Philosophy and the Embryo
Pragmatic and moral considerations should not be allowed to distort science, nor should they distract philosophy from its pursuit of truth.
Faith Makes Us Live: Surviving and Thriving in the Haitian Diaspora
Religious freedom is a universal human right. The plight of Haitian immigrants shows that religion can also be a vitally important means of integrating some of society’s most vulnerable members.
Free Trade, Utility, and the Good
Economists and other social scientists should take into account the integral flourishing of human beings and not just material utility. After doing so, defense of free trade becomes more—not less—important.
The Limits of Free Trade
Free trade brings with it financial benefits and human rewards. However, it sometimes must be limited if communities and people are to flourish.
Who Defines What Islam Is?
Many Muslims have been either silenced or ignored when it comes to their views of their own faith. As we grapple with the legacy of 9/11, we need to listen to these voices if we are to understand the religion they practice.
Conservatism and Culture
If conservatives wish to defend culture, they must support the arts. Their support for the arts, however, should be motivated by a love of beauty rather than any political program.
Health Care Reform and the Public Option in Theory and Practice
Those who favor providing health care to all shouldn’t necessarily oppose the “public option,” but they will be unable to support a bill if it endorses and entrenches the taking of innocent human life through abortion.
Constitutional Questions About Health Care Reform
Debates over health care reform have focused almost exclusively on policy. Few have considered whether Congress even has the constitutional authority to enact its proposed reforms. Fundamental constitutional issues—such as the scope of the commerce power, the right of individuals to religious liberty, and the different natures of federal and state authority—must be recalled in order to have a more fruitful debate.
Free Trade as Prosperity, Free Trade as Human Right
Free trade is not only good economic policy, it is a human right that should not be restricted lightly.
American Mistra: Putting the Culture Back in the Culture Wars
The urgency of protecting the sanctity of life, the dignity of the human person, and the institution of marriage goes hand-in-hand with cultivation of the arts
Guiding Principles for the Health Care Debate
Pragmatic concerns (and angry accusations) have dominated the health care debate to date. But what are the principles that should guide efforts for reform?
Same-Sex Marriage and the Civil-Rights Movement: A Problematic Analogy
Those who see the movement for same-sex marriage as today’s civil-rights struggle are abusing historical reason and our national institutions.
Infidelity and Its Implications
As recent polls and recent events show, Americans remain morally opposed to sexual infidelity in marriage. At the same time, Americans show broad acceptance of premarital sex. But an examination of the reasons why infidelity within marriage is detrimental to human flourishing reveals sexual infidelity prior to marriage to be just as harmful.
Rethinking Economics in the Post-Crisis World
In the wake of the financial crisis, we need an economics with greater humility about its predictive power and an increased understanding of the complicated human beings who, when the discipline is rightly understood, lie at its center.
Obama on the Value of Human Life: How About Some ‘Vigorous’ Debate?
President Obama has called for vigorous debate on the abortion question. For that to happen, though, his own position must be clarified. The picture that emerges is not a flattering one.
Judge Sotomayor and Abortion on Demand: A Tutorial
Millions of Americans believe that states can prohibit abortion in the third trimester, yet current Supreme Court jurisprudence has manufactured a right to unfettered abortion right up to the time of the child’s birth. How did Americans become so confused on this issue and how did the Supreme Court end up where it has?
Making Men Moral
Earlier this year scholars gathered at Union University for a conference considering the work of Robert P. George in his 1994 book Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality. One theme of the conference was how religion and reason can help us understand and promote the common good.
The Embryo Troubles of Obama’s Top Doctor
Many are pointing to Obama’s pick of an Evangelical to head the National Institutes of Health as a sign of the president’s willingness to reach out to those with differing viewpoints. But his pick holds conflicted views about the human embryo and will oversee a department that, under new rules, is outsourcing the destruction of human life.
Constitutional Disorder in the Era of Judicial Supremacy: What Can be Done Now
If we want to lower the stakes of winner-take-all Supreme Court battles, we must search for justices who reject the notions of judicial activism and judicial supremacy. The second in a two-part series.
Constitutional Disorder in the Era of Judicial Supremacy: The Founders’ Understanding of the Court
Judicial supremacy is inimical to the separation of powers, to republicanism, and even to constitutionalism and the rule of law. The upcoming confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor should force citizens to reconsider the place of the Court in our political life. The first in a two-part series.
Robert P. George on the Struggle Over Marriage
Recently, the editor of Public Discourse sat down with Robert P. George to discuss the state of the marriage debate. While supporters of same-sex “marriage” claim that history is on their side, it turns out that supporters of traditional marriage have more reasons for hope than they may realize.
Hypocrisy and Public Life
Revelations about the infidelities of prominent social conservatives like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Nevada Senator John Ensign have led many to mock advocates of public virtue who nonetheless succumb to personal vice. But what’s so bad about hypocrisy?
What Does it Mean to Respect Islam?: The Witness of Soraya M.
Healthy respect takes account of the diversity in Islam and focuses not on respecting an idea but on respecting the humanity of individuals. A new movie that opens in U.S. theaters today helps illustrate this precise point.
Is the Abortion Debate Over?
The philosophical debate about abortion has reached a welcome level of clarity. The pro-life movement must capitalize on recent gains in public policy and opinion by equipping their grass-roots supporters with winsome arguments and effective strategies to continue to cultivate a culture of life.
