I've been thinking a lot about the remarkable resistance of a number of Christians to the reality of science. Evangelicals have been shown to be three times more likely to flout CDC guidelines on COVID preparedness. Evangelicals don't want evolution taught in schools. Evangelicals want to ban abortion but don't want to do any of … Continue reading Religion can save individuals. Only science can save the world.
It's an odd and rather endearing quality of humans that as soon as someone passes, if they were good at something, anything really, then we suddenly view them through rose-colored glasses and believe, even for a moment, that they were transcendent. They become other-worldly, almost god-like in our eyes. I kind of love this about … Continue reading I’ve been thinking about Supreme Court justices
Don't ask me why, but I was listening to a podcast on elasticity the other day. (I blame being married to a physicist. It's ruined my sense of fun.) Maybe I just more successfully avoided science classes than everyone else in high school (#winning), but there is a LOT I did not know about elasticity. … Continue reading The elastic self
When I was ruminating over the anti-Black biases of my chosen spaces, of the Big Three - philosophy, conservation, and philanthropy -- I had a hard time "figuring out" philanthropy. I do believe that everything in the US is touched by, and partially formed by, white supremacy, so I knew there is something problematic in … Continue reading White supremacy in philanthropy
I haven't done a book review in a looooong time. Years. (I do consider my year-long project of reading and commenting on every chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology to be some kind of review, but NONE OF YOU ARE READING THOSE AND I AM TOTALLY NOT MIFFED BY THIS AT ALL.) This … Continue reading Review: Aspiration by Agnes Callard
The reality of this American life is that every. single. place has been shaped by anti-black racism. There is no structure, no institution, no system that has not been formed, in part, by white supremacy, by anti-POC bias, by all insidious kinds of racism. It's imperative that we acknowledge how broadly, deeply pervasive white supremacy … Continue reading Examining the anti-Black racism of my chosen spaces
I recently listened to Dr. Shankar Vedantam interview Dr. Peter Singer on Vedantam's (excellent) podcast, Hidden Brain. Singer is a contemporary utilitarianism, a philosopher of ethics who argues that the right thing to do is that which produces the most amount of happiness (or the least amount of suffering) in the world. On the face … Continue reading Two arguments against “the end justifies the means”
I have a bit of catch-up to do (HEGEL YOU BASTARD), so I thought I'd power through this chapter to get back on track. Luckily, I really enjoyed this chapter because philosophy of ethics is much more my thing than metaphysics, so thank goodness for this chapter as a breath of fresh, easily-breathable air. This … Continue reading OHPT: Thoughts on Moral Perfection (Chapter 10)
Just to be clear: I think wearing face masks in public and when around strangers is good, responsible, and important (even while maintaining six feet of distance). There is nothing I want more right now than for this virus to die out and for life to return to a semblance of normal. Not the normal … Continue reading Face masks are making me feel things
Even with the craziness and intensity of the current COVID-19 situation, I thought I was fine. Stressed about the state of the world and an uncertain future, sure. Who isn't? But I thought I was handling and processing it all in a good, thorough, "work through it and be able to function normally" kind of … Continue reading Self-Reflection during COVID-19: tackling the beliefs of anxiety
