Moral disagreements are a common part of life. But there is something very surprising about moral disagreements that we often don’t realize. To illustrate this, allow me to present you with a thought experiment.[1] Please imagine these four people: Person #1: Jill believes X is the moral thing to do. Now, Jill truly cares about… Continue reading A Surprising Thing about Moral Disagreements
This post is about the Either-Or fallacy. A fallacy is a type of common faulty argument. And it’s important to be aware of common logical fallacies because arguments containing such fallacies often sound very convincing. However, they contain poor logic, and so they confuse and muddle our thinking. Regarding the Either-Or Fallacy specifically, when someone… Continue reading How the Either-Or Fallacy Confuses Our Thinking
Would you like to be the smartest person in the world? I think a lot of people would like to be. But perhaps most of us think such a goal is impossible. And, logically, it is in fact impossible for everyone to be the smartest person in the world. But what about being one of… Continue reading How to Be the Smartest Person in the World
Many people equate conspiracy thinking and critical thinking. But they are, in fact, quite different. Now, I am well-acquainted with conspiracy thinking and conspiracy theories. In the late 90s and earlier 2000s, I fell in love with the X-Files, a show which introduced the idea of conspiracy theories to the public on a grand scale.… Continue reading The Difference Between Conspiracy Thinking and Critical Thinking
Illegitimate appeal to emotion is a common fallacy people use in everyday conversation. On the one hand, emotions are a crucial part of our life. They give us important feedback about positive and negative aspects of life. Our emotions can also warn us of danger or of exciting possibilities. On the other hand, emotions can… Continue reading How to Spot Illegitimate Appeal to Emotion
The Idols of the Mind, developed by philosopher Francis Bacon, can help us understand better how to avoid thinking errors. Most of understand hypothetically that we can commit thinking errors. We usually imagine that these errors proceed from common causes like the following: One: Not paying careful attention to what we are thinking about. Two:… Continue reading The Idols of the Mind: Common Thinking Errors
What is the cause of inflation? We have experienced inflation in the United States (and globally) for the last couple of years. And it is hard on people. So naturally, people frequently discuss the cause of inflation, often in hopes that we can stop inflation or decrease it. I am especially interested in conversations about… Continue reading The Cause of Inflation
Over the years, I have heard a lot of people ask this same question in various forms: Should we tolerate everything? And this is certainly an important question. One of the hallmarks of the U.S.[1], ideally, is that we tolerate diversity of ideas.[2] Because of this, we have a long-standing tradition of tolerating a variety… Continue reading Should We Tolerate Everything?
I have a confession. In my young adult life, conspiracy theories were my hobby. One of my all-time favorite shows is the X-Files. The premise of the show is that there is a government conspiracy to hide the existence of extraterrestrials. Adventures with Conspiracy Theories I am still not totally sure if I believe in… Continue reading Do You Tend Towards Conspiracy Theories?
I am writing a series of posts on the ethics of abortion. You can read the first part in the series here in which I describe what ethics is; why abortion can be an ambiguous ethical issue; and why ethically ambiguous issues are difficult to think and talk about. I also explain the goal of… Continue reading The Ethics of Abortion, Part #2
