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8Commentary and Questions by Robert Paul ChurchillPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 27 (2): 31-33. 2021.
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Neutrality and the Virtue of TolerationIn Dario Castiglione & Catriona McKinnon (eds.), Toleration, Neutrality and Democracy, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 65-76. 2003.
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Why Do Poor Whites Vote for Republicans When Republicans Hate Them?In Amin Asfari (ed.), Civility, Nonviolent Resistance, and the New Struggle for Social Justice, Brill | Rodopi. pp. 163-180. 2019.
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Nuclear Arms as a Philosophical and Moral IssueAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 469 (September 1983): 46-57. 1983.Philosophical concerns about nuclear armaments raises questions about the logical and conceptual basis for deterrence theory as well as the effects of nuclear threats on our common humanity. Most philosophical concern centers around around the morality of nuclear deterrence. It is sometimes thought that the doctrine of just war can provide a moral justification for nuclear deterrence based on threats of massive retaliation. Ye attempts to apply the doctrine of just war lead to a moral dilemma:…Read more
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14Becoming Logical: An Introduction to LogicSt. Martin's Press. 1986.This comprehensive text covers all the standard topics of the contemporary logic course--informal logic, classical deductive logic, induction and scientific reasoning, including the logical fallacies, legal reasoning, and the practice of argument analysis. Exceptionally fine examples and exercises illustrate and reinforce important points throughout. The text is accompanied by a Study Guide for students and an Instructor's Manual.
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17Seeking LoyaltyPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 6 (2): 29-34. 1999.Perched on the ramparts of Volterra last July, I gaze over i dolci colli toscani, the sweet hills of Tuscany, drenched in summer sun. Warm, content and at peace, I am bemused at how much at home I feel in this strange land. I have felt this way since 1991 when I returned for the first time to la bell' Italia thirty-seven years after having lived in Rome as a young child in a Foreign Service family. In its sensuous beauty and riotous disorder, Rome was stunning. My wife Eileen and I explored old …Read more
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28Morality and Justice: Reading Boylan's a Just Society (edited book)Lexington Books. 2009.The essays in this book engage the original and controversial claims from Michael Boylan's A Just Society. Each essay discusses Boylan's claims from a particular chapter and offers a critical analysis of these claims. Boylan responds to the essays in his lengthy and philosophically rich reply.
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15The Ethics of liberal democracy: morality and democracy in theory and practice (edited book)Berg. 1994.Democracy is emerging as the political system of choice throughout the world. Peoples now freed from the shackles of totalitarian systems seek to share the benefits made possible by democracy in its "home bases" in North America and Western Europe. Yet, paradoxically, in the last decade liberal democracy has been subjected to an onslaught of criticism from thinkers at its "home bases". Criticisms of democracy have been informed by scholarship in feminism, postmodernism and communitarianism as we…Read more
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17The Ethics of Teaching and The Emergence of MOOCs: Should Philosophers Support the MOOC?Philosophy in the Contemporary World 21 (1): 26-40. 2014.MOOCS, or massive, online, and open courses aheady have made a major impact on college education. They are touted as a means of developing the best educational products most efficiently and to the widest possible audiences. Of several reasons for concern about MOOCs, however, one briefly considered here isthe contribution MOOCs might make to the decline of the professoriate. The major issue I discuss pertains to the way we ought to understand the ethics of teaching. While promoters of MOOCs beli…Read more
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30Seeking LoyaltyPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 6 (2): 29-34. 1999.Perched on the ramparts of Volterra last July, I gaze over i dolci colli toscani, the sweet hills of Tuscany, drenched in summer sun. Warm, content and at peace, I am bemused at how much at home I feel in this strange land. I have felt this way since 1991 when I returned for the first time to la bell' Italia thirty-seven years after having lived in Rome as a young child in a Foreign Service family. In its sensuous beauty and riotous disorder, Rome was stunning. My wife Eileen and I explored old …Read more
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10Women in the Crossfire seeks to understand the practice of honor killing from a variety of cultural and disciplinary perspectives and analyzes empirical research on honor killing, including a large original study published here for the first time. The book examines the root causes of honor killing both in human psychology and cultural evolution, and it recommends specific measures for protecting potential victims and ending honor killing altogether.
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40Is there a paradox of altruism?In Jonathan Seglow (ed.), The Ethics of Altruism, F. Cass Publishers. pp. 87-105. 2004.Behavioural scientists show altruism to exist as a distinctive personality. Yet when subjected to philosophical scrutiny, and altruistic personality is prima facie paradoxical. To motivate herself to help others, the altruist needs ?extensivity?, the capacity to compassionately identify with others. To aid others effectively, however, the altruist must have individuation, the possession of highly developed autonomy and self-efficacy. We assert that a better understanding of the relationship betw…Read more
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46Moral Toleration and Deep ReconciliationPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 14 (1): 99-112. 2007.Societies emerging from severe internal bloodshed along ethnic, racial or religious lines face significant problems of reconciliation. A particularly “deep” form of recognition between former victims and offenders is necessary to end enmity and achieve solidarity. Yet it appears that deep reconciliation is logically incoherent as it requires that forgiveness be asked and be given for acts that are inexcusable and unforgivable. I argue, however, that toleration, understood as moral attitudes and …Read more
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12Is there a paradox of altruism?Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 5 (4): 87-105. 2002.
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12Moral Toleration and Deep ReconciliationPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 14 (1): 99-112. 2007.Societies emerging from severe internal bloodshed along ethnic, racial or religious lines face significant problems of reconciliation. A particularly “deep” form of recognition between former victims and offenders is necessary to end enmity and achieve solidarity. Yet it appears that deep reconciliation is logically incoherent as it requires that forgiveness be asked and be given for acts that are inexcusable and unforgivable. I argue, however, that toleration, understood as moral attitudes and …Read more
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11Introduction for the Special Issue on Fiduciary EthicsPhilosophy in the Contemporary World 10 (1): 5-9. 2003.
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11An Introduction to Honor Killing and Women in the CrossfirePhilosophy in the Contemporary World 25 (2): 5-19. 2019.
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Global Human RightsIn Michael Boylan (ed.), The Morality and Global Justice Reader, Westview Press. 2011.
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Becoming moral agents : on the personal worldview imperativeIn John-Stewart Gordon, Michael Boylan, Robert Paul Churchill, James A. Donahue, Marcus Duwell, Dale Jacquette, Tanja Kohen, Christopher Lowry, Seumas Miller, Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, Johann-Christian Poder, Edward H. Spence, Udo Schuklenk, Wanda Teays & Rosemarie Tong (eds.), Morality and Justice: Reading Boylan's a Just Society, Lexington Books. 2009.
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11Armed Drone WarfarePhilosophy in the Contemporary World 23 (2): 71-81. 2016.The United States is now relying on Reaper and Predator drone strikes as its primary strategy in the continuing “war on terrorism.” This paper argues for the rational scrutiny drone warfare has not yet received. Rather than a Just War critique, my focus is on the rhetoric used to justify drone warfare as the technologically most efficient and militarily appropriate response to terrorist threats. This rationalizing rhetoric evokes mythical claims about American exceptionalism. Myths in turn trigg…Read more
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2Civil Disobedience: Definition and JustificationDissertation, The Johns Hopkins University. 1975.