Tag Archives: Ethics

Why Evil Exists

Posted on April 12, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

Today is Easter 2020, when Christians in Western countries celebrate (where permitted by law) the resurrection of Jesus. Eastern Orthodox Christians in Greece, Turkey, Russia and thereabouts celebrate it next week. Today is also the middle of Passover, when we … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Christianity, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, Science | Tagged Ethics, Ethics of Belief, Evil, God, Good and Evil, Metaphysics, Morality, Ontology, Problem of Evil, Theodicy | Leave a comment

The One Where I Told a Little Lie

Posted on November 22, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Can you go through life and never tell a lie? Honesty is the best policy. But it’s a policy — not an unbreakable rule. If most of us weren’t honest most of the time, social life would be impossible. Nobody … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life | Tagged Ethics, Grading, Graduate school, Higher education, Honesty, Morality, Motivation, Pragmatism, Teaching, Utilitarianism | 1 Comment

Everyone’s Welfare Counts

Posted on October 30, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

We should try to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It sounds like a pretty good idea. And it is. But it’s not the whole answer. The problem is that like lower animals, humans distinguish between … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology | Tagged Choice, Ethics, Group behavior, Group membership, Human Dignity, Moral Choice, Nozick, Side constraints, Utilitarianism | Leave a comment

Immigration and the Image of God

Posted on February 28, 2017 by N.S. Palmer

My new blog post for The Jewish Journal: Surprisingly – or maybe not – many of our current debates were foreshadowed by ancient rabbinical disputes. One such foreshadowed debate was our national conundrum about immigration, legal and otherwise. In his … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jewish Journal | Tagged Art Green, Ethics, Immigration, Judaism's 10 Best Ideas, Loyalty, Moral Choice, Moral intuition, Moral judgment, Moral Psychology, Morality, Rabbi Akiva, Simeon Ben Azzai, Trolley Problem | Leave a comment

Morality Needs Both Logic and Feeling

Posted on November 17, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My new blog post for The Jerusalem Post: As a child, I was a big “Star Trek” fan. I never wanted to be like Captain Kirk. The world was full of Kirk wannabes. My hero was Mr. Spock: stoic, brilliant, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Adam Smith, B.F. Skinner, Descartes' Error, Ethics, Feeling, Heschel, Hillel, Logic, Moral judgment, Morality, Mr. Spock, Psychology, Star Trek | 1 Comment

Is It Moral to Have Children?

Posted on August 6, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: The question is strange but not crazy: Should we have children? Are there cases when we shouldn’t? Judaism and common sense agree that generally we should and sometimes we shouldn’t. But there … Continue reading →