I received my BA in philosophy from the University of Chicago and my PhD from the University of Notre Dame. I specialize in ethics, with a particular focus on the nature of normative reasons and the ethics of hypocrisy in its myriad forms. My favorite philosopher is Henry Sidgwick, since I believe—to borrow a line from Alfred North Whitehead, speaking about Plato—that much of analytic ethics in the 20th century is a series of footnotes to Sidgwick.
Thank you, Ali Muràád Bàloç, for this fascinating question. The first thing we have to ask is, what is hypocrisy? Ask most people, and they will tell you that hypocrisy is not practicing what you preach. But consider this: in the process of becoming mature adults, we often do things that we later condemn, or […]
Do people live without hypocrisy? Read More
Thank you, Daryl John Dumanig Panibon, for this important question. One way to begin answering a question is by making the question itself more precise. I propose that we understand the question, “is life worth living?” as equivalent to the question, “is there a reason to continue existing?” Since it is within our power at
Is life worth living? Read More
Thank you, EM IL, for this intriguing question. The first thing we must ask is, what is innocence? We can answer this question by thinking about the attributes possessed by paradigmatically innocent creatures, such as puppies or newborn babies. It seems to me that when we call such creatures innocent, we are primarily remarking upon
Thank you, Charmaine Elaine, for this multi-faceted question. The phrase “taking a stand” can be used to describe a variety of behaviors in different contexts; in what follows, I will consider two interpretations. First, is it wrong not to engage in political activity? Second, is it wrong not to adopt a firm position on a
Is it wrong not to take a stand? Read More
Thank you, Eoin Martin, for this fascinating question. I will assume that we are interested in whether good intentions matter for our moral evaluation of actions, and in particular whether good intentions morally justify an action. I will also assume that a ‘good’ intention is an intention that aims at something that is to some
Do good intentions matter? Read More
