Moral theory: consequentialism and its competitors
July 31, 2008 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under ethics, philosophical lectures, philosophy
Over the course of my lectures on ethics, I’ve been emphasizing moral dilemmas that contemporary philosophers have discussed, using consequentialism as a guiding theme, mentioning what consequentialism would say about those cases. Now I want to step back and talk about competing moral theories, and the alternatives to consequentialism.
The most commonly cited alternative to consequentialism [...]
Confusion on Biblical authority
July 31, 2008 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under history, religion
When I see liberal Christians saying Christians needn’t be anti-gay, they often seem to use two conflicting arguments: the Bible doesn’t say what most Evangelicals think it says, and anyway the Biblical authors didn’t know any better. Example: this Hemant interview of Candace Chellow-Hodge. Not sure if this quite belongs in the “stupidity” category, but [...]
Continue Reading »Changing the subject
July 30, 2008 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under religion, stupidity
Can’t believe it’s taken this long to get a post in my stupidity category on this subject–changing the subject. Prime example found in “What’s Wrong with Science as Religion” by Karl Giberson in /Salon/. Basically: Giberson criticizes various posts made by PZ Myers, yet if you look at the referenced posts, Giberson has simply ignored [...]
Continue Reading »Computer day in chemistry class
July 28, 2008 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under IRL, Science Sunday, physics, science
This is a Science Sunday post, and a follow up to last week’s. But, after thinking awhile about how to talk about what I wanted to talk about, I decided a somewhat different approach than I’d normally use for writing about science. Here it goes.
Been nearly a year since I’ve taken any chemistry class. Last [...]
I enjoyed /Batman Begins/ more
July 26, 2008 by Chris Hallquist
Filed under reviews, social and literary criticism
WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS NO MAJOR SPOILERS, BUT MAY RUIN YOUR MOVIE EXPERIENCE ANYWAY.
Saw the new Batman movie last night. Was very excited about it, basically expecting it to be /Batman Beings/ with a much, much cooler villain. And before going, I tried to avoid ruining my viewing experience by reading any reviews that [...]