Monthly Archives: July 2010

The very idea of rape by deception is utterly indefensible; for the idea trivializes the very wrong of rape.  Here is the story.  In Israel, a Palestinian man by the name of Sabbar Kashur presented himself as a Jew to … Continue reading →

Which would you prefer: To have your best friends have an affair with your spouse or to have your best friend spread the vicious rumor that you acted in a most inappropriate manner sexually with your students? I would not dream of hazarding an answer. Still, I thought I would ask the question. I end with what might be a startling insight. I suspect that while much lip service is paid to the good of friendship at its best, there are some who do not want such a friendship. Perhaps there are many who do not. This is because friendship at its best is so very morally demanding. And as so often the case in life, people are willing to settle for second-best. To that simple truth, friendship is not the exception to the rule. Continue reading →

At its best, undergraduate teaching is a veritable ocean of self-knowledge. When it comes to being trust worthy and to the view that one is making a positive difference in the lives of others, warranted self-knowledge is not attained by mere sophisticated acts of ratiocination. Intellectual gymnastics do not warrant the view that one is trustworthy or that one is making a positive difference in the lives of others. Only the right kind of interaction with others will warrant that assessment. And teaching at its best provides countless many tidal waves of social interaction where such an assessment can be warranted. Otherwise, we would not have teaching at its best. Continue reading →

Dear Mr. Cohen: We both fully embrace the ideal of freedom of speech.  Indeed, one reason why Chancellor Nancy Cantor, here at Syracuse University, and I are somewhat at odds with one another is that in what is known as … Continue reading →

The tactics of Republicans to regain control of Congress no more warrant the comparison to Nazi behavior than do the tactics of Democrats to retain control of Congress warrant the comparison to Nazi behavior. Let us concede, for the sake of argument, that Republicans are misrepresenting numerous important matters. Well, surely this is no less true of Democrats. This is particularly true when one bears in mind the unquestionably evil behavior and objective of the Nazis. A person can do quite a bit of wrong and still fall considerably sort of being like a Nazi. This is how I arrive at the conclusion that Joe Biden is a despicable human being. Using the term “blitzkrieg” as a way of characterizing the tactics of Republicans is akin to Senator Harry Reid’s charge that not voting for the health bill makes one rather a racist on the order of a slaveholder. In both cases, we have a gratuitously vicious comparison that is made solely for the sake of political gain. We have a comparison that is unequivocally beyond the pale. Continue reading →