Ethics and the Hunter

Long time readers will know that I’ve been a long time advocate of objective morality, via Sam Harris’ The Moral Landscape. Those who have joined more recently may have instead noticed that I have relied on different moral frameworks when talking about morality - the appeal to a conceptual set of rules and values that…

Maps of Meaning, discussion – Part 3b, A thing is its valence

These ‘Part b’ things seem to be a recurring feature, so I’ll make a formal declaration about what they are now. Part A will be a discussion of the book and the major themes that arise. Part B will be an application of a theme, even if it is not one of the major themes…

Deep Ecology, Eco-Moral Nihilism and Meat Eating

Contrary to many environmental philosophies, I think it is important to recognise humans as occupying a special niche within nature. Eco-philosophies often have the assumption that humans are, in fact, indistinguishable from the rest of nature and the logical conclusion is that humans have no special rights to abstraction and interference. I think the logical…

Are Atheists the New Vegans?

On a blog called Gravity Bites, an author called Brian wrote a piece that argues that atheists are more likely to consider veganism, and that they should. The argument is interesting. Again, I'm not going to add much. The argument is that, as an atheist, you are less likely to conform for its sake; you…