Category Archives: Ethics

educated souls and goth makeup in schools

Posted on September 27, 2008 by Michael

I love coincidence — it’s not “mere” as we would like to think, but instead useful. Just after finishing reading Chapter 5 of Kwame Anthony Appiah’s The Ethics of Identity, in which he devotes space to “Educated Souls” — the … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, English 584 Rhetoric Writing and Identity (Fall 2008), Ethics, Identity and Identification | Leave a comment

coca-cola and the banality of evil

Posted on September 26, 2008 by Michael

Awhile ago, Joseph Orosco asked on his blog, How responsible are people, qua consumers, for the crimes committed by corporations operating in a globalized world? This is an interesting question, one I’ve thought about quite often over the last 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Empathy, Ethics | Leave a comment

this made me giggle

Posted on September 22, 2008 by Michael

“The other quotation you will not see an introduction without is Kant’s claim that reading Hume awoke him from his ‘dogmatic slumber’ — though it is doubtful that Hume would have thought he awoke Kant from anything at all” (xiv). … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics | Leave a comment

Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator the politics of ridiculing names

Posted on September 17, 2008 by Michael

A few days ago, someone directed me to the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. I entered my name, giggled a bit, and moved on. Didn’t think much of it. Then, a listserv I’m on shared the link, and my inbox … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Gender, Internet culture, Race | 7 Comments

584: Weekly Position Paper #4: Problematizing Empathy

Posted on September 16, 2008 by Michael

In Where We Stand: Class Matters, bell hooks describes various times in her life when she does not want to be understood, or moments when empathy does not do enough. While not a central focus of her book, these are … Continue reading →

Posted in Empathy, English 584 Rhetoric Writing and Identity (Fall 2008), Ethics, Identity and Identification | 6 Comments