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3Word Associations, Black Jeopardy, and Mr. Robinson's NeighborhoodIn Jason Southworth & Ruth Tallman (eds.), Saturday Night Live and Philosophy, Wiley. 2020.Saturday Night Live's comedy and philosophy have something fundamental in common: both re‐tune attention by challenging assumptions about the world and each other. Comedy reveals assumptions by exploiting them in exaggerated form – and boy do we have a lot of assumptions, particularly about race and racial identity. “Black Jeopardy” reminds people that many things affect identities, not just the putative race to which we belong. The “neighborhood” we're exposed to is one of pure fancy: a comedic…Read more
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8Political Pessimism and the Seductions of TyrannyPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 28 (2): 34-41. 2022.These remarks consider Andrew Fiala’s Tyranny from Trump to Plato in the context of political apathy and climate pessimism. First, I raise the issue of whether or not some form of tyranny might be necessary in dealing with the crisis of climate change. Second, I express some skepticism about Fiala’s dual remedies of moral education (Ch 8) and constitutional wisdom (Ch 9) to face our present political challenges.
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12Lenart Škof & Petri Berndtson, , "Atmospheres of Breathing." Reviewed byPhilosophy in Review 40 (1): 39-40. 2020.
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30Affordances, Embodiment, and Moral Perception: A Sketch of a Moral TheoryPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 25 (1): 35-48. 2019.My aim in this article is programmatic. I argue that understanding perceptual experience on the model of perceptual affordances allows us to acknowledge the centrality of embodiment to moral phenomenology, on the one hand, and to see more transparently the place of the emotions in the moral life, on the other. I suggest some means by which moral perception, construed as the perception of moral affordances, might be cultivated.
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9Ergon and Logistikon in RepublicPolis 25 (2): 261-267. 2008.This paper explores the tension between two views attributed to Plato: 1) that every person in a just society must fulfil his function, and 2) justice requires philosophical wisdom. It is argued that is not Plato’s view in Republic, and that this can be seen as early as Book II.
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21What We Owe the DeadJournal of Applied Philosophy 26 (1): 54-70. 2009.abstract My aim in this paper is to argue that we have at least some obligations to the dead. After briefly considering some previous (unsuccessful) attempts to establish such obligations, I offer a reductio argument which establishes at least some obligations to the dead. Following this, the surprising extent of these obligations (given a few roughly Kantian assumptions) is considered. I then argue that there are and must be some significant limitations on the duties of the living in relation t…Read more
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149It’s About TimeInternational Journal of Applied Philosophy 22 (1): 103-116. 2008.The most common argument in favor of torture in the current literature is the ticking bomb argument. It asks us to imagine a case where only torture can prevent the detonation of a bomb that will kill millions. In this paper, I argue that the seeming effectiveness of this argument rests on two things: 1) the underdetermined semantic content of the term ‘torture,’ and 2) a philosophical attitude that regards the empirical facts about torture as irrelevant. Once we pay attention to the facts about…Read more
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53Murder, Cannibalism, and Indirect SuicidePhilosophy in the Contemporary World 14 (1): 11-21. 2007.Reeently, a man in Germany was put on trial for killing and consuming another German man. Disgust at this incident was exacerbated when the accused explained that he had placed an advertisement on the internet for someone to be slaughtered and eaten-and that his ‘vietim’ had answered this advertisement. In this paper, I will argue that this disturbing ease should not be seen as morally problematic. I will defend this view by arguing that (1) the so-called ‘vietim’ of this cannibalization is not …Read more
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25Book Review: Ethics for Enemies: Terror, Torture, and War, written by F.M. Kamm (review)Journal of Moral Philosophy 11 (5): 657-660. 2014.
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57Brian Treanor. Emplotting Virtue: A Narrative Approach to Environmental Virtue Ethics (review)Environmental Philosophy 12 (1): 133-135. 2015.
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Agency, Normativity, and Theory: Awakening From an Anthropological SlumberDissertation, University of California, Riverside. 2002.My aim in the dissertation is to provide an argument for re-conceiving the way we understand theories of human agency, broadly construed. Traditional approaches to theories of agency have emphasized epistemological concerns when we attempt to spell out what constitutes human existence. My primary concern is to show that this traditional methodological premise concerning human agency is at best misleading, and at worst false. The traditional emphasis on the accuracy of a given theory of human age…Read more
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3Ergon And Logistikon In RepublicPolis 25 (2): 261-267. 2008.This paper explores the tension between two views attributed to Plato: 1) that every person in a just society must fulfil his function, and 2) justice requires philosophical wisdom. It is argued that is not Plato's view in Republic, and that this can be seen as early as Book II
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126Unwarranted Torture Warrants: A Critique of the Dershowitz ProposalJournal of Social Philosophy 39 (2): 308-321. 2008.No Abstract
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27The Office and Philosophy: Scenes From the Unexamined Life (edited book)Blackwell. 2008.Through humorous and revealing essays by professional philosophers, The Office and Philosophy illustrates broad philosophical concepts by exploring the characters and scenes of their unexamined lives in both the British and American versions of the acclaimed television series, The Office
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40When the dead do not consent: a defense of non-consensual organ usePublic Affairs Quarterly 22 (3): 289-309. 2008.
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166The case for moral perceptionPhenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 14 (1): 129-148. 2015.In this paper, I defend the view that we can literally perceive the morally right and wrong, or something near enough. In defending this claim, I will try to meet three primary objectives: to clarify how an investigation into moral phenomenology should proceed, to respond to a number of misconceptions and objections that are most frequently raised against the very idea of moral perception, and to provide a model for how some moral perception can be seen as literal perception. Because I take “mor…Read more
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11Arrested Development and Philosophy: They've Made a Huge Mistake (edited book)Wiley. 2012._A smart philosophical look at the cult hit television show, _Arrested Development__ _Arrested Development_ earned six Emmy awards, a Golden Globe award, critical acclaim, and a loyal cult following—and then it was canceled. Fortunately, this book steps into the void left by the show's premature demise by exploring the fascinating philosophical issues at the heart of the quirky Bluths and their comic exploits. Whether it's reflecting on Gob's self-deception or digging into Tobias's double entend…Read more
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32Perceiving Sympathetically: Moral Perception, Embodiment, and Medical EthicsJournal of Medical Humanities 36 (4): 309-319. 2015.In recent literature on moral perception, much attention has been paid to questions about the relationship between metaethical commitments and moral experience. Far less attention has been paid to the nature of moral perception, its context-sensitivity, and the role it might play in carrying out everyday tasks with decency and care. I would like to reflect on just these features of moral perception in the context of healthcare. I will argue that healthcare providers do in fact have at least an i…Read more
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25Michael Bowler, Heidegger and Aristotle: Philosophy as Praxis Reviewed byPhilosophy in Review 30 (1): 8-10. 2010.
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47Family Guy and Philosophy (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2007._Family Guy and Philosophy_ brings together low-brow, potty-mouthed, cartoon humor and high-brow philosophical reflection to deliver an outrageously hilarious and clever exploration of one of TV’s most unrelenting families. Ok, it’s not that high-brow. A sharp, witty and absurd exploration of one of television’s most unrelenting families, the stars of one of the biggest-selling TV series ever on DVD, now in its fourth season Tackles the perennial positions of _Family Guy_ at the same time as con…Read more
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44The relevance of rules to a critical social sciencePhilosophy of the Social Sciences 35 (4): 391-419. 2005.The aim of this article is to argue for a conception of critical social science based on the model of constitutive rules. The author argues that this model is pragmatically superior to those models that employ notions like "illusion" and " ideology," as it does not demand a specification of the "real (but hidden) interests" of social actors. Key Words: constitutive rules critical theory ideology recommendations social facts.
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Michael Scott is going to die (US)In Jeremy Wisnewski (ed.), The Office and Philosophy: Scenes From the Unexamined Life, Blackwell. 2008.
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14Review of Kelly Dean Jolley (ed.), Wittgenstein: Key Concept (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2011 (2). 2011.
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5The Ethics Of TortureContinuum. 2009.The first student-friendly introduction to the philosophical issues surrounding torture. It is a timely and useful contribution to a highly topical and on-going debate.
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32Mourning My Future DeathPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 15 (2): 54-61. 2008.My aim in this paper is to offer some critical remarks about the possibility of honestly confronting finitude through the experience of tbe value of the other. I suggest that there is reason to think that an honest confrontation with finitude cannot be so accomplished, and that, moreover, there can be no ‘compensation’ for the fact of finitude. Finally, I suggest that the rhetoric of ‘authenticity’ might not be the most fruitful way of talking about confronting our death.
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91Hearing a still-ticking bomb argument: A reply to Bufacchi and ArrigoJournal of Applied Philosophy 26 (2): 205-209. 2009.My aim in this paper is to demonstrate that the recent anti-Ticking Bomb argument offered by Bufacchi and Arrigo is unsuccessful. To adequately refute the Ticking Bomb strategy, I claim, requires carefully addressing both policy questions and questions involving exceptional conduct.