Everyday Ethics

As cliché as it may sound, there are basically two types of people in the world, those who are willing to offer criticism and those who would rather die than risk sharing their actual opinion.  The extreme versions of both positions are a bit tough to take, as the openly critical often come across as [...]

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Most of us don’t give much thought to the fact that many of our relationships with other people are defined by some degree of reciprocity.  To some extent, reciprocity is the very nature of human interpersonal relations.  Although these relationships can be extremely beneficial for the parties involved, it is important to be aware of [...]

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There is perhaps no better place to consider issues of ethics and morality than in the world of intimate human relationships.  It is in these arrangements that we find our own sense of what is right continually challenged, and it is especially easy for our own psychological hang-ups and insecurities to negatively affect our ability [...]

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As economic woes reach new heights here in the United States, having a good credit rating is increasingly something to be proud of.  The importance of credit is often framed as a practical issue, one that we all reasonably ought to care about.  What I want to talk about here is the connection between appropriate [...]

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In a recent article, we discussed the role of philosophical rhetoric in moral deliberation, and the way in which both of this election’s presidential candidates demonstrate some positive and negative attributes in their rhetorical styles.  But we haven’t said much about why the very nature of rhetoric is so frustrating, and can sometimes play a [...]

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As a graduate student at CSU, I’m a pretty busy guy most of the time.  In addition to multiple classes and working on a thesis, I also tutor undergraduates in philosophy, work as a teaching assistant for a world philosophies course, and I’m working on PhD applications.  On top of all that, I maintain this [...]

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Traveling by air has rapidly transformed from a moderately affordable activity to something that most cannot typically afford.  I am currently attempting to book a trip to Roanoke, Virginia for the Virginia Tech Philosophy Conference.  After much frustration due to not finding a reasonable flight price, I opted to contact a travel agent.  Unbeknownst to [...]

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Most people agree that it is important to do what is right.  In fact, we somewhat take for granted that it takes time to be ethical.  Morality is not always a simple task, and we need time to contemplate possible scenarios in order to figure out what we ought to do in a particular situation.  [...]

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After watching the last presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, I think its only appropriate to say something about rhetoric, and how it applies to our everyday ethical practices.  Luckily, these two candidates offer a great starting point for conversation, as they both do certain things very well, and other things very poorly.  [...]

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Not long ago I participated in a fundraiser to support the development of cancer treatments, with the stated end goal of finding a cure for cancer.  These sorts of events are quite common, and one tends to be motivated to participate by a sense of doing what is right.  However, after some philosophical reflections, I [...]

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