Everyday Ethics

As we continue our discussion of the way in which metaphysical questions apply to everyday problems, we turn to the complicated relationship between causation and value.  Most individuals don’t give much thought to what value is, or what makes certain things valuable but not other things.  Subjectivism and objectivism are two metaethical views that offer [...]

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     It’s always fun to go back and read your own work.  I often look back at articles that I have written and wonder “why did I say that?” or “that doesn’t even make sense.”  Occasionally, I impress myself, which is fun.  And sometimes, I am forced to admit a deficiency in my own writing, [...]

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Morality seems like the sort of thing that involves individual action.  We ask questions about what individuals ought to do, or how persons ought to be treated.  However, the role of communities in ethical deliberations should not be understated, and our own ethical decision-making can be enhanced by thinking about the ways that communities might [...]

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A currently popular trend in moral psychology is the attempt to incorporate empirical findings about moral decision making with our efforts to construct solid moral theory. This makes some sense. If we are going to try and give people a theoretical basis for making moral decisions, we should probably know something about how [...]

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Morality is a diverse and challenging subject, and it is ripe with interesting philosophical questions.  We can question what sorts of moral principles we ought to adopt, or examine the challenges associated with particular moral questions.  But one question that we don’t often ask, is what purpose morality fulfills.  In other words, what is morality [...]

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