Kwakiutl-Doo

Here are some more links related to our discussion of ethical relativism:

• The Kwakiutl from Northwest America [Google Kwakiutl!]
• The Dobu of Melanesia
• Ruth Benedict and Herodotus
• Cannibalism!
• An argument against the DIVERSITY THESIS: cultures morally agree more than they disagree
• A webcam dialogue on morality, psychology, and religion

(Click on the comic to enlarge it)

Relative to You, But Not to Me

Here are some links on ethical relativism. The first is an interview with a moral psychologist who supports a sophisticated version of ethical relativism.

Interview with Moral Psychologist Jonathan Haidt

The second one is an advanced overview of various versions of moral relativism:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Article on Moral Relativism

Reading Response #4

Reading Response #4 is due April 24th for the Thursday night class, and April 30th for the Wednesday night class. The assignment is to write a one- to two-page (250- to 500-word) response on the following:

Explain and critically evaluate the ethical theory of relativism. First, briefly explain the theory in your own words. Then spend most of your response evaluating the theory. Discuss objections to the theory, and tell me your opinion on whether you think it's a good or bad theory. Be sure to defend your opinion with reasons.

Pascal's Wager

Bad Things to Good People

Here are some links on the problem of evil.

The first link is a collection of resources all about the problem of evil, including criticisms of several different responses to the problem. I mean, wow.

The NPR program Fresh Air has an audio interview with Bart Ehrman on the problem of suffering.

Next is a discussion of the "God works in mysterious ways" response: do we have enough evidence to believe that there is a reason for all the suffering in the world, but humans aren't smart enough to understand what that reason is?

Finally, does everything happen for a reason? This cartoon dinosaur has an interesting take on that question. (T-Rex also occasionally wonders why bad things happen to nice people.)

Extra Credit

The extra credit assignment is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, April 16th, or Thursday, April 17th, depending on which class you're in. Your assignment is to write a reading response (about 250-500 words) on the following topic:

Explain and evaluate your thoughts on God now that we've gone through the philosophy of religion section of the course. In particular, focus on any changes in your thoughts. Have you changed your beliefs about God? Have you changed your reasons for your beliefs? Why or why not? Ultimately, do you think doing philosophy is a useful method in exploring this topic? Why or why not?

This assignment is potentially worth the value of a reading response (up to 50 points).

April 9th: Class Canceled!

Hey, Wednesday night class! I found out that class is canceled on April 9th due to a professional development day.

Enjoy the week off!