A while back, I wrote a piece called “A Critique of Peter Singer“, one of my more popular pieces on moral theory. Since I wrote that piece, I’ve spent more time reading and thinking about Singer, and I am now prepared to offer an additional critique that in some places supersedes and in other places adds to that one. Continue reading “A New Critique of Peter Singer”
Author: Benjamin Studebaker
3 Reasons We Should Stop Watching TV News
Over the past several months, I’ve been paying increasing attention to an interesting phenomenon–voter tunnel vision. You may have noticed in recent months that mainstream media–particularly cable news networks–have devoted a remarkable amount of air time to a very narrow list of political issues:
- Russia/Ukraine Conflict
- Israel/Palestine Conflict
- Michael Brown Shooting/Ferguson Protests
- ISIS
- Ebola
Now, these issues are, to varying degrees, important. But why do they get so much coverage compared with more severe long-term problems like heart disease, malaria, poverty, climate change, education, and so on? Essentially, it’s because TV is a terrible medium for news, and I can show you why.
Continue reading “3 Reasons We Should Stop Watching TV News”
What Kind of God Do Monotheists Believe In?
Yesterday, I did some writing about the conflict between secular moral theory and theistic religious moral theory. Today, this has me thinking in greater theoretical detail about the monotheistic position specifically and what it might entail. In the course of this thinking, I have run into something of a dilemma.
Continue reading “What Kind of God Do Monotheists Believe In?”
Bill Maher and Ben Affleck are Both Wrong about Islam
In recent days, there’s been much discussion of an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher in which Maher (the host) and noted atheist Sam Harris got into a lively discussion with actor Ben Affleck over whether or not Islam is fundamentally less compatible with liberal values than Christianity, Judaism, or other religions. While I see many people taking sides, I found none of the arguments made particularly persuasive. I was instead struck by how thoroughly all three men seemed to miss the point.
Continue reading “Bill Maher and Ben Affleck are Both Wrong about Islam”
Why Congress Will Not Declare War on ISIS
In recent days, a lot of commentators have been deeply upset by the fact that Barack Obama has been ordering military strikes against ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) without congressional authorization, and that congress has not held a vote on the issue. Indeed, even house speaker John Boehner does not think the administration legally requires further authorization. The US constitution says that:
The Congress shall have Power To… declare War
So what’s going on here?
Continue reading “Why Congress Will Not Declare War on ISIS”
Benjamin Studebaker 