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The Optimistic Directive
Fri, 18 May 2012 23:24:26 +0000
Noted writer Neal Stephenson has argued that contemporary science fiction is too focused on nihilism and apocalyptic scenarios. The current crop of such works, such as the Walking Dead, are compared rather unfavorably to the hopeful view of the future that was supposed … Read more »
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The Story of Philosophy
Tue, 15 May 2012 14:17:06 +0000
It would, of course, be vulgar to mention the fact that the book Jeremy Stangroom and I recently wrote, The Story of Philosophy: A History of Western Thought, has just landed on the shelves. So I’ll keep that to myself, … Read more »
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Sins of the Past
Mon, 14 May 2012 09:42:48 +0000
The Washington Post recently published a story about an incident that took place during Mitt Romney’s years as a high school student. According to the story, Mitt Romney took offense at the long hair of fellow student John Lauber. … Read more »
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Secularism, priorities, Islam, and Waleed Aly
Sun, 13 May 2012 12:17:34 +0000
What follows here after some introductory paragraphs repeats almost verbatim a post that I published over on my personal blog back in 2007. Now, my thinking has moved on a little bit since then, and you will see a slightly … Read more »
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For Better or Worse Reasoning
Sat, 12 May 2012 19:17:31 +0000
My tenth Kindle book is out, For Better or Worse Reasoning: A Philosophical Look at Arguments Against Same-Sex Marriage. It is the usual 99 cents in the US and the equivalent in dead parrot jokes in the UK. It is … Read more »
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Amending Marriage
Wed, 09 May 2012 21:18:13 +0000
While some States in the United States have passed laws allowing same-sex marriage, other states have passed laws to ban it. Some states have even taken an extra step by amending the state constitutions to define marriage as … Read more »
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Facebook, Privacy & Employers
Mon, 07 May 2012 09:28:09 +0000
There has been a minor controversy regarding employers requiring (or “requesting”) job candidates and employees to hand over access to their Facebook accounts. Those favoring this argue that employers need to know certain things about job candidates and employees and … Read more »
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Secular Coalition for America announces new Executive Director
Sat, 05 May 2012 12:54:29 +0000
The Secular Coalition for American has announced the appointment of a new Executive Director to replace Sean Faircloth (who has taken up a position with the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science). She will be Edwina Rogers, who now … Read more »
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Church & State: Defining “Religious Employee”
Fri, 04 May 2012 20:43:03 +0000
In my previous post I discussed the moral acceptability of the ministerial exception. I now turn to the matter of the legitimate extent of this exception. This discussion assumes, solely for the sake of the argument, that the … Read more »
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Philosophical Provocations Vol. 1
Thu, 03 May 2012 17:33:08 +0000
In a shameless attempt to get money so I can buy luxuries like food, I’ve assembled, edited and organized my finest posts into Philosophical Provocations Volume 1 (A Fistful of Provocations). Naturally, you can read all the originals here, for free-once … Read more »
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