Morellaty | Will your convictions sink or swim?
This blog is dedicated to the proposition that all opinions are not created equal. The assertion, "Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion," is true and based on the right to free speech, but we have this inane and unsubstantiated idea that personal beliefs cannot be wrong. All opinions require justification, or support, in order to validate them. If the justification for an opinion is incorrect, then the belief itself is mistaken as well. If the reasons that defend a personal conviction are logically inconsistent, conflict with scientific fact, contradict themselves, or employ absolutes subject to counter-examples, then the personal conviction is unfounded and therefore, nonsense. The justification for an opinion, and the opinion itself, must be logical. Logic is like a type of mathematics, except numbers are replaced by assertions and observations. For example, the claim "Socrates was mortal," is supported by the observations, "Socrates was a man," and, "Man is mortal." Since both of these premises are factually correct, and since Socrates is indeed dead, the original claim is valid, logical, and true. If an opinion is the logical equivalent of "2 + 2 = 5," then the opinion is wrong. This blog utilizes these principles to test deeply held beliefs and determine whether or not they hold water. Chances are, you will find a belief on these pages that matches your own. Do yourself a favor, and find out whether it will sink or swim.
Refinancing Your Soul
Commentary on the Idea that Heavenly Admittance Requires the Acceptance that Jesus Died to Absolve Man’s Sins
I’ve never really considered the idea that heaven could be like an exclusive club. In order to get in, you must know the right people, do the right things (as opposed to wear the right things), and know the secret handshake. This essay discusses the possibility that the secret handshake, in this case acceptance that Jesus died for your sins, may be way too complicated to learn, irrelevant to execute, and even ineffective. Through analogies, casual discussion and logical reasoning, I attempt to hash out the contradictions and difficulties involved in accepting Jesus Christ as one’s personal savior.
Read more >>America’s Green Machine
Arguments in Favor of Legalizing Marijuana
By Stephanie Oliver
As a treat, I thought it might be fun to provide a few of my students’ papers online for your viewing pleasure. These papers are not necessarily from my point of view, nor do I necessarily approve of their general theses. However, as far as papers go, I thought they were written exceptionally well and/or made their point in a unique or entertaining fashion. You will notice that each of the essays in this series is written under a pseudonym that is not the fake name “ella moore.” Hopefully this will indicate that you should address your comments to the author of the essay and not to the ghost author of this website. The author will then respond by using his or her given false name. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
This essay was written by student “Stephanie Oliver,” who, I can tell you, does not resemble the sort of stereotypical students who usually hand me papers on this topic… and this is probably why her paper made a lot more sense than most of the other ones I’ve read on marijuana legalization. That… and it wasn’t written on hemp, didn’t reek of weed, and it didn’t have a big, orange Cheetoes smudge across the top. I am often asked my position on the subject of marijuana legislation (I can see why. I’m an ethicist. I surf. I’m liberal. I like Cheetoes…), but I have never bothered to write much about it. Ethically, the only argument I find relevant is that there is no moral difference between the kind of euphoria experienced during alcohol intoxication and the kind of euphoria felt while toking one up. Besides that, the rest of the debate is simply sifting through the pile of shady excuses the government gives to cover their ass and validate their decision to be heavy handed in the “War on Drugs.”
Read more >>Not A Right at All: The Theory that Life is a Privilege and Not an Inherent Right
This essay considers the possibility that the majority of ethicists, including myself, are wrong. Life is not an inherent right with which all humans are born. Instead, life ought to be viewed as a privilege we earn with the exercise of good behavior. Upon termination of this behavior, it can be taken away. The implications include massive complications to the abortion debate, what status, if any, a fetus possesses, if infanticide is murder,
with capital punishment, and with euthanasia as well. But if life is a privilege, then my fantasies about castrating rapists with a dull machete and letting them bleed to death are not that immoral or strange at all! What a relief.
Can’t Feed Them? Don’t Breed Them.
Making the Case for Ethical Eugenics
By Shawn Tylern
As a treat, I thought it might be fun to provide a few of my students’ papers online for your viewing pleasure. These papers are not necessarily from my point of view, nor do I necessarily approve of their general theses. However, as far as papers go, I thought they were written exceptionally well and/or made their point in a unique or entertaining fashion. You will notice that each of the essays in this series is written under a pseudonym that is not the fake name “ella moore.” Hopefully this will indicate that you should address your comments to the author of the essay and not to the ghost author of this website. The author will then respond by using his or her given false name. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
When “Shawn Tylern” asked if he could write about eugenics for his final paper, I said, “Sure, but you have to make a case for why we should employ the practice.” I felt it was too easy to hop on the band wagon and condemn eugenics based on the much-hated Nazi experiments that, as Tylern states, “were motivated by hate,” and based on a desire to purposely eradicate a race of people. I was curious to see if a college student could convincingly make a case for eugenics as a means of improving the world. You be the judge… but I certainly found myself nodding my head far more often than I expected.
Read more >>Narcissistic Altruism
America’s Economic Ignorance, Our Obsession with Objects, and Our Need for Greed
By Tray Reagan
As a treat, I thought it might be fun to provide a few of my students’ papers online for your viewing pleasure. These papers are not necessarily from my point of view, nor do I necessarily approve of their general theses. However, as far as papers go, I thought they were written exceptionally well and/or made their point in a unique or entertaining fashion. You will notice that each of the essays in this series is written under a pseudonym that is not the fake name “ella moore.” Hopefully this will indicate that you should address your comments to the author of the essay and not to the ghost author of this website. The author will then respond by using his or her given false name. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
All semester, “Tray Reagan” shared his obsession with human psychology and was able to lend a scientific perspective to every moral discussion we had. He does this once again with this essay, in which he explores the possible psychological motivations behind the American need to spend, spend, spend. He takes the essay, “Bling, Bling, You Greedy Thing,” and writes about that which I only wish I had first.
Read more >>The Love Drug
The Many Forms of Love and the Mental State We Experience When We Live a “Real-Life” Romance Novel: An Argument Proposing that the “Good Life” Can be Achieved Without Romance, Prince Charming, and All That “Gooshy Stuff”
By Billie Marquee
As a treat, I thought it might be fun to provide a few of my students’ papers online for your viewing pleasure. These papers are not necessarily from my point of view, nor do I necessarily approve of their general theses. However, as far as papers go, I thought they were written exceptionally well and/or made their point in a unique or entertaining fashion. You will notice that each of the essays in this series is written under a pseudonym that is not the fake name “ella moore.” Hopefully this will indicate that you should address your comments to the author of the essay and not to the ghost author of this website. The author will then respond by using his or her given false name. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
“Billie Marquee” writes a highly controversial paper proposing that the “Good Life” is perfectly attainable without ever falling in love. As a matter of fact, she relates romantic love to a form of insanity in which reason is impossible to achieve. Therefore, the only rational action is NOT to fall in love. Ever. By avoiding romantic attachments, one is far more likely to avoid embarrassment and illegal behavior.
Read more >>A Critique of Peter Singer’s Solution to Poverty
By Ryan Deschain
As a treat, I thought it might be fun to provide a few of my students’ papers online for your viewing pleasure. These papers are not necessarily from my point of view, nor do I necessarily approve of their general theses. However, as far as papers go, I thought they were written exceptionally well and/or made their point in a unique or entertaining fashion. You will notice that each of the essays in this series is written under a pseudonym that is not the fake name “ella moore.” Hopefully this will indicate that you should address your comments to the author of the essay and not to the ghost author of this website. The author will then respond by using his or her given false name. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
In this essay, author “Ryan Deschain” discusses the merits and perils of Peter Singer’s “solution to world hunger and poverty.” Deschain’s criticism is a simple and elegant critique that recognizes the basic logical problems present in Singer’s theory. Most people remember Singer as a bit of a crazy kook who has a soft spot for animal rights, but Singer also maintains a controversial position regarding the moral way to spend our own hard-earned cash. For a similar perspective on this topic, read “Bling, Bling, You Greedy Thing,” also on this website.
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