Reading Time: 4 minutes A recent controversy over Islamic art raises the question of how we ought to deal with art and images in a world of deep diversity. At Hamline University in Minnesota, Erika López Prater lost her job teaching art history because she showed students artistic representations of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. A Muslim student took offense. The University’s […]
Andrew Fiala
Andrew Fiala is Professor of Philosophy and director of the Ethics Center at Cal State Fresno. His published work includes Tyranny from Plato to Trump (2022), Seeking Common Ground: An Atheist/Theist Dialogue (2021, with Peter Admirand), Transformative Pacifism (2018), The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence (2017), The Bloomsbury Companion to Political Philosophy (2015), and Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues with Barbara MacKinnon (now in its 9th edition). Fiala is active in interfaith discussions, where he represents a secular/nonreligious point of view.
Posted inCulture
Keeping the merry in Christmas. Humanism in the cold of winter
Reading Time: 4 minutes I understand the inclusive spirit of saying “Happy Holidays.” But holidays are still “holy days,” which leaves out the non-religious. At any rate, what we need most in the dark of winter is mirth and merriment. The cheerful exuberance of making merry is not the sedate joy of Christian salvation. Rather, it’s the laughter of […]
Posted inCritical thinking
Civility and the heckler’s veto: Why yelling is a waste of breath
Reading Time: 4 minutes Civility may seem like a quaint throwback in our current political era. But it is an essential value for those who esteem rationality and nonviolence. Incivility lies on a violent continuum that includes bullying, harassment, and the heckler’s veto. Civility is one of the peaceful virtues, connected with hospitality, generosity, and a spirit of open […]
Posted inThe Future
Could the rise of the nonreligious defuse the population bomb?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Fifty-four years ago, in 1968, American biologist Paul Ehrlich warned that a human “population bomb” threatened global catastrophe. The world’s population at the time was 3.54 billion.
On November 15, 2022, the UN estimate of Earth’s human population flew past eight billion.
Religious beliefs and practices are a major part of the problem. Increasing secularism can only help.
Posted inPolitics
The crisis of democracy: on remaining vigilant without freaking out
Reading Time: 4 minutes The fiery rhetoric of the campaign trail might make you might think American democracy has failed or is failing. There is declining trust in government, elections, and in democracy itself. And some people are freaking out. This is a crisis of democracy. But there is no such thing as a stable, happily-ever-after version of democracy. […]
Posted inWar and Peace
War crimes in Ukraine: pacifists should support war crimes tribunals
Reading Time: 4 minutes A United Nations commission investigating the Ukraine-Russian War issued a report this week concluding that Russian forces have committed the “vast majority” of war crimes in the conflict. But it also found two cases in which Ukrainian forces committed war crimes. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine counts as the first criminal act. And then there were […]
Posted inEthics and Morality
Secular vegetarianism and the Montreal Declaration on animal exploitation
Reading Time: 4 minutes I signed the Montreal Declaration on Animal Exploitation, along with nearly 500 other philosophers. The signatories include such notables as Peter Singer, the Princeton philosopher well known for his work on “animal liberation.” Secular thinkers should embrace this Declaration and the idea of secular vegetarianism. The Montreal Declaration condemns animal exploitation that inflicts “unnecessary violence […]
Posted inReligion
The evolution of religion and the rise of the nones
Reading Time: 4 minutes The decline of Christianity in the United States does not mean that “religion” is dead or dying. News of the death of religion may excite humanists, but it is unlikely to go extinct. Religion is an adaptable social phenomenon. Religious beliefs and behaviors have always evolved. In a free country, this evolution will continue. Secularism […]
Posted inPolitics
Resisting the new F-word
Reading Time: 4 minutes There is a South Park episode in which the kids use an “f-word” to mock a bunch of obnoxious bikers. The word is obviously offensive, which is why the kids use it. A violent struggle erupts. In the end, the bikers embrace the epithet and admit that they are f@gs. But at that point, the […]
Posted inPhilosophy
Forgiveness as a secular value: What can we learn from the debate about student loans?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Resentment and anger fuel much of our public discourse. There is not much room for values like compassion and forgiveness. So, President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan comes as a surprise. To some, it is even an insult. Senator Mitch McConnel said “Democrats’ student loan socialism is a slap in the face to working Americans who […]