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167The 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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151It’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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148Is the immortal life worth living?International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 58 (1). 2005.
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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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121What 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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100Murder, 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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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.
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78Understanding TortureEdinburgh University Press. 2010.Understanding Torture surveys the massive literature surrounding torture, arguing that, once properly understood, there can be no defence of torture in any circumstances.
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62Foucault and public autonomyContinental Philosophy Review 33 (4): 417-439. 2000.In this paper I argue that the social constructionist view found in Foucault''s work does not condemn one to a deterministic portrait of the ''self.'' Attention to the early and late writings allows one to articulate a weak notion of autonomy even under the heavy-handed descriptions found in Foucault''s early work. By recognizing autonomy as a public task, and not as a notion of freedom relegated to particular individuals, one is entitled to view autonomy as present in Foucault''s work - and not…Read more
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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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54Murder, 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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52Heidegger, Arthur Fine, and the Natural Ontological AttitudeProlegomena 12 (2): 443-458. 2013.In this paper I argue that Arthur Fine and Martin Heidegger present responses to the dispute between realism and antirealism that are remarkably close in character. Both claim that this dispute arises from a failure to take seriously our everyday experience of things in the world. I argue that it is useful to note the similarity between Fine and Heidegger for two distinct reasons: 1) their view provides a viable alternative to the current realist/antirealist dispute–an alternative that has not b…Read more
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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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45The 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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40When the dead do not consent: a defense of non-consensual organ usePublic Affairs Quarterly 22 (3): 289-309. 2008.
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36Failures of Sight: An Argument for Moral PerceptionAmerican Philosophical Quarterly 44 (3). 2007.None
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35Expressibility and Truthmaker Maximalism: A ProblemOrganon F: Medzinárodný Časopis Pre Analytickú Filozofiu 14 (1): 49-52. 2007.Advocates of truthmaker theory (like David Armstrong) regularly postulate both maximalism (that every truth has a truthmaker) and expressibility (that any truth can be expressed in a propostion). My aim in this paper is to demonstrate that these two theses are inconsistent, and hence that we must abandon one of them if we are to preserve truthmaker theory
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34Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality (edited book)Wiley. 2009.The first look at the philosophy behind Stephenie Meyer's bestselling Twilight series Bella and Edward, and their family and friends, have faced countless dangers and philosophical dilemmas in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels. This book is the first to explore them, drawing on the wisdom of philosophical heavyweights to answer essential questions such as: What do the struggles of "vegetarian" vampires who control their biological urge for human blood say about free will? Are vampires morally ab…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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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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31Affordances, 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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29The Case for Anti-Antirealism: Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Aristotle on Language and EssencePhilosophical Frontiers: A Journal of Emerging Thought 3 (2). 2008.
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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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26Review of Amy Allen, The Politics of Our Selves: Power, Autonomy, and Gender in Contemporary Critical Theory (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2008 (5). 2008.