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...

The Politics of Imponderables

ByMarshall Thompson June 1, 2020 0 Comments
What follows is a reposting of an article originally appearing on the Prindle Post. As I glance over the front page (or, let’s be real, the home page) of various newspapers, nearly every story is about either COVID-19 or U.S. racial injustice. Here I want to pause and look not at the stories themselves, but at the discourse developing around both stories. I want to look at the moral outrage we...