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Tom Rhees has a fascinating article in which he analyzes religious and irreligious generosity by a number of metrics, yielding some revealing insights. The whole piece is worth reading. But I would like to focus on this last bit: Arguably, charity is a means to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor. Seen in [...]
Archive for January, 2011
Thoughts On The Ethics Of Private Vs. Publicly-Mediated Generostiy
January 29th, 2011 
Daniel Fincke 
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Autonomy, Autonomy, Christianity, Christianity, Ethics, Featured, Law & Politics, Love, Love, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion 
Tags: Evangelical Christian Conservatives, Evangelicals, Free Market, Generosity, Market Values, Morality and the Free Market, Objective Values, Personal Generosity, Public Generosity, Value, Welfare 
3 Comments »I’m Seeing This Brilliant Guy Tonight
January 29th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Sam Beam of Iron and Wine: For wider screen video, watch it here instead. Your Thoughts?
Moral vs. Non-Moral Values
January 28th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In a recent post I distinguished numerous times between moral and non-moral values and between different sorts of intrinsic and instrumental goods. James Gray asks for clarifications about how I use these terms: First, I don’t know that it matters to call something a “moral value.” Of course, there are instrumental values concerning morally neutral [...]
Posted in Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Teleology, Teleology, Virtues, Virtues Tags: Moral Values, Moral Virtues, Non-Moral Values, Non-Moral Virtues 13 Comments »Against Moral Intuitionism
January 27th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In the series of posts I began on Sunday and which has continued through this morning, I have developed and defended my naturalistic approach to understanding value as a realist. James Gray, despite being a moral realist, has balked at much in my attempts to do this and it has become increasingly clear that the [...]
Posted in Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Epistemic Justification, Epistemic Justification, Ethics, Ethics, Evidence, Evidence, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Metaphysics, Metaphysics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy Tags: Alasdair MacIntyre, Emotivism, Error Theory, G.E. Moore, Intuitions, Moral Anti-Realism, Moral Intuitionism, Moral Realism, Robert Audi, Values 6 Comments »Pleasure And Pain As Intrinsic Instrumental Goods
January 27th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In recent posts I have been arguing that there is one sense of the word “good” which can be analyzed in terms of facts and that this is the kind of “goodness” which we can consider a real part of the world. This real, intrinsic, factual sense of goodness is its meaning as “effectiveness”. We [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Autonomy, Autonomy, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Historical Ethics, Historical Ethics, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Nietzsche, Nietzsche, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Problem of Evil, Problem of Evil, Teleology, Teleology, Torture, Torture, Virtues, Virtues Tags: Bernard Reginster, Pain, Pains, Pleasure, Pleasures, Will to Power 5 Comments »Non-Reductionistic Analysis Of Values Into Facts
January 27th, 2011 Daniel Fincke I have recently been arguing that the term good: must be cashed out in fact terms lest it just be a projection of our preferences and nothing more. [And] if it means anything objective, it means effectiveness. In reply, James Gray accuses me of reductionism: One, “good” does not have be defined in non-good terms. [...]
Posted in Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Metaphysics, Metaphysics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Naturalistic Fallacy, Naturalistic Fallacy, Nietzsche, Nietzsche, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Mind, Teleology, Teleology Tags: Good, Immoralism, Intrinsic Goods, Metaphysics of Value, Natural Good, Non-Good Terms, Non-Reductionism, Reductionism, Values 8 Comments »Daniel Dennett: “What Should Replace Religions?”
January 26th, 2011 Daniel Fincke It’s a decent talk, but the music section is cringeworthy. Your Thoughts?
Daily Hilarity: Radical Muslim Snacks
January 26th, 2011 Daniel Fincke The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c <td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'ThreatDown – Radical Muslim Snacks, Flying Robot Drones & Coked Up Vacuums<a> www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> Video Archive Your Thoughts>?
Posted in Comedy, Comedy, Hilarious, Islam, Islam, Parody, Parody, Pop Culture, Pop Culture, Satire, Satire, Videos No Comments »Addicted To Testimonies
January 25th, 2011 Daniel Fincke George has a problem: If there is one thing I am addicted to from my years of being a Christian, it is testimony. The church I attended loved testimony. Every week, a member of our congregation would stand before the whole church and bare their soul, witnessing to the glory of Christ. To this day, [...]
Posted in Christianity, Christianity Tags: Conversion Stories, Conversions, Deconversion, Testimonials, Testimony 2 Comments »What Is Happiness And Why Is It Good?
January 24th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In this post, I explore the meanings and worths of two phenomena recognized by our language as of happiness, in reply to remarks by James Gray on my most recent post. For a little background for those joining late and who would like to catch up: I have been arguing in several posts now that goodness [...]
Posted in Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Historical Ethics, Historical Ethics, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Teleology, Teleology, Virtues, Virtues Tags: Happiness 13 Comments »Effectiveness Is The Primary Goal In Itself, Not Merely A Means
January 24th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In a recent post I argued that goodness, objectively speaking, means effectiveness. Of course we use the word “good” for numerous purposes, to express that we find something pleasant, desirable, useful, advantageous to our interests, etc. But I want to argue that when it comes to the facts of reality, goodness has only this one essential [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Morality, Morality, Naturalistic Fallacy, Naturalistic Fallacy, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Teleology, Teleology, Virtues, Virtues 25 Comments »Daily Hilarity: South Park Episodes 200 & 201
January 24th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Below are the great episodes 200 and 201 of South Park which upsettingly cannot be found on the show’s official site, South Park Studios, due to cowardice in the face of threats from radical Islamists. In case you did not see the show when it aired last spring and did not realize it was available [...]
A Little Tegan & Sara And Tom Petty On My Birthday
January 24th, 2011 Daniel Fincke A couple of the songs that resonate most deeply: Your Thoughts?
33
January 24th, 2011 Daniel Fincke 33 years ago right about now I was born. If the next 33 years are as rich as the first 33, if I continue to grow year by year in the next 33 years as much as I have in the first 33 years, I will live as good a life as any human being [...]
Grounding Objective Value Independent Of Human Interests And Moralities
January 23rd, 2011 Daniel Fincke In my most recent philosophical post, I have finally explained one of the most fundamental premises necessary for explaining and justifying my overall views on ethics. I explained my view that goodness objectively means effectiveness and that all further true ideas of “good” should be understood only as derivative from the basic good of effectiveness. Also [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Naturalistic Fallacy, Naturalistic Fallacy, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Teleology, Teleology, Virtues, Virtues 12 Comments »Brian Lamb Interviews Christopher Hitchens
January 23rd, 2011 Daniel Fincke On C-Span I am presently watching a typically moving and insightful Christopher Hitchens interview about his illness. It was recorded January 14 and you can watch it here or below: Your Thoughts?
Goodness Is A Factual Matter (Goodness=Effectiveness)
January 23rd, 2011 Daniel Fincke All statements about values can be restated as statements of facts. The truth or falsity about value claims can be discovered by investigations of facts. Goodness is a word that can be defined by reference to certain kinds of factual relationships in the world. Whether or not something deserves to be called good can be [...]
Posted in Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Naturalistic Fallacy, Naturalistic Fallacy, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Teleology, Teleology Tags: Good, Goodness, Hypothetical Imperatives, Value, Value Theory 26 Comments »Olbermann Out
January 22nd, 2011 Daniel Fincke Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Maher and Maddow talked about it last night: Your Thoughts?
I Am A Moral Naturalist, Not A Subjectivist
January 20th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In a long comment on my post from this morning, George raised the question of usage of “subjectivism” beyond my own interpretation of the word. Let’s look to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which should be as neutral an adjudicating source as the English-speaking philosophy world has. I selected this source for its independent, encyclopedia character [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authority, Authority, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Teleology, Teleology Tags: Divine Command Theory, Moral Relativism, Moral Subjectivism, Objectivist Relativism, Subjectivist Relativism, Voluntarism 8 Comments »Deriving An Atheistic, Naturalistic, Realist Account Of Morality
January 20th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Tom Gilson thinks that theism accounts for moral realism better than atheism does. My reasons for rejecting that view are here (though I am interested in tailoring a future post specifically to Gilson’s particular way of arguing for a theist basis for moral realism). For now, however, rather than counter Gilson’s positive claims for theism’s [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Duty, Duty, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Teleology, Teleology, Virtues, Virtues 7 Comments »How Morality Can Change Through Objective Processes And In Objectively Defensible Ways
January 20th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Jason of Lousy Canuck thinks I am quibbling over semantics in complaining about his characterization of morality as essentially “subjective” and he wants me to clarify how my position diverges in substance from his own. Answering his questions and his formulations may prove a fruitful way to clarify my own positions. So, here goes. He [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authority, Authority, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Religion, Virtues, Virtues 15 Comments »Mutable Morality, Not Subjective Morality. Moral Pluralism, Not Moral Relativism.
January 18th, 2011 Daniel Fincke I hope soon to engage a few of the specifics of a debate going on at our friend George’s blog Misplaced Grace which started when a Christian apologist named Peter tried to argue that atheism has no way of ruling out pedophilia as immoral. Peter’s first remarks were critical of posts at Jason Thibeault’s blog Lousy Canuck. [...]
Posted in Atheism, Bible, Bible, Christianity, Christianity, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, God, God, Historical Philosophy, Metaethics, Metaethics, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Religion 17 Comments »Is The Problem Not Really The Lack Of Civility?
January 17th, 2011 Daniel Fincke mistermix argues the real poison in the discourse is not incivility but, rather, dishonesty: if I had a choice between a more civil discourse and a more honest one, I’d pick honesty every time. The reason that hundreds of angry people came to town hall meetings in my Congressional district in 2009, and the reason [...]
Daily Hilarity: Handwriting Changes
January 17th, 2011 Daniel Fincke From The Oatmeal’s blog. Boy this one hits close to home, my hand gets tired so fast when writing by hand. I don’t know how I used to take 4-5 pages of densely written handwritten notes during classes when I was an undergraduate. Your Thoughts?
When It Comes To Looks, A “7″ Is Not Just A “7″
January 17th, 2011 Daniel Fincke OKCupid’s ever-fascinating and invaluable Trends blog reasons about why the cute girl on the left gets far fewer messages than the cute girl on the right, despite having almost the same, and even a slightly higher, attractiveness rating from the men on the site. (And, while they are at it, they speculate that I am not [...]
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