By Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., M.A., M.Div. Emmanuel Kant believed that a lie was a lie and lying was and is always wrong. Do you agree? Most of my ethic students weren’t quite sure. Surely, they thought, a little lie—sometimes called “a white lie”—won’t hurt anything, would it? In fact, contrary to Kant, they wouldContinue reading “A Lie Is a Lie…Right?”
Tag Archives: reason
“We the People”
Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., LMFT, M.Div. In a recent article, I read about a South Carolina school board that was considering banning a book taught in an AP Language course last February (The Daily Beast, “Ta-Nehisi Coats Crashes School Board…”). Apparently, Ta-Nehisi Coates book, Between the World and Me—an essay originally written for his son whoContinue reading ““We the People””
Margins Beyond Individualism
By Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D. I recently posted a blog entitled “What does it mean to be a critical thinker?” One of my readers sent a response written from a Social Darwinism point of view. This is the response I wrote to his response. When completed, I thought my response was something I’d like toContinue reading “Margins Beyond Individualism”
What does it mean to be a critical thinker?
When I was growing up, my mom would often tell me not to be so critical. This was often followed by the refrain “you’re so negative sometimes.” During my childhood, the idea that being critical is being negative was a powerful influence on my thinking, but it didn’t stick. As I grew older and beganContinue reading “What does it mean to be a critical thinker?”
Moral Equivalency and Stopping at Stop Signs
In my ethics class, I would ask, “Do you suppose that driving would be safe if no one stopped at stop signs?” They would quickly answer that driving under such circumstances would not be safe. I agreed. However, living in a world where “X = not-X” is to live in such a world. Meaning becomesContinue reading “Moral Equivalency and Stopping at Stop Signs”
Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?
We live in a world where all too often politics divides us more than unite us. If this division sparks a useful debate, it is helpful. But when it furthers the divide, which breeds hate, we have a problem. Perhaps it is by understanding the relationship between rhetoric and reality that we find the wisdomContinue reading “Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?”