Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Can we have morality without God? Does surveillance make us better? Do babies have morals? Get to grips with some big questions of right and wrong
Invaluable introduction to the field, from a philosopher's point of view. Metaethics is "where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean"; applied ethics is "analysis of specific, controversial moral issues"
In praise of secular morality. Biologist knocks down arguments for God-given morality, explains how human morality came about through evolution, secular reasoning. Lucid, concise. Highly recommended
An out-of-control trolley is hurtling towards five people on the track. On another track is just one person. By flipping a switch, you could save five by killing one. Should you? Welcome to the world of 'trolleyology'
Do babies have a sense of morality? Conventional wisdom and Sigmund Freud say no. A growing body of evidence (and some very cute experiments) says rudimentary moral sense is there even in one year olds
Philosopher discusses morality issues surrounding robot warfare. Interesting throughout. "Robots can do many of our jobs better than we can, and maybe even act more ethically, at least in the high-stress environment of war"
Rambling and fascinating talk on ethics and the practical definition of 'good'. Illustrated - oddly - with pictures of Hertford College, Oxford, where the lecture was delivered. Only take this on if you're a philosophile
Obituary of British philosopher and critic of moral philosophy. Likened Berkeley to a drunken Irishman in a pub. Called Heidegger-fans at one conference “a bunch of Nazi orthodontists, goose-stepping across the rooftops”
Useful overview of contractarianism, one of key approaches to moral philosophy. Its four main proponents were Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Rawls. But they each adopted a slightly different form of social contract theory. Here's how
We don't need God to define morals: "Charles Darwin outlined a different way of thinking about ethics, and we are now able to articulate more fully the hints he offered. Ethics emerges as a human phenomenon, permanently unfinished"
"The experiment of excluding all moral concepts and language from my thinking, feeling and actions has proved so workable and attractive, I am convinced that anyone who gives it a fair shot would find it to his liking." Discuss
Dazzling talk on new thinking in moral psychology. Develops analogy between moral sense and psychology of taste. Long, slow to start, but by paragraph six you're hooked
Adam Smith's moral theory - based on the idea of the 'impartial spectator' - was a rational and natural alternative to Scripture, dogma, and superstition. Here's what's wrong with it
Investigation into human propensity for moral double standards. "The bottom line is that the abstractness or concreteness of moral dilemmas affects how we process them, and whether or not we indulge in moral hypocrisy"
Accessible, enjoyable read on Hume's moral theory. Clear explanation of implications behind his statement that reason "should be the slave of the passions" and why this mattered in a world dominated by theories of moral rationalism
"Imagine that God had installed a closed-circuit television camera in the garden of Eden, trained on the tree of knowledge. Think how this might have changed things for the better."
Liberalism's insistence that morality is only about rights and obligations empties life of its ethical meaning. We need a return to the virtue ethics of the pre-moderns, and a renewed conception of the good life
Useful introduction to theory of morality by the eighteenth century Prussian philosopher. To grossly paraphrase: morality is rational, immorality is irrational. To not grossly paraphrase ... read on
Big question. Highly readable attempt to answer it by pre-eminent legal philosopher. Requires reconciling morals (how we should treat others) with ethics (how we should live ourselves). And making room for spontaneity, risk-taking
Succinct argument that morality should have nothing to do with religion. "Piety is all very well, if God exists. But it is not everything, and to claim that it is diminishes morality rather than elevating it"
Thoughtful essay on ethics, evolution. "I think there is a real difference between moral claims and scientific claims, and while the latter can be used to explain why we hold the former, they cannot be used to justify the former"
"The discussion of morality clearly has at least one, if not several, stumbling blocks that need to be addressed and demystified, before we can actually expect to get any answers." Ready? Ok, let's try to sort out normative ethics
The philosopher and Baroness chooses five books on morality without religion. "If you don’t teach people to think morally then society really is at the end of the road"
