2016-03-19 18:53
Hi, everyone. It's been a few years since I wrote for this blog. I've spent a lot of time teaching, finishing off my dissertation, and having a couple of kids.Instead of coming b… Read More
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The Lyceum Blog
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As an academic, I spend a lot of my time preparing for class or writing. However, I often develop ideas that don't fit the my current course or project. I will think to myself, "That's an interesting idea. I'll have to return to it later". Then, I never do. I created this blog to catalogue those ideas.
2016-03-19 18:53
I've been away from the Lyceum for a while, but I always thought it was a worthwhile project to which to return. Thank you to everyone for sending me those complementary e-mails. They were l… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
In medical ethics, there are several things concerning which it is problematic to pay people. The two I will deal with here are organ donors and research subjects. Most bioethicists believ… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
There are two types of apology, and it is important to keep them separate yet recognise the importance of both. The first kind is the pure apology, in which someone expresses remorse at an a… Read More
2005-09-27 21:09
I was rereading the Crito today, and I realised that the argument Socrates makes in this dialogue is one that is rarely taken seriously. Since everything that Socrates says is true (we must… Read More
2005-09-20 19:25
Plato's character of Euthyphro does not receive much praise from scholars. I have seen him variously referred to as an "idiot", as "stupid" and as a "fool". Even Socrates' prosecutors, Anytu… Read More
2005-09-20 16:50
In Plato's Gorgias, the character of Socrates poses a serious challenge to the possibility of a craft of rhetoric as a craft of speaking about anything. His claim is that the craft one uses… Read More
2005-09-13 15:34
In this essay, I intend to examine why it is that people in virtually all cultures have some variation on saying "please" and "thank you". Further, in most cultures it is considered rude not… Read More
2005-09-09 18:07
In his work On the Sacred Disease, Hippocrates (or perhaps another doctor at Cos) argues against the use of magic in medicine. A large portion of magic in Hippocrates' time was magical, usin… Read More
2005-08-31 18:57
Two summers ago, I read all of Greek tragedy for my comprehensive exams. Aside from making me incredibly depressed for a month, I realised something quite interesting: just about everything… Read More
2005-08-30 13:37
...continued from yesterday.Another possibility for time travel of a kind is that time is, in fact, looped. Spatial closure is often cited to explain how the universe could both be finite an… Read More
2005-08-29 20:09
This essay was substantially too long for a single post, so I divided it into two sections. Today's section deals with the problems special relativity poses to time travel. Tomorrow's will d… Read More
2005-08-23 17:20
This essay is concerned with mules. No, really. It is about the sterile offspring of horses and donkeys. The "mule question" is a fascinating and queer puzzle that deeply worried Aristotle… Read More
2005-08-23 15:33
Note from Daniel: I will be heading on vacation to Ottawa for the next week and will not be able to feed my cat or update the site. Fear not, though. My parents will take care of the Profess… Read More
2005-08-20 22:19
Many moral debates end up as debates about what is properly considered natural. However, the definition of the word "nature" shifts and swerves throughout debates in such a way that anything… Read More
2005-08-20 03:54
Socrates is famous for the maxim that, "No one does wrong willingly". To our modern ears, this sounds incredibly strange. However, Socrates is not making a claim that is somehow simply anach… Read More
2005-08-18 03:57
The last fifty years have given us a common argument about modesty that is largely unsound. We are worried about nudity because we are ashamed of our bodies. We are ashamed of our bodies bec… Read More
2005-08-16 21:00
It is a bit of a commonplace among Christians that there are two sources of truth, reason and revelation. These two sources are normally considered mutually exclusive, that is, nothing that… Read More
2005-08-16 14:31
In this essay, I intend to demonstrate that hedonistic utilitarianism is not only false, but incoherent. Hedonistic utilitarianism is a version of utilitarianism, the belief that the purpose… Read More
2005-08-15 06:04
In informal logic classes, instructors often teach students to avoid the "slippery slope fallacy". A "slippery slope" is an argument that a certain situation will lead to an even worse situa… Read More
2005-08-14 16:14
In the dialogue Lysis, Socrates puts forward a serious problem concerning the nature of friendship. The argument was later to become extremely famous in Ancient philosophy, as the Lysis was… Read More
2005-08-14 05:33
In her article, "Human Capabilities, Female Human Beings", Martha Nussbaum attempts to list a series of basic human capabilities that are necessary for a truly human life. By ennumerating th… Read More
2005-08-14 05:32
Thomas Aquinas desired to explain how the Catholic Church's doctrine that there are mortal and venial sins could be reconciled with the Biblical verse James 2:10, "For whoever keeps the whol… Read More
2005-08-14 05:32
In this essay, I intend to address the commonplace that moral pluralism demands a respect for autonomy. I will argue that this commonplace is nonsensicle. Instead, respect for autonomy must… Read More
2005-08-14 05:31
In this essay, I intend to examine the moral difference between respirators and feeding tubes. This distinction is very difficult to make, and even the Catholic Church, known for taking the… Read More
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