Jeffrey Luk's Blog

Moral imperialism is the phenomenon in which one culture attempts to impose its moral standards on another culture.  It seems that in today's America, which has adopted a relativistic attitude, moral imperialism has become a great sin -- and in contrast, tolerance has devolved into pluralism, which is now the norm. Perhaps this is an inevitable result of classical liberalism.  Are there situations in which moral imperialism is acceptable? I think the best answer to this question is an investigation into metaethics. We can construct this argument:  P1. If moral realism is true, then we ought to argue for whatever we believe to be objectively and ethically true.  P2. Moral realism is true.  C1. We ought to argue for whatever we believe to be objectively and ethically true.  P3. Arguing for whatever we believe to be true is a form of moral imperialism.  C2. Therefore, we ought to be morally imperialistic.  I won't argue for moral realism here, becaus...

This semester was pretty rough for me physically. I took 18 credits (6 classes) on top of pledging a fraternity and managing a club. I admit that I'm pretty petty when it comes to grades, even if I might not show it outwardly as much. I get uncomfortable with any effort that would put me under an A. And I tried to maintain my work ethic throughout the semester, but it came at the cost of my health. I probably pulled 5-6 all-nighters altogether. Really unhealthy stuff. I got sick for about a month between finals week and stretching into the summer. And just when I began to get better, I got sick again. It kinda sucked but at least I'm fine now.  The one class I enjoyed the most, if it is considered a class at all, was my research/independent study with Dr. Holbrook. I was able to pursue a passion that I enjoyed greatly, philosophy. I actually think I hate biology at this point. I would literally drop everything to pursue philosophy if not for job security and other financial fac...