Savulescu on Steven Pinker's challenge to bioethics

Julian Savulescu has written a good piece in response to Steven Pinker - I think I can probably agree with all of this.

My own response on the Cogito blog is more long-winded, though in partial defence of that I was trying to set up a broader, more metaphilosophical argument. Savulescu needn't endorse that broader argument, of course, but I think these two pieces and the original op-ed by Pinker can all be taken to complement each other.

Another response that I recommend is Alice Dreger's: it has many useful observations.

Newest issue of The Philosophers' Magazine

The newest issue of TPM arrived here yesterday. It includes my review (slightly, but not horribly, technical) of Stephen Finlay's Confusion of Tongues - an important contribution to contemporary metaethics. It also has much other stuff that looks interesting, some of which I'll probably write about separately.

Axel Alonso addresses sexuality of Marvel's Hercules

Marvel's editor-in-chief responds to criticism in his weekly "Axel-In-Charge" interview. The bottom line is that Marvel does not have a closed mind on this, which is good.

New post at Cogito on Steven Pinker's challenge to bioethics

"Locking horns over bioethics: The challenge from Steven Pinker."

Pinker to bioethicists - "Keep out of the way!"

A provocative article by Steven Pinker here - I largely agree with him.

Atheist Revolution on public shaming

This sardonic post makes the point very well.

A review of Intelligence Unbound.

A nice review of Intelligence Unbound: The Future of Uploaded and Machine Minds published in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.

Part 2 of my article on "Cultural Marxism and our current culture wars"

Part 2 has been published at Cogito.

Or if you haven't yet read Part 1, go there first.

Another small storm about a bisexual male hero

This article by Robert Karjel is a bit self-serving, so I take it with a grain of salt (as I do much of what I read online). Still, it has a certain ring of truth to this extent: I think it's apparent that a lot of readers/viewers, etc., cannot yet handle the idea of bisexual male characters. No wonder that there might be some reticence from publishing houses, movie studios, and the like. These producers of popular culture can just about cope with gay men and lesbians - and even with female bisexuality (there's an obvious story about that) - but male bisexuality remains pretty much taboo.

Hercules' sexuality in the Marvel Universe

Interesting article here on Marvel's version of the Greek hero/god Hercules (yes, yes, Heracles in the original Greek myths).

I don't know why it was considered necessary to state explicitly that Hercules in the main Marvel Universe is straight, rather than bi, especially when there is a strong in-universe suggestion that he once had sex with Northstar. I get that they don't need to go out of their way to explore any gay side of the character in the new Hercules series that they're launching soon, but that does seem like an unnecessarily clear-cut answer by Alex Alonso, given that many fans enjoy the suggestion that the character is bisexual.

This is NOT, Zeus help us, meant to contribute to some kind of pile on or cybermob. We see far too many of those. It's not that big a deal, especially when Marvel has gone to a fair bit of trouble in recent years to be supportive of the gay community. It's just something that didn't have to be thrown away so easily... and there's a general sense, I think, that Marvel is still reticent about giving support to bisexual men.

Edit (August 8): Follow up here.