The fact that only humans above a certain age can be morally virtuous, rather than babies or cats, means that that being moral requires some cognitive ability. If virtue is about desires, it is worth remembering that you can't desire… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
Suppose whether or not someone tells me a lie depends only on whether he wants to, but he is morally indifferent, he doesn't care much about the truth or about me, and his self interest, which he worships, tells him… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine. — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
Other things being equal, ill will is worse than moral indifference (as in causing suffering for money vs causing suffering to cause suffering), though… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
Duties concern things that are voluntary. I do think that if you have a moral duty to bring me back the book you borrowed,… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
Sometimes I suspect that there are two prototypes of philosophers who write about humans - I call them "celestials" and "terrestrials", without implying that… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
When you find yourself reluctant to sit on a chair because it had unexpectedly collapsed in the past you might shake your head and… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
If I make a stupid decision but don't execute it because I'm, say, lazy, then I'm lucky, not rational. However, at other times a… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
If I am told my loving you had to happen because of some Freudian stuff about my childhood, that might be degrading or deflationary,… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
I am not committed in any way to the traditional concept of character - the concept of "character trait" as involving predictable behavior. I… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
I don't think any of my desires or beliefs or other mental states are external to me. Many people will occasionally feel alienated from… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
Incompatibilists will tell you that a work of art has no meaning unless the artists could have chosen to create a different one, but… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
Though we think intrinsic desires tend to be pretty stable, we do not think they imply anything like the amount of predictability in behavior… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
Suppose a student of mine writes in her exam that "morality is completely relative to culture, so nothing is absolutely right or wrong. Because… — Nomy Arpaly Copy Share Image
