary help with her eating disorder. It might be wrong to use another's love to achieve some purely personal or private benefit for yourself that your lover did not and... Read more