The Is/Ought Gap: It’s real but doesn’t pose a problem for “scientific moralists”

In the past two weeks I’ve stumbled upon blog entries that argued for a “scientific morality”, and in doing so challenged the “is/ought thesis”, which seems to be a rite of passage to be a naturalist these days. Unfortunately, the writers misunderstand the “is/ought” thesis, and so their arguments against it fail (but both entries […]

Columbia, Maryland (and rights, gun control, and arguments from analogy)

I have refrained from writing on the controversial topic of gun control but I feel now that I must address it as today’s shooting in Columbia mall is literally too close to home for me to not comment – my father goes to a new age church in Columbia, Maryland, and I have friends who […]

MLK (and moral progress, knowledge, biases and cultural diversity)

The Washington Post has recently been indulging its readership in a series of articles proclaiming that a new progressive movement is taking form, and that changing demographics in battleground states suggest that Democratic presidents will become a norm. As a bleeding heart liberal – I was fairly progressive before living in Denmark, but seeing socialist […]

Prostitution (and Kantianism)

Today the Washington Post featured an editorial on the recent finding that prostitution laws are unconstitutional in Canada; the author notes the real opportunity for sex workers and advocates of sex workers to be included in deliberations in redrafting existing laws. My concern is not with the legal parameters of prostitution, but with the morality […]

Moral Dilemmas (and expressivism, monism, particularism and pluralism)

In the past two weeks I have been riddled by a moral dilemma, involving the balancing of my duties to two different groups of people, and though I have recently resolved the dilemma, insofar as I have made a choice of which course of action to take, I still feel guilt and regret for not […]