Everyday Ethics

Once again, the Washington Redskins find themselves in court, defending their name and trademark against charges that it is racist and offensive to Native Americans.  Surely there’s something to this, though I don’t want to get into arguments for and against the name here.  Instead, I want to pose a question that seems important to [...]

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Here’s a link to a brief survey and some analysis that I conducted regarding how people describe their own emotional experiences.  Enjoy!

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My paper for presentation at the upcoming Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress is now available at my Academia.edu page.  You’ll find it under the “Talks” tab.
Here’s the abstract:

What’s So Great About Moral Responsibility?: A Critique of Narrative Value
Elijah Weber
Bowling Green State University

Many prominent compatibilists about moral responsibility and determinism, including John Martin Fischer, Gary Watson, and [...]

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In a seemingly endless Spring of sports scandals, the University of Arkansas fired head football coach Bobby Petrino, following revelations that his mistress, who was also a former employee of his football program, was involved in his recent motorcycle accident.  Part of the explanation of Petrino’s firing was that he had engaged in a “pattern [...]

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In a previous post, I outlined what I take to be two key components of the now infamous “Stand Your Ground” law permitting individuals who believe they are in imminent danger to defend themselves without fear of criminal punishment.  This law, it seems, was a contributing factor in the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, a [...]

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As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently completed a one-month Facebook vacation.  For many of us who spend a good deal of our work time in front of the computer, sites like Facebook are a huge “time-sucker,” and for many people the behavior is truly out of control.  Much like more conventional addictions, [...]

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During the recent memorial service for Penn State’s legendary football coach, Joe Paterno, most of the speakers tactfully avoided making comments about Paterno’s role in the now infamous Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.  The majority of the speakers spoke about Paterno’s commitment to winning “the right way,” and about his skills as a leader and [...]

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As a full-time graduate student who is also a parent of a young child, I often find myself with limited windows of time to complete everything that I want to get done.  Surely many of us in the world of academic philosophy, or other academic disciplines, have had the experience of sitting down at our [...]

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SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, is currently making its way around Washington, D.C., and the negative response of the online community is resounding through its marbled halls.  There are lots of places on the web where you might find explanations of what SOPA is about (here’s one), as well as why you should or [...]

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Hello,
There has, once again, been a significant gap between my last posting and this one.  Despite my best efforts, I grossly underestimated the time requirements associated with parenting, being a PhD student, and being an acceptable spouse.  Now that I’ve finally completed my PhD coursework, I hope to commit more time to Everyday Ethics.  That [...]

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