tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9868683705373600032012-02-16T21:42:12.261-05:00Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.comBlogger71100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-986868370537360003.post-71184567034015358552008-08-06T17:55:00.004-04:002008-08-06T20:00:01.721-04:00

U.S. Olympic cyclists are being criticized for wearing protective air filters on their faces upon arriving to the pollution-choked city of Beijing for supposedly "insulting" their Chinese hosts. They now have released an official and formal apologize for the very understandable crime of protecting their valuable lungs from airborne toxins and carcinogens.This is representative of an ongoing and

Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-986868370537360003.post-92066467893653975862008-07-17T22:12:00.002-04:002008-07-17T23:25:42.141-04:00

The following is an example of how humans let their fears get to the best of them:"If the most dire climate predictions come to pass, the Arctic ice cap will melt entirely, and polar bears could face extinction. So why not pack a few off to Antarctica, where the sea ice will never run out? It may seem like a preposterous question. But polar bears are just the tip of the "assisted colonization

Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-986868370537360003.post-84649771513517881802008-07-02T15:09:00.002-04:002008-07-02T17:08:05.189-04:00

na·tion·al·ism –noun1. national spirit or aspirationsMuch of what is done wrong in the world today has its origins in bad philosophy. One of the most destructive examples of these is nationalism ("patriotism" if you prefer, but both amount to jingoistic chauvinism). Nationalism is the idea that a shared history among a given ethnic group or culture in some way unites individual humans in a

Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-986868370537360003.post-67765518868960958912008-06-24T13:38:00.003-04:002008-06-24T16:32:51.991-04:00

Introduction: The Common EnemyFrom politicians and pundits to working men and women, one thing on which all Americans can agree is that oil companies are to blame for most, if not all, of the troubles facing modern civilization. Rather than a rational concern, this near universal contempt for profit-seeking oil conglomerates is based in a social theory that in nearly any other context is

Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-986868370537360003.post-49602688043928984152008-06-05T22:05:00.002-04:002008-06-05T22:47:40.625-04:00

The rapidly growing popularity of "green" thinking is a striking example of how philosophy can save the world.For all the growth and prosperity Western thought has brought humanity, one weakness within that tradition is the idea (originating in religion, unsurprisingly) that mankind has an inherent privilege, an absolute dominion over the environment.  Christianity teaches us that God created the

Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-986868370537360003.post-82355395053136208742007-12-07T01:13:00.000-05:002007-12-10T00:04:57.961-05:00

The following is a paper I wrote for a class in British history. I'm posting it because of its relevance to science and social progress. What held science back at the start was an unwillingness to reject all superstitions and putting full confidence in rational inquiry. Philosophers like Bacon had the methodology down, but no one at the time was able to part with their pet belief in God.

Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-986868370537360003.post-81590039145859206862007-09-16T23:13:00.000-04:002007-09-17T10:46:48.370-04:00

When confronted with the proposition of anarchy, most people respond with some variety of the "Well that would never work" argument. Even people sympathetic to the moral argument for anarchy will use this as a justification for their not identifying as an anarchist (or anarcho-capitalist, or free marketeer, or what have you). It is worth looking closer at the argument from morality, and what,

Jason Orrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08084485959436923114noreply@blogger.com0