Recent Responses
What books are most important for a neophyte philosopher to read?
Peter S. Fosl
December 1, 2005
(changed December 1, 2005)
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I recommend Plato's Apology, Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy, Camus's Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays, Bryan Magee's The Story of Philosophy, David Cooper's anthologies, and perhaps The Philosopher's Toolkit.
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I was wondering, what is it (other than so called intelligence and communication) that separates humans from animals or everything else in the universe? Pico della Mirandola in the "Oration on the Dignity of Man" describes it as human nature being undetermined or the right to determine destiny and animals have a determined nature. However, in general it seems as though humans act predictably given their environment and experiences.
Catherine Wearing
November 17, 2005
(changed November 17, 2005)
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It's pretty clear that we differ from other animals (and they differ from each other) in lots of ways -- some creatures can navigate by sonar or radar, we can't; some hibernate, we don't. And lots of work in both cognitive psychology and cognitive ethology is currently focused on tryi... Read more
Can you recommend any introductions to aesthetics?
Aaron Meskin
November 17, 2005
(changed November 17, 2005)
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Here are a few good introductions (there are others):
Noël Carroll, Philosophy of Art: A Contemporary Introduction
Marcia Muelder Eaton, Basic Issues in Aesthetics
Cynthia Freeland, But is it Art?: An Introduction to Art Theory (note: this is the least academic, but it's fun a... Read more
There has been a gread deal of debate in the news, of late, as to the application of torture under a so-called 'ticking time bomb' scenario. Is physical or mental torture ever justified in such an extreme event in a moral society?
Alexander George
November 18, 2005
(changed November 18, 2005)
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I find myself impatient with such questions. There may be a theoreticalinterest to them, but in practice I find they often have the effect ofparalyzing action that we know to be right. (And is one being overly suspicious to wonder whether they are sometimes offered with precisely such... Read more
At the current Rubens exhibition at the National Gallery there is a painting called "Murder of the Innocents" which includes a figure of a man holding up a baby. He is about to smash its head on a stone that is already covered in blood. How can that painting be beautiful?
Oliver Leaman
November 17, 2005
(changed November 17, 2005)
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Perhaps it is terrible, awe-inspiring, terrifying, moving and so on, all perfectly appropriate aesthetic qualities. Or perhaps despite the subject matter it really is beautiful, and the beauty of the composition is magnified by its contrast with the subject matter.
Lo... Read more
Why is it considered unethical for a doctor to have a relationship with a patient? I was wondering this after viewing "The Sopranos" and looking at how Dr. Melfi rebuffs Tony Soprano's attempts at courtship due to their previous doctor-patient relationship.
Ernie Alleva
November 17, 2005
(changed November 17, 2005)
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I don't know what the details of the plot are at this point in the Sopranos,but I can't resist asking: If you were Dr. Melfi, would you want to bein a romantic relationship with Tony? In a more serious vein, what ismorally problematic about a romantic relationship between doctors andpatien... Read more
What exactly is the moral/ethical problem with a professional athlete taking performance enhancing drugs? I'm talking about a talented professional who carefully weighs the known risks and side effects of such drugs and decides their use is necessary for him/her in order to be competitive in their sport. Shouldn't this just be a personal decision? Aspiring beauty queens are allowed to get plastic surgery, and athletes are allowed to get "corrective" laser eye surgery (significantly improving their perfectly normal distance vision)...
Andrew N. Carpenter
November 17, 2005
(changed November 17, 2005)
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I agree with Aaron that a central reason why taking performance enhancing drugs is wrong is that this action violates existing rules and so undermines standards of fairness that are so important to sport and to the enjoyment of sport by others.
With respect to the content of these r... Read more
Why is Utilitarianism rubbish? We are supposed to do an action which will create a net increase of welfare - how are we to judge if a particular action will increase welfare? If we are forced to make this decision, do we not have to rely on some 'internal moral' or integrities that we might hold, therefore making it quite impossible to judge correctly what will increase the general happiness? And doesn't utilitarianism require us to act as machines, not bothering about what we feel?
Andrew N. Carpenter
November 17, 2005
(changed November 17, 2005)
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The the idea of caring about others' welfare is not rubbish, and reflecting on the consequences of our actions and thinking hard about ways that I can benefit connects to some of my deeply-held feelings about how I want to behave.
I think it is also too strong to say that utilitari... Read more
What exactly is the moral/ethical problem with a professional athlete taking performance enhancing drugs? I'm talking about a talented professional who carefully weighs the known risks and side effects of such drugs and decides their use is necessary for him/her in order to be competitive in their sport. Shouldn't this just be a personal decision? Aspiring beauty queens are allowed to get plastic surgery, and athletes are allowed to get "corrective" laser eye surgery (significantly improving their perfectly normal distance vision)...
Andrew N. Carpenter
November 17, 2005
(changed November 17, 2005)
Permalink
I agree with Aaron that a central reason why taking performance enhancing drugs is wrong is that this action violates existing rules and so undermines standards of fairness that are so important to sport and to the enjoyment of sport by others.
With respect to the content of these r... Read more
Jesus claimed that he was the son of God. Why is it that if one did that nowadays then they would get sent to a mental institution, instead of being praised and worshipped as that? Isn't it the same thing as what Jesus did but not in ancient times? -Jessica and Elise
Richard Heck
November 24, 2005
(changed November 24, 2005)
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It's also worth saying that, although the Biblical accounts can be read in very different ways, and the Gospel accounts themselves conflict, all the Synoptics (Matthew 26:57-67, Mark 14:53-63, and Luke 22:66-71) present the Jewish authorities as rather upset with Jesus for claiming to be t... Read more