A Remark on the Personal Problem of Evil

Philosophers speak of the problem of evil as an argument against God. It is, of course—or at any rate philosophers are always welcome to define their own terms. But as a social phenomenon, the problem of evil is broader than that. It is a whole class of concerns about what a presumably loving God could possibly be doing with this world of ours, which suffers so often and so deeply. The concern...

Speaking to Those in Grief

When I was in college, a friend and classmate of mine lost his roommate to suicide. That was not the first time it occurred to me to wonder what you say to someone in such moments—but it was the first time the question had been so very pressing. I approached him awkwardly in the cafeteria and said something over the crowd-noise about being willing to talk if he ever wanted to. He never took me...

Environmentalism as a Matter of Love

Imagine yourself on a walk, having just finished a soda and wondering whether you should drop the bottle in a nearby bush. Imagine yourself planning a flight to see your family and wondering whether it’s worth the carbon dioxide emissions. Or Imagine yourself wanting to pluck a flower for your mother and wondering whether that’s really fair to the flower. What do you do? These sound like...