Recent Responses
Why isn't Christianity considered evil? After reading the Bible, I noticed that homosexuality is 'abominable', that if anyone chooses to work on a sunday then they should be 'put to death', that slavery is fine, animal sacrifice is fine and that the mentally-ill are possessed by the devil. Why then, do we not actively supress Christianity? How can a Christian legitimately believe that homosexuality, for example, is fine and still call themselves a Christian, despite what it says in the Bible? It seems to me that it is an evil moral theory to subscribe to.
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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A few comments.
First, the Bible nowhere says that oneshouldn't work on Sunday. It says that one shouldn't work on theSabbath, and the relevant prohibition is contained in the Law given toMoses, which means that it referred originally to the Jewish Sabbath,Saturday.
Second,as Peter Fosl s... Read more
Is philosophy like art? Is it a personal journey, where the philosopher finds a gnawing within themselves and seeks to unravel it using words and ideas? And the papers and articles they produce are artefacts of the journey - like stone markers they travel past on their way to somewhere? Or is philosophy like engineering? The papers produced are like buildings, constructed using the materials of ideas and theories and the tools of logic and thought. The philosopher is more like an architect - working out what goes where and how it fits together to make something worthwhile.
Aaron Meskin
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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Architecture is traditionally thought of as a form of art, and architects (at least many of them) are often considered artists. This suggests further reason to think that the two approaches you describe may go hand in hand.
But I think there's a myth about art embedded in your question.... Read more
I think that religion is just one's way to answer their own questioning of the meaning of life. Those without religion (like atheists and even agnostics) I believe do not have that internal need to find a meaning, so they do not turn to religion. Believing in God or a god gives a shorthand answer to life: that we were created to live. What are your thoughts?
Richard Heck
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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My main thoughts would be these:
Trying to find somesimple, single sentence explanation for something as complex andancient as religious faith is not very sensible.
Beforeattempting to answer the question what role religion plays in people'slives, it would probably be a good idea to do som... Read more
Dear Philosopher, If I and many others believe in true democracy, where everybody votes, why do we still have war, civil and with other countries? Tate Putnins, 13 yrs, Box Hill (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia
Peter S. Fosl
December 1, 2005
(changed December 1, 2005)
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I might add two bits to Oliver's remarks:1. Democracies actually exhibit a rather militant history.2. Wars of aggression, even if supported by a majority, would still, I think, violate important precepts of democracy. Democracy is not simply, after all, majority rule. It also involves pr... Read more
Animals (humans) took other animals that look different and speek differently and made them slaves, so is it right to take an animal, say a dog, into your house when it is just another animal that looks different and speeks a different language?
Oliver Leaman
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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I don't know that a pet is a slave. It could be, but it could also be a friend, companion, and so on. We no longer allow people to own people, but we do allow them to own animals, and this is presumably evidence of what we think is a basic difference between people and animals. That is p... Read more
Is it morally wrong to only want to marry someone from your own ethnic group?
Peter S. Fosl
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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Simply put, no. Doing so, however, may be immoral if the reasons why one wants to marry only someone from one's own ethnic group are immoral. For example, it would be immoral to only want to marry someone from one's own ethnic group in order to produce children belonging to that group f... Read more
What is the best part of life?
Peter S. Fosl
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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Those parts in which we are consciously engaged in excellent activity.
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How do the philosophers justify war, if they ever do? I ask this question because even the Prophets have fought wars, for their religion. So, how can mortals remain aloof from it?
Peter S. Fosl
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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Some philosophers don't justify war, holding that all war is immoral, either murder or something akin to murder. I am sympathetic with this view and believe that minimizing or ending war ought to be a goal we pursue. But until we get there, I recognize the importance of developing what... Read more
Does "intrinsic value" - i.e., the value that nature has as of itself, as opposed to a value for humans - exist? The concept seems like an oxymoron. Nature also has economic values, which include "existence value", being the value that people place on knowing that nature exists even if they never use it. This may be expressed by a hypothetical "willingness to pay" for nature to continue to exist. I am wondering if nature conservation organisations around the world have got the two concepts confused. If so, this would have practical consequences for the way in which funding for conservation is sought.
Peter S. Fosl
November 28, 2005
(changed November 28, 2005)
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For the most part, I agree with you that there's a lot of confusion out there about the notion of intrinsic value. As I see it, value can only occur through a valuer or group of valuers. No valuers, no value. The idea that value exists independently of valuers is incoherent.Having said... Read more
What are the most important similarities and differences between "Literature" and "Philosophy"? Akbar Baharlou
Aaron Meskin
November 29, 2005
(changed November 29, 2005)
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Works of literature and works of philosophy are both the meaningful products of human thought and action. This makes them interpretable, which is an important characteristic of both. Moreover, both philosophy and literature are predominantly linguistic, although non-linguistic representati... Read more