From trick-or-treating to carving silly faces into pumpkins, Halloween was always my favorite holiday as a child. But my joy in dressing up as my favorite super hero and going … Continue reading "What Halloween costume choice says about our ethics"

These days, it seems that everyone is trying to “eat clean.” As I browsed the news this week, I clicked over to the “Healthy Living” page of the Huffington Post … Continue reading "Stigmatizing Food Choice to People Without Choices"

Should one be allowed to choose his or her death date? Bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel’s recent post in The Atlantic explains why he hopes to die at what many would consider … Continue reading "The Mortal Code Paradox"

Joe Heithaus, professor of English at DePauw University, read several poems at The Campus Farm Dinner in October. Here he is reading a famous poem called  “The Peace of Wild … Continue reading "The Peace of Wild Things – Poetry Reading"

Guest post by Anthony Baratta, Sustainability Director at DePauw University.  Check out the Office of Sustainability on Facebook and Twitter. Soulja Boy CDs, broken office chairs, flip phones, jean shorts, … Continue reading "Envisioning Zero Waste at DePauw: Where do flip phones go to die?"

Originally appeared in The Indianapolis Star The dim news for the journalism industry just keeps coming. A recent Gallup news poll shows public trust of the media is at historic lows. … Continue reading "News media must fight back against negative image"

What’s the point of a liberal arts degree? Is asking whether it’s useful even a valid question? Inside Higher Ed spotligthts St. John’s College as a model of a broad … Continue reading "Is Your Degree Important?"

You may have heard the term ‘Slacktivism’ thrown around in reference to charitable acts diluted with apathy. ‘Slacktivism’ can take theform of anything from donating small amounts of money to a cause … Continue reading "‘Slacktivism:’ The problem with benevolence"

Is it ever alright to take elements of a culture that is not your own and apply it to yourself? Be that in music, fashion, food, or events – is … Continue reading "The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation Event Recap"

A recent Gallup poll found that 70% of Americans favor using federal money to expand pre-school programs across the country. There were differences along party lines. Only 53% of Republicans … Continue reading "A Libertarian Argument for Public Education"

The Conflict Studies Program, The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics, and the Department of Art and Art History are thrilled to announce an upcoming visit by artists Jon Rubin and … Continue reading "Conflict Kitchen will be hosted Oct. 27-30 by Prindle, Conflict Studies and the Art Department"

I have always been told that everything in life happens for a reason. When adversity strikes, something great is waiting around the corner and it’s up to you to battle … Continue reading "Aspire to be Better"

That’s right. This post has the word “ain’t” in its title. So what? In a recent interview, Harvard University Professor of Psychology and celebrated writer, Stephen Pinker, explains the “curse of … Continue reading "Literary Hazing “Ain’t” Ethical"

Fifty years, two months, and one week ago, a US destroyer was attacked (or was it?) by the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of North Vietnam. … Continue reading "History’s (Un)Truths"

Does anyone remember Occupy Wall Street? Hello? Anyone? Well just when you thought they had packed up and gone home, the movement is back and is taking on America’s embedded institutions in … Continue reading "No Jubilation in For-Profit Education"

Season 4 of the FX television series, “American Horror Story” just premiered this past Wednesday night with their newest season titled, “Freak Show”.  Although I am a huge fan of … Continue reading "American Horror Story: Freak Show"

Come out to Prindle on Monday, October 13 at 5:30 PM for a dinner and discussion about the ethics of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation occurs when someone from one culture … Continue reading "Cultural Appropriation Dinner & Discussion on Oct.13"

Thanks to the D3TV crew for having me on their news show last night, and thanks for posting the clip of my interview. Here’s the interview. In it, I discuss … Continue reading "Director Interview with D3TV"

Government surveillance is a political hot topic, and Twitter has now taken its stand on it. The company has decided to sue the U.S. Government about a law that does … Continue reading "Twitter, Transparency, and National Security"

Last week we published the abstract of Erik Wielenberg’s new book, Robust Ethics: The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Godless Normative Realism. In this guest post, Wielenberg, Professor of Philosophy at DePauw … Continue reading "Can moral laws exist without God? A brief introduction to “Robust Ethics”"

Guest post by Rich Cameron, Associate Professor of Philosophy at DePauw University Scott Wisor recently wrote a post titled “Why Climate Change Divestment Will Not Work” over at the blog … Continue reading "Will climate divestment work?"

Decisions towards more ethical governmental process are good, right? The citizens of Tallahassee, Florida certainly think so.  With recent support of the citizens’ Ethics Advisory Panel, created by the City … Continue reading "The Ethics of Enforcing Ethics"

Over the past two weeks, reports of a Liberian man with Ebola being treated in Dallas have captivated our public discourse. Some worry that this may be a “Patient Zero” … Continue reading "Ebola: No Longer a Microscopic Problem"

Renee, a sophomore at DePauw, came home to Mason Hall last Tuesday to find a sign harshly warning residents: “CAMERA INSTALLED. DO NOT PLACE FOOD OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING SOUP) … Continue reading "A Message Left for Mason Hall Residents…"