Archive | June 20, 2010

Puzzlement

For some reason I can’t post comments on Gene Callahan’s blog, so I’ll put the comment here. In response to the post where Gene says:

Obligation is the crucial idea denied by libertarian political theory. We can have obligations that we did not agree to take upon ourselves.

I reply:

I can think of hardly any libertarian political thinkers who say that we have no unchosen obligations. (Rand says it, but that has more to do with her metaethics than her political commitments.) Most libertarians would say that we have a) some enforceable obligations we didn’t choose (like the obligations not to kill, steal, assault, etc.), plus b) plenty of moral obligations that aren’t enforceable.

Of course it’s true that libertarianism denies the existence of various enforceable obligations that other theories assert; but libertarianism also asserts the existence of enforceable obligations that other theories deny.


You’re All Whizzing About, It’s Really Very Distracting

It was only a few weeks ago that I first began watching the 2010 season of Doctor Who; it’s hard to believe it’s already nearing its conclusion. (Why do they have only 13 episodes per season, instead of 22 like a proper season?) During that time I’ve become quite a fan of Matt Smith’s interpretation of the character.

spacetime crack

“The Pandorica Opens” – the first half of the two-part season finale – doesn’t play on BBC America for a few weeks yet, but it aired in Britain today and so I just watched it online. Nope, no spoilers here – just thought I’d say a) a hell of a lot happens in it, and b) it ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. Getting out of this is going to be a tricky one ….


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