Ed Erwin and Cancellation Professor Ed Erwin was a valued member of the philosophy department at the University of Miami for many years. He was generally regarded as a person of high integrity and warm generosity. After he came to my defense, he told me of the change in his life in the department: colleagues […]
Annoying Atoms I have come to a rather grim conclusion: I don’t like atoms. Never have, never will. There is something so annoying about them. I wonder if I can get you to see it that way. This is not a phobia on my part, or a prejudice, but a considered judgment. It just isn’t […]
Coach Colin When I was at school, I did a lot of athletics: gymnastics, pole vault, diving, discus, table tennis, trampoline, basketball, as well as the usual football, cricket, and track. My PE teachers thought I would make a good PE teacher, and I didn’t disagree. They would be disappointed to learn that I became […]
Gods Let’s imagine a theological dispute of a different color: the question is which of two possible Gods, called Yum and Yam, exist. Yum and Yam are very similar—they are standard-issue Gods—but they do differ in certain particulars. Yum’s chosen people are the Dutch while Yam favors the Armenians, Yum’s day of rest is Saturday […]
Shortest Books in the World You will be familiar with this genre of humor. Well-known examples include: Italian War Heroes, Polish Wit and Wisdom. Here are my inventions (they are not intended to be fair or accurate—that’s the whole point). Triumphs of British Dentistry Irish Teetotalers I have Known Scottish Hospitality Welsh Wineries Nations of […]
Dreams and Religion There is a peculiarity of religion that is not often (if ever) remarked: its combination of the serious and the silly. I might even say commingling: the way the serious and the silly are interwoven, inextricably joined. Serious themes run through religion—life and death, right and wrong, cosmology. But at the same […]
Theism and Moral Anti-Realism What are the logical relations between theism and moral anti-realism?[1] First, we must define our terms (tedious work but it has to be done). Let theism be the doctrine that something like the Judeo-Christian God exists (not just any old type of God): not only morally perfect but also the very […]
Table Tennis (and the Meaning of Life) I was watching the Olympics a few months ago and made a point of checking out the table tennis. I used to play a lot as a teenager—we had a table at home and my brother also played. Naturally, I was pretty good at it (the best in […]
Atheism and Moral Realism So-called moral realism is the doctrine that morality is mind-independent. In particular, it is independent of judgments, attitudes, legislative acts, or emotions. It is therefore incompatible with divine command theories or human approval theories: the good is not what God commands and not what humans approve of. Moore’s theory of the […]
The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses; As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but […]