Philosophy
Under philosophical investigation fall questions like, "Does God exist?", "Do objective moral values exist, or are they relative to individual cultures?", "What is the foundation of knowledge?", "Can anything be known?", "Is there life after death?", "Is science the only source of knowledge?", and so on.
Help Me! I'm Losing My Faith! - Throughout my life, I plan on helping people who are struggling with doubts. Below is a reposting of a recent dialogue I had with a friend who has some serious problems with the Christian faith.
The Ethics of Designer Babies - About two years ago, researchers announced that one can potentially save a child from blood problems, cystic fibrosis, and certain forms of cancer by changing their genes in embryo (Gallager). Sounds great! No one ought to object, right? The issue is that these changes involve altering the germline, that part of the genetic code that we pass on to the next generation. It’s that element of permanece that many people think puts humanity in a role that belongs to God alone. What, then, is the ethical status of germline therapy?
Atheism and Moral Progress (1) - If there were no God, would morality still bind our lives? Would moral duties still guide our actions, and moral values provide goals to strive for? It is my contention that they would not.
Atheism and Moral Progress (2)
God is the Source of Morality?: Three Objections - I recently discussed the moral argument for the existence of God with someone who had (what they took to be) some serious objections. Below is my interlocutor's post, and my response.
Moral Progress - An Argument for God? - Moral progress is the idea that, when we look at the history of various societies, they have generally progressed in their moral outlooks. Germany has moved out of Nazi ideology, and the United States has moved past slavery and later racial segregation. In short, societies are getting better. Schoone and I discuss the implications of this fact.
Couldn't They All Be True?: A Reflection on World Religions - Religion is many times taken to be a subjective phenomenon, leading to the common belief that all religions are equally true. It is argued that this under-standing of the nature of religion, and the resulting implication, is fundamentally mistaken. The paper ends with a consideration of how people might come to know which of the world’s many religious traditions is true.
Critical Interaction with "Couldn't They All Be True?" - Having recently written an extensive essay where I argue that all world religions cannot be true, my good friend Bruce interacted with the arguments therein and provided me the opportunity to expand my thoughts and augment the essay with considerations about Eastern religions in particular, and how they relate to Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) more generally. Below is an edited transcript of our dialogue (originally in text message format, believe it or not).
The Kalam Cosmological Argument - The kalam cosmological argument is a profound argument for the existence of God, based on the beginning of the universe. It has been my experience that all of philosophy folds into itself in this one argument. Theories of time, the nature of infinity, scientific models of the universe, quantum fluctuations, and the nature of personhood arise in the narrative of this cosmological argument. I present and defend the argument, in general outline.
General Relativity Proves What, You Say? - A good friend of mine wrote an articulate, well formulated argument for atheism. Given our shared interest in philosophy in general and the philosophy of religion in particular, we decided to write a series of essays discussing the merits of his argument. I began by writing a refutation of his "entailment argument" for atheism, which is reproduced here.
A Criticism of Cosmological Atheology - This is the second part of my correspondence with my good friend, Mr. L. A. Mitchell, over his original argument for atheism. Read the first installment, "General Relativity Proves What, You Say?: A Response to L. A. Mitchell", for necessary background.
I. General Philosophical Discussion
Help Me! I'm Losing My Faith! - Throughout my life, I plan on helping people who are struggling with doubts. Below is a reposting of a recent dialogue I had with a friend who has some serious problems with the Christian faith.
II. Ethics and God's Relationship to Morality
The Ethics of Designer Babies - About two years ago, researchers announced that one can potentially save a child from blood problems, cystic fibrosis, and certain forms of cancer by changing their genes in embryo (Gallager). Sounds great! No one ought to object, right? The issue is that these changes involve altering the germline, that part of the genetic code that we pass on to the next generation. It’s that element of permanece that many people think puts humanity in a role that belongs to God alone. What, then, is the ethical status of germline therapy?
Martin Shkreli - Evil Monster or Balanced Utilitarian? - A United States drug company –
Turing Pharmaceuticals – recently raised the price of AIDS medication by over five thousand percent, having bought the rights to the drug in August. Following public outcry, Turing promised to reduce the price, though not specifying the exact reduction. The ostensible justification for their previous move from $13.50 a pill to $750 was to use that increased profit for medical research.
Atheism and Moral Progress (1) - If there were no God, would morality still bind our lives? Would moral duties still guide our actions, and moral values provide goals to strive for? It is my contention that they would not.
Atheism and Moral Progress (2)
God is the Source of Morality?: Three Objections - I recently discussed the moral argument for the existence of God with someone who had (what they took to be) some serious objections. Below is my interlocutor's post, and my response.
Moral Progress - An Argument for God? - Moral progress is the idea that, when we look at the history of various societies, they have generally progressed in their moral outlooks. Germany has moved out of Nazi ideology, and the United States has moved past slavery and later racial segregation. In short, societies are getting better. Schoone and I discuss the implications of this fact.
III. World Religions and Christianity's Exclusive Claims
Couldn't They All Be True?: A Reflection on World Religions - Religion is many times taken to be a subjective phenomenon, leading to the common belief that all religions are equally true. It is argued that this under-standing of the nature of religion, and the resulting implication, is fundamentally mistaken. The paper ends with a consideration of how people might come to know which of the world’s many religious traditions is true.
Critical Interaction with "Couldn't They All Be True?" - Having recently written an extensive essay where I argue that all world religions cannot be true, my good friend Bruce interacted with the arguments therein and provided me the opportunity to expand my thoughts and augment the essay with considerations about Eastern religions in particular, and how they relate to Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) more generally. Below is an edited transcript of our dialogue (originally in text message format, believe it or not).
IV. Cosmology and God
The Kalam Cosmological Argument - The kalam cosmological argument is a profound argument for the existence of God, based on the beginning of the universe. It has been my experience that all of philosophy folds into itself in this one argument. Theories of time, the nature of infinity, scientific models of the universe, quantum fluctuations, and the nature of personhood arise in the narrative of this cosmological argument. I present and defend the argument, in general outline.
General Relativity Proves What, You Say? - A good friend of mine wrote an articulate, well formulated argument for atheism. Given our shared interest in philosophy in general and the philosophy of religion in particular, we decided to write a series of essays discussing the merits of his argument. I began by writing a refutation of his "entailment argument" for atheism, which is reproduced here.
A Criticism of Cosmological Atheology - This is the second part of my correspondence with my good friend, Mr. L. A. Mitchell, over his original argument for atheism. Read the first installment, "General Relativity Proves What, You Say?: A Response to L. A. Mitchell", for necessary background.
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