Human Rights Don’t Exist
Listening to Michael Brendan Dougherty explain to Zack Beauchamp why he doesn’t believe in human rights put me in mind of Alasdair MacIntyre’s argument in After Virtue that “there are no such rights, and...
Category: Philosophy
Does Ayn Rand’s Influence on Paul Ryan Matter?
Following the leader, supporters of newly minted Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan have been downplaying the influence of Ayn Rand upon his political life and thought, but Ryan’s enthusiasm is too well documented for...
An Evangelical Who Needs Postmodernism
We postmodernists get accused of making up truth, which is true in a sense, but also misleading. I can’t speak for all who don the name, but, as a card-carrying member of the club,...
Brief Remarks on Bigotry
Doug Mataconis looks to the definition of a bigot to show that the word does not accurately characterize all opponents of same-sex marriage. He is correct. Bigotry involves obstinate devotion to one’s hatred and...
Single Virtue Voting
Not being the sort of voter who decides am0ng presidential candidates based primarily on their stances on issues, I am far from ever being a single issue voter. I could justly be called a...
How Much of Our Fidelity Is Acting?
Maybe it’s just an illusion of gossip-heavy mass media, but it sure seems that celebrity couples rarely stay true to one another till death do them part. The latest “news” of celebrity infidelity involves...
I’m a Bad American
I make it point to assume initially that Mitt Romney doesn’t believe the words that come out of his mouth, but the convictions he expressed in his VFW foreign policy speech may be just...
A Query about Cleanliness
Yesterday, my son, fearless of grime, scum, and germs, pulled out the plug to the bathtub and looked as though he was going to place it in his mouth. “Whoa,” I said, OCD alarms...
Does Justice Demand Health Care?
A few years ago when my wife and I lived in an apartment complex, our next door neighbor, a retired elderly lady, weakly knocked on our door. We opened it to find that she...
Health Care: Innovation vs. Access
Critics of the government facilitating heath care often worry that taking some or all of the health care field out of the realm of private enterprise will lower the degree of innovation for which...
