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51Rape as an Essentially Contested ConceptHypatia 16 (2): 43-66. 2001.Because “rape” has such a powerful appraisive meaning, how one defines the term has normative significance. Those who define rape rigidly so as to exclude contemporary feminist understandings are therefore seeking to silence some moral perspectives “by definition.” I argue that understanding rape as an essentially contested concept allows the concept sufficient flexibility to permit open moral discourse, while at the same time preserving a core meaning that can frame the discourse.
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53Punishment and Community: The Reintegrative Theory of PunishmentCanadian Journal of Philosophy 26 (1). 1996.There seems to be nearly universal agreement that society cannot do without some form of criminal punishment. At the same time, it is generally acknowledged that punishment, involving as it does the imposition of hardship and suffering, stands in need of justification. What form such a justification should take, however, is a matter of considerable contention, in part because of basic theoretical disagreements on the nature of moral obligation, and in part because of disagreements concerning the…Read more
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56Deep ecology and the irrelevance of moralityEnvironmental Ethics 18 (4): 411-424. 1996.Both Arne Naess and Warwick Fox have argued that deep ecology, in terms of “Selfrealization,” is essentially nonmoral. I argue that the attainment of the ecological Self does not render morality in the richest sense “superfluous,” as Fox suggests. To the contrary, the achievement of the ecological Self is a precondition for being a truly moral person, both from the perspective of a robust Kantian moral frameworkand from the perspective of Aristotelian virtue ethics. The opposition between selfre…Read more
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97A Deontological Theodicy? Swinburne’s Lapse and the Problem of Moral EvilFaith and Philosophy 31 (2): 181-203. 2014.Richard Swinburne’s formulation of the argument from evil is representative of a pervasive way of understanding the challenge evil poses for theistic belief. But there is an error in Swinburne’s formulation : he fails to consider possible deontological constraints on God’s legitimate responses to evil. To demonstrate the error’s significance, I show that some important objections to Swinburne’s theodicy admit of a novel answer once we correct for Swinburne’s Lapse. While more is needed to show t…Read more
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127Defining Terrorism for Public Policy Purposes: The Group-Target DefinitionJournal of Moral Philosophy 7 (2): 253-278. 2010.For the sake of developing and evaluating public policy decisions aimed at combating terrorism, we need a precise public definition of terrorism that distinguishes terrorism from other forms of violence. Ordinary usage does not provide a basis for such a definition, and so it must be stipulative. I propose essentially pragmatic criteria for developing such a stipulative public definition. After noting that definitions previously proposed in the philosophical literature are inadequate based on th…Read more
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82Alan Wertheimer, consent to sexual relations (cambridge: Cambridge university press, 2003), pp. XV + 293Utilitas 19 (2): 261-263. 2007.
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17Transformation of the Self in the Thought of Friedrich Schleiermacher (review)Faith and Philosophy 28 (4): 474-478. 2011.
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25Personally Committed To Nonviolence: Towards A Vindication Of Personal PacifismThe Acorn 10 (2): 30-41. 2000.
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12Deep Ecology and the Irrelevance of MoralityEnvironmental Ethics 18 (4): 411-424. 1996.Both Arne Naess and Warwick Fox have argued that deep ecology, in terms of “Selfrealization,” is essentially nonmoral. I argue that the attainment of the ecological Self does not render morality in the richest sense “superfluous,” as Fox suggests. To the contrary, the achievement of the ecological Self is a precondition for being a truly moral person, both from the perspective of a robust Kantian moral frameworkand from the perspective of Aristotelian virtue ethics. The opposition between selfre…Read more
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22Moving the Goalposts? The Challenge of Philosophical Engagement with the Public God DebatesPhilo 13 (1): 80-93. 2010.When philosophers contribute to public debates as polarized as contemporary ones about theistic belief, it is common to encounter responses that, philosophically, are woefully misguided. While it is tempting to simply dismiss them, a closer examination of recurring responses can offer insight of philosophical significance. In this paper I exemplify the value of engaging with recurring but misguided popular objections by looking carefully at one such objection to my recent book, Is God a Delusion…Read more
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67. Christianity and Partisan PoliticsLogos. Anales Del Seminario de Metafísica [Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España] 2 (4). 1999.
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89Why the deterrence argument for capital punishment failsCriminal Justice Ethics 12 (1): 26-33. 1993.
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54Universalism and autonomy: Towards a comparative defense of universalismFaith and Philosophy 18 (2): 222-240. 2001.In arecent article, Michael Murray critiques several versions of universalism-that is, the doctrine that in the end all persons are saved. Of particular interest to Murray is Thomas Talbott’s version of universalism (called SU1 by Murray), which puts forward a strategy for ensuring universal salvation that purports to preserve the autonomy of the creatures saved. Murray argues that, on the contrary, the approach put forward in SU1 is not autonomy-preserving at all. I argue that this approach pre…Read more
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29Self-Defense and the Principle of Generic ConsistencySocial Theory and Practice 32 (3): 415-438. 2006.
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47Private Property Rights, Moral Extensionism and the Wise-Use Movement: A Rawlsian AnalysisEnvironmental Values 13 (3). 2004.Efforts to protect endangered species by regulating the use of privately owned lands are routinely resisted by appeal to the private property rights of landowners. Recently, the 'wise-use' movement has emerged as a primary representative of these landowners' claims. In addressing the issues raised by the wise-use movement and others like them, legal scholars and philosophers have typically examined the scope of private property rights and the extent to which these rights should influence public …Read more
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94A Guarantee of Universal Salvation?Faith and Philosophy 24 (4): 413-432. 2007.Recent defenders of the Christian doctrine of eternal damnation have appealed to what I call the “No Guarantee Doctrine” (NG)—the doctrine that not evenGod can ensure both (a) that every person who is saved freely chooses to be saved and (b) that all are saved. Thomas Talbott challenges NG on the groundsthat anyone who is truly free will have no motive to reject God and will infallibly choose salvation. In response to critics of Talbott, I argue that in order toavoid Talbott ’s critique of NG, i…Read more
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26The Irreconcilability of Pacifism and Just War TheorySocial Theory and Practice 20 (2): 117-134. 1994.
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158Rape as an essentially contested conceptHypatia 16 (2): 43-66. 2001.: Because "rape" has such a powerful appraisive meaning, how one defines the term has normative significance. Those who define rape rigidly so as to exclude contemporary feminist understandings are therefore seeking to silence some moral perspectives "by definition." I argue that understanding rape as an essentially contested concept allows the concept sufficient flexibility to permit open moral discourse, while at the same time preserving a core meaning that can frame the discourse
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7Christianity and Partisan PoliticsLogos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 2 (4): 82-96. 1999.
Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Religion |
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |