Month: September 2020

Faith and Climate Change

ByMarshall Thompson September 23, 2020 0 Comments
A while back a friend posted the following question on Facebook: “Can you criticize someone who doesn’t believe in climate change if you believe in God?Person A shows facts, stats, etc. to disprove God.Person B ignores it, says it is their faith and belief system which can’t be challenged by logic.Replace God above with Climate Change.Why do we criticize people who don’t believe in...

When and Why Should We Believe Experts?

ByPaul Rezkalla September 10, 2020 1 Comment
Professor Quasimodo says that we should brush our teeth twice a day and Professor Mosiquado says that brushing teeth has no dental benefits and is a complete waste of time. They’re both dental experts! How do we figure out what to believe in a case like this? Well, here’s one promising model: We should trust what an expert says about X if and only if the expert is relaying the consensus...

You Can’t Just “Do Your Own Research”

ByPaul Rezkalla September 10, 2020 2 Comments
“Do Your Own Research.” I’ve seen this phrase more times in the last couple of months than I have, probably, in my entire lifetime. It’s often posted in ALL CAPS and served with a healthy dose of exclamation points—or exclamation “marks” to our UK readers (not that we have any, or any readers, at all, for that matter). Links to pop-science blogs about mask inefficacy, YouTube...

Judgment, Condemnation, and Historical Context

ByMarshall Thompson September 10, 2020 0 Comments
This post is an extended version of a piece which originally appeared at the Prindle Post. Is it right to condemn historical figures for moral beliefs that, while common during their time, are now known to be odious? Our attitudes toward historical figures matter. FIrst our attitudes bear on the question of what public honors should be bestowed on morally flawed historical figures. Second our...