In Sunday morning’s episode of Philosophy in Action Q&A Radio, I’ll answer questions on judging people struggling with temptations, judging others when flawed, chivalry as a virtue, blue laws, and more with Greg Perkins.
- What: Philosophy in Action Q&A Radio: 16 September 2012
- Who: Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins
- When: Sunday, 16 September 2012, 8 am PT / 9 am MT / 10 am CT / 11 am ET
- Where: Philosophy in Action’s Live Studio
This week’s questions are:
- Question 1: Judging People Struggling with Temptations: Does a person deserve extra moral praise for acting rightly despite strong contrary emotions? How does overcoming strong emotions in order to do the right thing (or refrain from doing the wrong thing) factor into morally judging a person? If person A has no emotional conflict and thus does the right thing more or less “effortlessly,” while person B takes the same correct action despite strong emotional motivation to act otherwise, does person B deserve any extra moral credit for the amount of emotional or mental effort he made? Or is moral judgment to be made solely on the basis of actions, with internal mental effort being irrelevant?
- Question 2: Judging Others When Flawed: It is wrong to judge others when I’m still flawed? Given that I have various inconsistencies and unresolved contradictions, for me to morally judge others seems like self-righteousness. Does a person need to be morally good (or even perfect) to justly judge others?
- Question 3: Chivalry as a Virtue: Is chivalry virtuous? In the Aurora Masacre, three men died in the process of physically shielding their girlfriends from the gunfire, as reported by CNN. Is that kind of sacrifice noble? More generally, does chivalry have any place in an ethic of rational egoism?
- Question 4: Blue Laws: Do “blue laws” violate rights? Many communities have “blue laws” – such as prohibitions on selling liquor, or even cars or other goods, on Sundays. Are these laws violations of the separation of church and state?
After that, we’ll tackle some impromptu “Rapid Fire Questions.”
To join the live broadcast and its chat, just point your browser to Philosophy in Action’s Live Studio a few minutes before the show is scheduled to start. If you attend the live show, you can share your thoughts with other listeners and ask me follow-up questions in the text chat.
If you miss the live broadcast, you’ll find the audio from the episode posted here: Q&A Radio: 16 September 2012.
Philosophy in Action Radio broadcasts every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. For information on upcoming shows and more, visit the Episodes on Tap.
I hope that you join us on Sunday morning!
