Sigh. We have repeatedly discussed the sloppy language used by media to discuss crucial moral issues—which is important because of the power of lexicon to materially impact our views. Now, the BBC is the latest media outlet to misuse the term “brain death,” to apply to a South . . . . Continue Reading »
Gallup has issued its annual poll on what Americans think are morally appropriate behaviors, some of which deal directly with the issues about which we grapple here at SHS, and some of which don’t. My last post on the poll covered issues dealing with the use of animals. Now, we turn to . . . . Continue Reading »
At Roll Call, Mort Kondracke argues that we need to shift the focus of federal spending from the old to the young so that the young can better pay for the babyboomers’ retirement. But Kondracke overlooks one problem: More government spending on kids can’t solve the problem if there . . . . Continue Reading »
“Why should an intelligent person believe in God?” That was the first question posed to Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks at a dinner for religion journalists sponsored last night by the Templeton Foundation, by the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn. Rabbi Sacks, the author of eighteen books . . . . Continue Reading »
David Brooks’ recent column on genius , which offered a portrait of the Mozart who excelled by logging his ten thousand hours of rote practice to get on sooner to the good stuff, seemed to gibe poorly with not only our romantic understanding of unique human excellence but our practical . . . . Continue Reading »
Human exceptionalism is not only about human rights, but also human duties, including never using human beings as mere objects and the need to treat animals properly and humanely. The new Gallup Poll about what Americans consider morally acceptable behavior is interesting in both regards, and thus . . . . Continue Reading »
A friend sent me this piece by Alain de Botton celebrating pessimism, describing it as “your kind of article.” Leaving aside what this is meant to imply about me, I do think it warrants some attention. De Botton writes: The modern bourgeois philosophy pins its hopes firmly on two great . . . . Continue Reading »
In honor of the feast of the Ascension, here is Gerald Finzi’s “God Is Gone Up,” sung by the Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge. The words are taken from Edward Taylor’s Sacramental Meditations The piece begins around 3:20 into the video. God is gone up with a . . . . Continue Reading »
I am an uninspired gift-giver at the best of times. If I gave you a little purse hand-knitted by my daughter for Christmas last year, odds are that by next Christmas I’ll have forgotten all about it, and you’ll get the same thing again, though perhaps in a different color.Graduations are . . . . Continue Reading »
Diogenes proposes an apt analogy : I see nothing wrong with swatting flies. Let’s say that you have a different opinion. You think the lives of flies are sacred, and therefore you think that swatting flies is grossly immoral. You hold this view with the utmost sincerity. Unfortunately for . . . . Continue Reading »
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