ethics
Why human rights and global ethics are inadequate concepts
In a globalized world, Michael Ignatieff argues, grand moral values have failed. What's left is virtue.
by Samuel Wells
Miguel De La Torre’s ethic of hopelessness
De La Torre has little use for hope in a God who only seems to show up for Christians, never for their victims.
by Kyle Rader
Humanism with space for God
Ronald Osborn integrates a biblical perspective with humanistic values.
Two old friends have a lively conversation about getting old
Martha Nussbaum and Saul Levmore draw from philosophy, literature, economics, and public policy to ruminate on aging.
by Justin List
The Good Place, a prime-time sitcom full of ethical theory
The comedy series doesn’t feel didactic—despite the fact that it features actual moral philosophy lessons.
Is popularity the goal?
Jesus wants us to be likable—but more importantly, he wants us to love.
The many colors of betrayal
When does compromise descend into treason or apostasy?
Pathologically moral
In her memoir, comedian Maggie Rowe lays bare a struggle with excessive guilt that rivals Martin Luther’s.
by Ted Peters
The joy of things and the trap of excess
An ethicist and an anthropologist ask: How much is too much?
Can war be beautiful?
Fiction and photographs offer nuanced depictions of conflict.
Midlife happiness through the (narrow) lens of science
How can we live well after 40? asks Barbara Bradley Hagerty. She could have consulted the wisdom traditions.
A new series on faith in election season
At his inauguration on January 20, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower took an unprecedented step: after taking the oath of office, he led the nation in prayer. During his prayer, which historian Kevin Kruse notes helped make Eisenhower’s inauguration as much a “religious consecration” as a “political ceremony,” the new president asked God to “make full and complete [the executive branch’s] dedication to the service of the people.”
Eisenhower’s professed dedication to serve all the citizens of the United States and his willingness to rely upon God’s help were not entirely new.
Decent folks next door
Does democracy create good neighbors? Or is it the other way around?
by Tim Brown
Morality transformed
The delight I felt while reading this book needs further interrogation, because its stories deal with troublesome subjects.
by Amy Frykholm
Redemption revisited
Faith is formed in us by the Spirit and the life of the church. It renews our elemental confidence and creates our disposition toward the world.
Cultivating character
Cultivating character is the lifelong work of evaluating and choosing between various virtues. It's difficult, and it’s our calling.
by Grant Wacker
“There is nothing that does more to perpetuate injustice than good people who assume that injustice is caused by bad people.”
So much religious talk is about naming, about describing a general reality in particular terms. This is important. But in our increasingly secular culture, it’s always striking when someone gets at deep religious truth without bothering with religious language.
For instance, Jay Smooth offers a pretty crisp explication here of the nature of sin and virtue.
Referendum
The debate about Scottish independence fits neatly into the categories the academic discipline of ethics likes to produce.
by Samuel Wells