Join me, philosopher Dr. Diana Hsieh, as I interview biologist Dr. Monica Hughes on "Myths about Evolutionary Theory" on the next episode of Philosophy in Action Radio. The live broadcast starts promptly at 6 pm PT / 7 MT / 8 CT / 9 ET on Wednesday, 19 June 2013. If you can't attend live, be sure to listen to the podcast later.


Racism

  • The Wrong of Anti-Discrimination Laws: Q&A Radio: 10 Feb 2013, Question 1
  • Question: What's wrong with anti-discrimination laws? Most people support anti-discrimination laws, even though such laws violate the freedom of association. Have such laws done genuine good by making racism, sexism, and homophobia unacceptable in the culture? Have such laws had negative side-effects? Should they be abolished – and if so, why?

  • Solutions to Widespread Racism: Q&A Radio: 20 Jan 2013, Question 1
  • Question: Should the government intervene when widespread racism makes life impossible for some people? Given that the effect of strictly respecting the rights of private property owners in the South was that blacks could not find accommodations, health care, transportation, food, and other basic necessities of life, shouldn't the government have intervened? Didn't civil rights legislation help eliminate racism – and wasn't that a good thing – even if that meant violating the right to property of racists?

  • Bigotry Against Religion: Radio Q&A: 26 Aug 2012, Question 3
  • Question: Is criticism of and opposition to religion a form of bigotry? In its entry on bigotry, Wikipedia claims that a "bigot" is "a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one who exhibits intolerance and animosity toward members of a group," and that "bigotry may be directed towards those of a differing sex or sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, nationality, region, language, religious or spiritual belief, political alignment, age, economic status or medical disability." I hear the charge of bigotry bandied about, often reflexively, particularly by theists when atheists criticize their faith-based beliefs as irrational. Is open criticism of and disrespect for religion a form of bigotry? Or is "bigotry" a loaded concept to be used by anyone whose belief system is critically challenged?

  • Racism in Dating: Webcast Q&A: 17 Jul 2011, Question 4
  • Question: Is it racist to refuse to date people of a certain ethnic background? Recently, black singer Jill Scott said that she felt her soul "wince" whenever a black man married a white woman. Many people have denounced that as racism, and I agree with that. However, I was shocked to see a black man (known to me only via Facebook) say that he'd never date a white woman due to the history of slavery in America. He even suggested that Tiger Woods was some kind of traitor to his race for marrying blonde beauty Ellen Nordegren. Is that racist?

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