There is a tradition stretching back to the Greek Presocratic philosopher Thales of supposed proofs of God’s existence expressed in philosophical and logical language independent of any doctrine or personal confession of faith, even though these, explicitly in some cases and in others presumably, motivated at some level the enterprise involved in setting forth such… Continue reading Contending with God: Philosophical Theism, Humanism and the Transcendent
Category: Philosophy
The Diversity Deficit in the Moral Sphere
This is a presentation made at the 5th ICHJA conference in Korea. We argue that an important first step in the pushback against cultural socialist hegemony is in recognizing and publicizing the ways in which it is being exercised and in understanding the contours of the contemporary moral landscape which facilitate the hegemony. There needs… Continue reading The Diversity Deficit in the Moral Sphere
The Decline of Virtue
It was observed by Haidt (2012) based on his moral foundations theory that the difference in perspective between liberals and conservatives is not so much in the values they espouse as in the weights they assign to them, with liberals in particular citing the embodiment of care (kindness) as the overriding moral imperative at the… Continue reading The Decline of Virtue
Beyond the Culture Wars – An Enactivist Approach
To understand the Culture Wars which characterise much of what passes for political debate in Anglophone countries these days, it is important to understand their roots in identity politics, defined as political or social activity by or on behalf of a racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, or other group, usually undertaken with the goal of… Continue reading Beyond the Culture Wars – An Enactivist Approach
On Stereotyping, Part 2 – Should stereotyping be considered harmful?
In Part 1 of this article where I asked Is it OK to stereotype people?, I pointed out how modern cognitive science, understood in particular in terms of the paradigm of Active Inference, leads us to conclude that stereotyping is intrinsic to all observing, understanding and learning. So any attempt to stigmatise people for engaging… Continue reading On Stereotyping, Part 2 – Should stereotyping be considered harmful?
On Stereotyping, Part 1 – Is it OK to stereotype people?
It is a commonplace assumption that stereotyping people is a bad thing which we should do our utmost to avoid. Perhaps this is a position you would agree with, on the grounds that it is wrong to make generalisations since this can result in us misjudging people and potentially treating them unfairly. But I would… Continue reading On Stereotyping, Part 1 – Is it OK to stereotype people?
Don’t be a victim! Beyond the culture of entitlement and anxiety
A paper that came out in 2014 by two sociologists, Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning, made the argument that with the rise of a more diverse and egalitarian culture, particularly in the academic world, combined with the rise of powerful administrative sectors therein, a new form of social morality has emerged that they referred to… Continue reading Don’t be a victim! Beyond the culture of entitlement and anxiety
‘The Re-Enchantment of the World’ as Theoretical Critique and Social Practice
Introduction ‘The re-enchantment of the world’ emerged as a concept in the 1980s in the work of Maurice Berman, in a work on the philosophy and psychology of science of that name and became adopted as a tellingly evocative motif among certain environmental writers and theologians. Ironically, until now it has not featured much within… Continue reading ‘The Re-Enchantment of the World’ as Theoretical Critique and Social Practice
The Illusory Quest for Shared Values
As we look around us at an ever-increasing number of apparently intractable conflicts, what is the scope for the discovery of shared values to offer us a way forward?
Maaate! Your virtue-signalling is tiresome.
Much breath has been expended criticising Sadiq Khan’s recent “Say maaaate to a mate” campaign. Opinions tend to be divided between those who criticise the campaign over its likely ineffectiveness and those who criticise it as inappropriate use of public funds. But are there not more fundamental issues at stake here which deserve greater scrutiny?