The nature of personal writing is somewhat unfortunate. The times I have the most to write about are when I’m doing a lot, which is when I can’t muster the will to write. Right now, I’m back on break and far too relaxed to write anything serious. Instead, I’ll share some distractions that have helped […]
Living, eating, and hanging out with the same people mean that one eventually learns a lot about the interests of others. When we really enjoy something, we want others to enjoy it as well, probably out of some instinct of community. And sharing interests makes it easier to enjoy the company and avoid awkwardness. For […]
So I did a very smart thing this quarter and did most of my reading responses early, before I got other bigger commitments. I finally got the motivation to write my last reading response last week, so here it is. Kant, Immanuel. “Groundwork for the Metaphysics Morals.” Cambridge University Press, 1998. 1-45 (As a preface, […]
So I’ll admit, I turned to some sensationalism for this post. 1) It’s not really the media, per se, just the blogosphere and 2) they care about the phenomenon, not those 25 random facts about you. Given that, though, it’s true. I came across a response article about it on techdirt. But first, if you’re […]
Here’s the first complete Phil paper I’ve written for my Moral Philosophy class. I turned it in Wednesday, and was reasonably satisfied with it. Like most things I write, I wish I had had more time to edit it, but at least I got a rough draft reviewed by my TA before turning it in. […]
I like to post about exciting stuff. I try to post about insightful stuff. Unfortuantely, most of my life is neither, which does leave a gaping hole in my blog, since it is supposed to be about it. It’s also very hard for me to determine what happens in my life at the end of […]
This is for tomorrow’s lecture. Sorry it tails off at the end, but I had to clip it to fit one page. Mill, John Stuart. “Utilitarianism.” Ethical Theory: Classical and Contemporary Readings, 5th ED. Wadsworth Publishing, 2007. While John Stuart Mill also proposes a type of utilitarianism, his theory differs from Bentham’s most notably in […]
The topic we’re currently on is utilitarianism, so here’s one that I wrote for yesterday’s reading. Nozick, Robert. “The Experience Machine.” Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Basic Books, 1974. 118-119. Parfit, Derek, “What makes Someone’s Life Go Best?” Ethical Theory: Classical and Contemporary Readings, 5th ED. Wadsworth Publishing, 2007. In his excerpt, Derek Parfit provides several […]
There’s the common perception that techies are somewhat spacey, unaware of what’s actually going on in the world. When programmers spend their time building artificial creations in virtual spaces, sometimes it’s hard to find the connection to the plight of the unemployed, or international conflict. Which might be a little true of me. My google […]
The reading for today in my moral philosophy class was again on Ethical Egoism, though from a different author. Specifically, Rachels, James, “Ch. 21: Ethical Egoism,” Ethical Theory: An Anthology, Russ Shafer-Landau ED., Blackwell Publishing, 2007. 213-220 Early in the excerpt, James Rachels makes the distinction between Psychological Egoism (which I will lazily abbreviate as […]