Author: Frederik Kaufman Categories: Ethics, Metaphysics, Historical Philosophy Word count: 987 Most people think dying would be bad for them and so they fear it. Is that fear rational? The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BCE) says no. He argues that death— as the permanent extinction of consciousness—is not bad, so we should not fear … Continue reading Is Death Bad? Epicurus and Lucretius on the Fear of Death
Author: Dale E. Miller Category: Ethics, Historical Philosophy Wordcount: 994 One important question in ethics is what makes people’s lives go well for them. Philosophers have proposed various theories about what things in and of themselves make people better off, i.e., theories of “well-being.” Many such theories say that pleasurable experiences are at least part of … Continue reading John Stuart Mill on The Good Life: Higher-Quality Pleasures
Author: Chelsea Haramia Category: Philosophy of Sex and Gender, Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics Word Count: 1000 Editor’s Note: This essay is the third in a three-part series on the topic of philosophical feminism. The first two parts, on the Sameness Approach to feminism and the Difference Approach to feminism, are by Annaleigh Curtis; this … Continue reading Feminism Part 3: The Dominance Approach
Author: Huzeyfe Demirtas Categories: Epistemology, Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Sex and Gender, Philosophy of Race, Logic and Reasoning Wordcount: 996 Suppose a jury rejects a Black defendant’s testimony because they believe that Black people are often untrustworthy. Or suppose the male members of a board reject a female colleague's suggestions because they … Continue reading Epistemic Injustice
Author: Thomas Metcalf Categories: Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy Word count: 995 Your vote normally only has a very small chance of changing the outcome of any election for a public office.[1] For your vote to make that difference, thousands or millions of other votes would need to end up in a tie, which is … Continue reading Ethics and the Expected Consequences of Voting
Categories: Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Race, Ethics Author: Travis Timmerman Word Count: 992 The Confederacy (1861-1865) consisted of eleven secessionist states that fought against the United States in the American Civil War in order to try to preserve slavery. Since the Civil War, Confederate monuments have been erected across America.[1] Confederate monuments were … Continue reading Removing Confederate Monuments
The ethical theory known as ethical egoism states that we are always morally required to do what’s in our own self-interest: the view is sometimes called an “ethics of selfishness.” The view isn’t that we are selfish—this is psychological egoism—but that we ought to be. This essay explores ethical egoism and the main arguments for and against it.
Author: Felipe Pereira Categories: Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Phenomenology and Existentialism Word Count: 998 Many people hope to live on after death, in heaven, forever. Even those who don’t believe in heaven usually agree that an eternal life there would be better than any finite, mortal life.[1] Are they correct? Some influential philosophers have argued … Continue reading Is Immortality Desirable?
Author: Raja Halwani Categories: Philosophy of Sex and Gender, Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy Word count: 998 Nearly all, if not all, people have sexual orientations,[1] commonly understood to refer to one’s sexual attraction to members of their same or opposite sex.[2] What we can call the “Orthodox Account”[3] is that there are three sexual … Continue reading Sexual Orientation, Sex, and Gender
Author: Thomas Metcalf Category: Social and Political Philosophy Wordcount: 993 Editor’s Note: This essay is the second in a two-part series authored by Tom on the topic of capitalism and socialism. The first essay, on defining capitalism and socialism, can be viewed here. Suppose I had a magic wand that allowed one to produce 500 … Continue reading Arguments for Capitalism and Socialism
