Ethics

In a recent article on Nietzsche, Eva Cybulska (Philosophy Now, Sept-Oct) observes Nietzsche’s debt to Heraclitus’ concept of the coincidence of opposites, often dubbed “the unity of opposites”. Cybulska explains that it was Heraclitus’ belief that all things were characterised by pairs of contrary properties. So, for example, one and the same thing may be [...]

This is my attempt to summarise what Buddhists mean when they speak of karma. It is important in approaching this subject to recognise the difference between what most lay Buddhists at the popular level understand by karma and what is taught in Buddhist texts and by Buddhist scholars. Karma in Buddhism www.facetofaceintercultural.com.au

The other day I listened to a Philosophy Bites podcast involving an interview with neuroscientist David Eagleman entitled Morality and the Brain. The opening scenario involves one man who shoots another and is then apprehended. It is normal for many to think that the form punishment will take will depend on how much the killer [...]

In his book Christianity Alongside Islam John Wilson gives extended consideration to the issue of human rights in Islam. In this discussion it is important to avoid hypocrisy and to admit readily that human rights abuses are committed by non-Muslim societies. Notwithstanding, Islam does have some major problems in this area: 1. The Qur’an encourages [...]

Mark Durie has posted an important blog which examines a major translation issue in the Qur’an. He explains: There are many verses in the Quran which refer to fighting and killing.  I would like to consider the difficulty inherent in reading verses which attempt to translate the verb qātilū, found, for example, in Sura 9:29 [...]

There was a time when John Stuart Mill subscribed to associationism, believing that all our ideas come from outside our selves and assuming that it was external circumstances alone that shaped our characters. So Mill sought to improve the lives of people by seeking to change external circumstances through radical societal reforms. But “the black [...]

Atheist Malcolm Knox takes issue with fellow atheists who campaign against children be subjected to religious indoctrination. He argues that religion is fundamental to a child’s development. He himself is married to a Catholic and has children baptised in the Catholic Church. He gives the following reasons as to why, as an atheist, he supports [...]

I enjoyed reading Richard Glover’s witty article in this last weekend’s Spectrum (“Playing the patriot game? That’s so un-Australian”). The term “un-Australian” has sadly become a device used by many in political debates to insinuate that those holding an opposing viewpoint are somehow unpatriotic. Glover begins his article jocularly asking: Can we ban the term [...]

All educational institutions not only teach an explicit curriculum but also a hidden curriculum, which Perry Shaw describes as “the potent sociological and psychological dimensions of education, which are usually caught rather than intentionally taught.” He further explains that the hidden curriculum is made up of “pervasive environmental features”, including: the nature of behaviours which [...]

This is my attempt to summarise the key elements of Epicurus’ philosophy, without critique. There are, however, obvious aspects of his philosophy which call for such a critique, e.g. his over-reliance on empiricism (inadequate epistemology), his deism, his life-after-death-denying materialism and concept of self-achieved pleasure rather than of a blessedness that comes from God alone. [...]