Morality

[close] Intersection of philosophy and science. Fiction and non-fiction.

[close] Each month a theme will be set with a suggested book for each age group (adult, young adult, 8-12 years, young children). You do not have to stick to your age group, it's just to provide a little something for everyone. Some months adult themes may be included, there will be a warning given prior if this is the case. If you add a book to the tbr please let a moderator know the key themes, genres and age range that it falls under.

[close] If I’m not mistaken, one of the issues surrounding the GR take-down was whether a reviewer could ignore the content of a book and leave one-star and negative feedback because of who the author was or what he had done. Specifically, the issue revolved around the book “The Secret of Castle Cant: Being an Account of the Remarkable Adventures of Lucy Wickwright, Maidservant and Spy” by KP Bath. Apparently it’s a YA book and Mr. Bath is a convicted pedophile. My wife and I happened to be having our usual interesting discussion about books and this incident came up. During the discussions I was reminded of Paul Johnson’s book, “Intellectuals.” (http://www.librarything.com/work/23357/details/102495625) In this work, Johnson takes noted “intellectuals” to task for have a personal morality not up to conventional standards (he doesn’t like progressives.) A noted example is Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Apparently, Mr. Carroll was somewhat of a pedophile. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087447/Was-Lewis-Carroll-paedophile-Discovery-cryptic-letter-raises-questions-authors-relationship-real-life-Alice.html) And then there is the case of Michael Dorris, renowned author who committed suicide following a bitterly contest divorce and allegations of child abuse by his ex-wife, Louise Erdrich, and two daughters. Or how about Anne Perry, author of two very successful mystery series. She was convicted of participating in the murder of a friend’s mother in her youth for which she served time. So what are we to make of a book whose author might have perpetrated or been accused of rather heinous crimes? Do we judge the book on its merits? Do we ignore the personal morality of the author? Should Alice in Wonderland be demerited because of Carroll’s behavior? Tchaikovsky not listened to because he was a homosexual? Or “A Yellow Raft in Blue Water” ostracized? Then again, how about Mein Kampf? Does GR have a point?

[close] Morality without religion? A couple of years ago, I wrote an essay for John Brockman's Edge.org site, focused on the question of what kinds of morality are possible in the absence of religion. Here is the key piece in that essay, the part that I am eager to discuss: "Where I intend to be divisive is with respect to the argument that religion, and moral education more generally, represent the only — or perhaps even the ultimate — source of moral reasoning. If anything, moral education is often motivated by self-interest, to do what's best for those within a moral community, preaching singularity, not plurality. Blame nurture, not nature, for our moral atrocities against humanity. And blame educated partiality more generally, as this allows us to lump into one category all those who fail to acknowledge our shared humanity and fail to use secular reasoning to practise compassion. If religion is not the source of our moral insights — and moral education has the demonstrated potential to teach partiality and, therefore, morally destructive behaviour — then what other sources of inspiration are on offer?" I am particularly interested in this issue as I will soon be publishing a book on the nature of evil entitled "Evilicious."