PHILOSOPHERS' CORNER

The Value of Anger

Shouldn’t we get angry at injustice? Don’t some things deserve our rage? Or will rage just beget more rage? These are some of the questions we're thinking about on this week's show, "Righteous Rage."

#FrancisOnFilm: Judas and the Black Messiah

Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of the FBI murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton, aided by informant William O’Neal. The film bears its theme in the title: betrayal. But what exactly is betrayal? And what is its relation to trust, loyalty, and promises?

Abortion and Humanity

In my last blog I explained how some opponents of abortion misappropriate my work on dehumanization, and why their argument doesn’t work. But if we understand dehumanization as the denial that some human beings are really human, this conception seems to serve the anti-abortion cause much better.

Abortion and Dehumanization

From time to time, pro-life advocates appropriate my work on dehumanization to argue that those who take a pro-choice position routinely dehumanize the unborn, paving the way for murder-by-abortion. I want to show why these arguments don’t hold any water.

Demonizing Black Men

Many of us watched in horror as a Minnesota policeman casually kneeled on George Floyd’s neck until he lay limp and lifeless on the pavement. This is a manifestation of what I call demonizing dehumanization. Almost always, it is men from racially oppressed groups who are dehumanized in this way.