Recent Responses
I'm a print designer. Knowing how much waste is caused by my work and how it precludes several industries causing harm to the environment in different ways, and considering that I am concerned about having a healthy environment, is it unethical for me to continue my practice? If I stop, others will still continue, and they will be joined by more; and there are plenty of other industries with even more environmentally harmful practices. Although there is a definite environmental impact from my work, there is a social acceptance of, and potential humanistic need for, my work. Does the latter override the former due to its immediacy?
Nicholas D. Smith
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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Life is complicated, sure enough...
My advice (for what it is worth--not much, I expect) is for you to hang on to your job. Partly, this is precisely because you quitting your job (unless you have some other very clear option available to you in a "clean" occupation) won't make the least... Read more
In today's society, there are certain conceptual frameworks which change the way people perceive others in their everyday life. For example, history, since the times of slavery in America, has dictated that blacks are "irrational", or "incompetent", and that they are subordinate. This is obviously not true, if you perceive people in an intrinsic manner. There are many frameworks for other groups, such as women, homosexuals, etc. My question is, how are we to rid ourselves of this framework? Is there any way to do so, or are they too ingrained into our society?
Nicholas D. Smith
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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I don't think it is humanly possible not to have any prejudices at all. So I don't think that ridding ourselves of this "framework" is a realistic goal. What we can and should do is to continue to subject our assumptions to free questioning and challenge. That's one of many good reason... Read more
Sometimes I feel like my life would be easier if one day, I just got on the bus and went away somewhere and left everything behind - my family, my friends, my belongings, my identity, everything. It's not that my life is bad - on the contrary - it's a perfectly good life that in many ways I am extremely grateful for. But apart from the impracticalities of that action (I would most probably not be able to create a new identity successfully or be capable of supporting myself and would end up homeless), what is stopping me? What stops me from taking huge risks and following impulses? Why should I stick to what is normal, or proper, or expected? I'm not asking a psychological question - I am curious to know the philosophical elements, if there are any. Why don't most humans follow their urges?
Nicholas D. Smith
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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We don't all or always follow our urges, because and when we realize (just as you have, above) that our urges would lead us to doing things that are impractical, or worse.
Let's face it: Life is not easy. Only death is easy--you can lie forever in your coffin. RIP, right? Life, on the... Read more
I was watching the movie 'Mona Lisa' and was wondering, what is the purpose of a college education for women who were all to become housewives and never use this knowledge to accomplish anything? Coco, 16.
Nicholas D. Smith
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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I'm really confused by your tenses. "What IS the purpose of a college education for women who WERE all to become housewives..."? So, let me begin by saying that I'm not really sure what exactly you are asking, so let me try to answer what MIGHT be your question, and let's see if that wo... Read more
I have recently heared the following expression: "If someone tells you at dinner that he is a radical relativist, then you must count your cutlery after he has left." What is the basis for mistrust of people holding relativistic views?
Matthew Silverstein
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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I suppose it all depends on precisely what radical relativism is supposed to be. Let's assume that there is such a view, and that it is a coherent and consistent view at that. (I suspect that this assumption is entirely unfounded, but that's besides the point of your question.)
Now, giv... Read more
Why can't I remove my emotions (such as falling in love) by rationality?
Nicholas D. Smith
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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The relationship between reason and the emotions is one that has been wondered about for a very long time--going back to our most ancient literature, including the Old Testament and Homer's Iliad. I doubt that I will be able to resolve this one for you, but I do have a suggestion to make... Read more
Is friendship necessary for romantic love? Is sexual attraction necessary for romantic love?
Alan Soble
September 1, 2006
(changed September 1, 2006)
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I wonder if Nicholas is telling us more about The Perfect/Good Life/Relationship than about ideal romantic love per se. But maybe they overlap.
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Some would consider mathematical patterns found in nature, such as the Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio, as indications of a higher deity, God if you will. Is this a sound belief?
Nicholas D. Smith
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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I guess I would like to know from someone who thought such things were indications of the workings of a deity what sorts of patterns would count to them as not being indications of a deity. I'm inclined to think that some sort of order is a simple requirement of there being a universe at... Read more
Why shouldn't we test drugs and cosmetics on mentally challenged or severely disabled human beings, rather than animals?
Roger Crisp
September 15, 2006
(changed September 15, 2006)
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Other things being equal, perhaps we might. But of course they're not equal. Our social morality -- the morality we live by -- is 'speciesist' in the sense that human beings -- whatever their mental or physical capacities -- are considered to be due special protection. If we were to seek... Read more
What obligations do we have to our parents and families? I guess this is really a range of questions: because they cared for us in the formative years of our lives, how obliged are we to continue to accept their advice and care and offer the same back later on? Can being borne to two people bind you to them forever? What right do we have to criticise the methods they used to bring us up: should we just be thankful that they raised us at all? If someone looks after you, do you always owe them something?
Nicholas D. Smith
August 24, 2006
(changed August 24, 2006)
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I am probably not the right person to answer this question, because I am not entirely comfortable with talk about moral obligations. But perhaps I can start a conversation (or dispute).
I don't think you strictly owe your parents anything at all, just on the basis of their giving birth t... Read more