Talks on ‘Love’ and ‘Philosophy and the World’ (Central APA Report)
Last weekend I presented two papers at the Central American Philosophical Association Meeting in St. Louis. I had a great time having fruitful discussions and just kicking my feet up.
The UnMute Podcast: Episode 002 w/ Justin Clardy on Love
Our next episode is up. Go ahead and check it out. Here I chat with Justin Clardy about the nature of love, polyamory, and so much more. Press Play below and also head to the www.unmutepodcast.co for show notes and resources.
Presentation on Django and Masculinity
Recently I had the opportunity to present a paper at the American Society for Aesthetics. The panel I sat on was on Slavery and Cinema. My paper was entitled “Man Up, Man Down: Django Unchained and Black Masculinity.” In the paper, I explore hegemonic masculinity in the Old South and explained how Django, in […]
New Piece: Praise the Lord or Praise the Person?
Check out my latest piece where I argue that God should not be praised at the expense of denying praise for Human good. Here’s an excerpt: Humans should also be praised because positive reinforcement and validation teaches and encourages people to be better. Moral and character education has proven that the more we praise […]
Workshop at the Cuny Grad Center on Walkerian Virtues
If you are available, stop by.
My Latest Piece at HuffPost: “What’s So Bad About Being Good”
My Latest Piece at HuffPost Examines what’s so bad about “acting like a man” and “acting like a Lady” from an Aristotelean and feminist perspective. You can check out the article Here. Excerpt is below. Please share with others. Gendered virtues also perpetuate patriarchy. To have “feminine virtues” like chastity, modesty and obedience is what […]
“Acting Mean” at John Jay College
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCwZgul30oA
Acting Mean @BK Library Review
My SAAP Talk
This past weekend, I attended and presented a paper at the 41st meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy in Denver, Colorado. My paper was “Acting Mean: Queering Hegemonic Masculinity through the Cultivation of Virtues.” It’s a shorter version of a larger project I am working on. The audience was gracious and […]
Dale Hansen On Micheal Sam
Michael Sam is a NFL prospect who just came out as gay to the public. If he is drafted, and he will be, this will make him the first openly gay man in the NFL. Questions have been raised, “Is the NFL ready for an openly gay player.” We’ve heard some strange answers to that […]
My Latest Piece: Drug Abuse and our Biased Compassion
Here is my latest piece at Huffington Post, “Drug Abuse and our Biased Compassion.” Visit here to take a read and please join the conversation on the site. Below is an excerpt. I am not arguing that we should treat rich white men and their drug problems like we inhumanely treat the poor and people […]
Oxytocin: The “Moral Molecule”
Yesterday I shared a video of neuroscientist Paul Zak explaining how stories can change our brains and our behavior. In this video, Paul Zak delivers a TED talk where he argues that “oxytocin (he calls it “the moral molecule”) is responsible for trust, empathy and other feelings that help build a stable society.”
How stories can change our brains & behavior
I am so intrigued by empathy as well as neuroscience. In this video, neuroeconomics pioneer Paul Zak, with the help of editor & director Kirby Ferguson and animator Henrique Barone, takes us inside his lab, where he studies how people respond to stories. What he found was: “Stories are powerful because they transport us into […]
Jesse Prinz on How Atheists Can be Spiritual
“When you stand before an art work, you lose yourself to something great but you also become greater because you feel this sense of connection to other people, to other aesthetic traditions, to beauty….”–Jesse Prinz (Philosopher, CUNY Graduate Center) Awakening the Journey with Jesse Prinz from Mel M on Vimeo.
Character as Moral Fiction
Moral psychologist and Experimental Philosopher, Mark Alfano released a book a few months ago called Character as Moral Fiction. I enjoy reading interesting moral psychology and ethical stuff so I find his work fascinating. Here’s a summary of his book: Everyone wants to be virtuous, but recent psychological investigations suggest that this may not be […]
Jennifer Saul and Implicit Bias
On Philosophy Bites, philosopher Jennifer Saul, discusses the range of ways in which we are prone to implicit bias and the philosophical implications of these biases. Jennifer Saul is the executive director of the implicit bias project. To find out more about implicit bias, visit biasproject.org. Awesome resources there. Take a LISTEN to her interview about […]
Empathy vs Sympathy
Here is a wonderful video animation about the difference between empathy and sympathy by Dr. Brene Brown.
The Power of Empathy (Video)
Philosopher and author Roman Krznaric explains how we can help drive social change by stepping outside ourselves. It is a wonderful talk on the power of empathy.
The Truth About Dishonesty (Video)
Here in another animated speech, Dan Ariely, one of the world’s leading voices on human motivation and behaviour, talks about cheating. This is a great talk and it may change the way you think about cheating and dishonesty.
The Politics of Emotional Dismissal
I have a new Op-Ed in the Huffington post this week called “The Politics of Emotional Dismissal”. Here’s an excerpt below. Check out the full article here and leave a comment on the site if you can. Let me preface: This is not a man-bashing reflection. What I am arguing is that anger has its […]
On Anger
One of my favorite research interests are the moral emotions specifically what Marilyn Frye calls “righteous anger” in “A Note On Anger”. I think that there is something valuable about moral anger. For example, it can be a strong motivation in the pursuit of justice and it can be an expression of self-respect. However, thousands of […]
The Science and Philosophy Of Love
Plato was contemplating love over 2500 years ago in The Symposium and Phaedrus. Today, philosophers like Irvin Singer, Kolodny, and Alan Soble are sitting in their arm chairs still wrapping their philosophical brains around the idea. I mean, love is complex!! At times these philosophers disagree with each other on the subject but scientists don’t. […]
How Sensitivity to Disgust Affects Your Moral and Political Views
A.J. Ayer in “Critique of Ethics” argues that moral judgments are not objective. He denies that they are even propositions at all. So for Ayer, when we say Fornication is wrong it is meaningless because there is no way to verify its truth or falsity. Ayer argues that moral judgments are simply expressions of disapproval […]