Tag Archives: Morality

Einstein Agrees with the Lone Ranger

Posted on March 24, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

Albert Einstein and the Lone Ranger agree: Get over yourself. Albert Einstein was one of the smartest people of the 20th century. His ideas revolutionized our understanding of space and time. They also contributed to the development of quantum mechanics. … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Philosophy | Tagged Courage, Einstein, Life, Morality, The Lone Ranger, Wisdom | 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

What’s Your Choice?

Posted on September 12, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Some people might get mad at me for saying this, but I’m against kicking puppies. I’m also against being mean to children and old people. I like democracy but I agree with Winston Churchill that “it’s the worst form of … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Psychology, Society | Tagged Belief, Choice, Decline of violence, Evolutionary Psychology, Existential choice, Foundations of morality, Genetic influences on belief, Group beliefs, Moral Choice, Morality, Retributive justice, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature | 2 Comments

Facing Moral Dilemmas

Posted on August 27, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

What makes things moral or immoral? People have lots of different views about it. My own view is that what’s moral: maximizes human happiness, minimizes needless suffering, and avoids doing things that are almost universally considered wrong. But even if … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Philosophy | Tagged Back to 1989, Greatest happiness principle, Income distribution, Moral decisions, Moral dilemma, Morality, Offshoring, Trolley Problem, Utilitarianism | 4 Comments

What Is Humanity?

Posted on July 1, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Back in the 1960s, the great rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote Who Is Man? based on lectures he gave at Stanford University. But to ask “who is man?” assumes that we’ve’ previously answered the question “what is man?” If humans are … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Life | Tagged Fukayama, Heschel, Human Dignity, Human life, Human Rights, Human worth, Identity, Justice, Materialism, Morality, Scientism, The other, What is man | Leave a comment

Truth, Lies, and Bullsh-t

Posted on June 13, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

“I am lying,” said Epimenides the Cretan. So if he was lying, then he was telling the truth. And if he was telling the truth, he was lying. Epimenides also made the Statue of Liberty disappear. Sorry. That was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Bullshit, Honesty, Lying, Morality, Politics, Social norms, The Invention of Lying, Truth | 3 Comments

Don’t Pass Over History

Posted on April 19, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Who are you? What are you? The answers define your identity and give you a sense of place in the universe. The “who” question has a simple answer: your name. But the “what” question has many answers. You are a … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Judaism, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Community, Easter, Exodus, Group identity, Historiography, History, Legitimacy, Morality, Moses, Passover, Personal Identity, Social order | Leave a comment

Visit a Foreign Country

Posted on December 5, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

“The past is a foreign country,” advised British novelist L.P. Hartley. And it’s true: Most of us have quite enough trouble keeping up with the present. We’re too busy to think much about the past. Of course, there are different … Continue reading →