What you say in front of the children

Brian Leiter digs into the moral responsibility of intellectuals in response to Nagels nonsense on Intelligent Design.

 

Political philosopher Chris Bertram (Bristol) jumps in: 

We live in a highly politicized world and a highly mediatized one, and one where almost any remark is liable to be reproduced and circulated for bad purposes on the internet. Philosophers often discuss topics in terms, and using examples, that could sound really bad if turned into a sound bite. Should we therefore cease debating cannibalism, the morality of torture, the fundamental equality (or not) of human beings, whether old people should be left to suffer and die because younger and fitter people would use the resources better, euthanasia and abortion? The latter two examples are expecially pertinent because there is a well-known philosopher, of similar rank to Nagel, whose remarks have been seized upon by "culture wars"" lobbyists. Back in 2004, I posted at CT , deploring a review published in PPA that attacked ``left libertarians'' on the grounds that, by endorsing the idea of self-ownership, '' they may well give up more than they bargain for in the public relations battle for the hearts and minds of those in the murky center of American politics.''

 

Posted via email from Jim Nichols