Philosophy Weekend: News from Philosophy in Action
By Unknown
Every Saturday, I post the news of the week from my primary work, Philosophy in Action, where I apply rational principles to the challenges of real life. Here's this week's update.
Upcoming Radio Shows
Philosophy in Action Radio broadcasts live over the internet on most Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Below are the episodes upcoming this week. I hope that you join us! More upcoming episodes can be found here: Episodes on Tap.
Tuesday evening, 28 January 2014: Q&A on Virtues as Duties, Indecision, Sharia Finance, and More
I'll answer these four questions on the live broadcast of Philosophy in Action Radio on Tuesday evening, 28 January 2014.
- Question 1: Thinking of Virtues as Duties: What's wrong with thinking about the virtues as duties? My parents taught me ethics in terms of "duties." So being honest and just was a duty, along with "sharing" and "selflessness." They were simply "the right way to be," period. Now, I tend to think of the Objectivist virtues – rationality, productiveness, honesty, justice, independence, integrity, and pride – as duties. I have a duty to myself to act in these ways. Is that right or is that a mistake?
- Question 2: Overcoming Paralyzing Indecision: How can I overcome my paralyzing indecision? I am caught amid some difficult circumstances at present. To make matters worse, I suffer from almost paralyzing indecision about major life decisions, especially with respect to career. As a result of my failure to act decisively, I have stagnated painfully for years, missing many opportunities. How can I break out of this horrible pattern?
- Question 3: Sharia Finance: Should financial companies be permitted to offer financial products consistent with sharia law? Sharia Finance – meaning, investments that specifically conform with Islamic law – are growing in popularity and have been adopted by major financial companies like Citi. Should these private businesses be legally permitted to offer whatever their clients want to buy? Or should these investments be banned due to their connection with funding terror, oppressing women, and violating rights in other ways? Morally, should companies offer these investments? Should people protest or boycott companies offering them?
Recent Podcasts
The podcasts of last week's radio shows are now available. Check out the full collection of past radio shows in the archives, sorted by date or by topic. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast RSS feed too.
19 January 2014: Q&A on Faith in Reason, Free Speech, Gay Pride, and More
I answered these questions on Sunday's Philosophy in Action Radio:
Does being rational mean having faith in reason? Does freedom of speech apply to government officials? Are 'gay pride' parades good?
You can listen to or download the podcast below, and visit the episode's page for more, including audio files for individual questions.
- Duration: 1:11:08
- Download: Enhanced M4A File (25.5 MB) or Standard MP3 File (24.4 MB)
- Tags: Axioms, Courage, Culture, Epistemology, Ethics, Faith, Foundationalism, Free Society, Free Speech, GLBT, Government, Honesty, Independence, Integrity, Law, Logic, Metaphysics, Perception, Politics, Pride, Proof, Racism, Rationality, Reason, Rights, Sexism
Recent Blog Posts
Here are last week's posts to Philosophy in Action's blog NoodleFood, ordered from oldest to newest. Don't miss a post: subscribe to NoodleFood's RSS Feed.
- January 19: Activism Recap
- January 20: NoodleCast #267: Faith in Reason, Free Speech, Gay Pride, and More
- January 20: Don't Let the Kiddos Win Easy!
- January 21: Acting Badly Does Not Equal Being Bad Person
- January 22: Institute for Justice Defends Food Freedom
- January 24: Preview: Tuesday Radio: Virtues as Duties, Indecision, Sharia Finance, and More
- January 24: Link-O-Rama
- January 25: Lila Versus the Trailer