Here’s a good question for the next presidential debate: The current administration has tortured prisoners in violation of US and international law. Will you hold accountable those responsible? There is a discussion at  TPM Cafe on this very topic. My … Continue reading →

Life good? Things going well? Feeling great about yourself? This’ll fix that:

Sidezoomers versus Lineuppers I supposed there were not all that many drivers gritting their teeth behind their steering wheels, practicing what Jerry Seinfeld once called the stare-ahead, while declining to let the sidezoomers in and musing at the same time … Continue reading →

Since early 2003, I have expected that the Bushies would be brought down by someone within the administration who was nauseated by the lies and the manipulation who would quit in a fit of righteousness. I thought it would be … Continue reading →

and…. The price of freedom is tolerating behavior by others that may be undignified by our own lights. I would be happy if Britney Spears and “American Idol” would go away, but I put up with them in return for … Continue reading →

In which Steven Pinker defends the notion that “Dignity Is a Useless Concept.” Macklin argued that bioethics has done just fine with the principle of personal autonomy–the idea that, because all humans have the same minimum capacity to suffer, prosper, … Continue reading →

One of the people who was involved in the Milgram experiment wrote his own story. In retrospect, I believe that my upbringing in a socialist-oriented family steeped in a class struggle view of society taught me that authorities would often … Continue reading →

I have long been of the opinion that the American culture of tipping is somewhat barbaric but now I have an answer to those who say that tipping encourages good service. Go spend a week in Tokyo and a week … Continue reading →

[I wrote this months ago. Posting it now (unfinished) to clear out my backlog – ed] A little while ago, a bunch of us went to see Nick Yee give a presentation about Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) at PARC. … Continue reading →

Still waiting for Jeff’s philosopher to give me some context for my musings on morality, but while we wait… I just subscribed to The Mouse Trap, a blog about evolutionary psychology. Today’s entry was about moral dilemmas and moral development … Continue reading →