In René Descartes’ correspondence with Elizabeth (mainly 1645-1647) as well as his Passions of the Soul (1649), Descartes says that regret is appropriate only when agents act irresolutely, regardless of whether or not their actions bring about good states-of-affairs. In this paper I set out to explain what Descartes views as a novel account of virtue: that being virtuous amounts to being resolute. I show how this account of virtue fits into Descartes’ larger world-view, and then examine his belief that (...) a person should not regret resolute misdeeds. (shrink)

Both theists and atheists have attempted to show that their opponent’s orientation towards religion prevents them from living truly meaningful lives. But exclusivists on both sides are wrong. For neither atheists nor theists are necessarily committed to meaninglessness. This essay focuses attention on two key components of theistic meaning of life theories that theists argue are importantly missing from atheistic theories, immortality and a Divine Plan. It also considers atheistic alternatives to theistic accounts of meaningfulness that involve subjectivism, intrinsic values, (...) and Susan Wolf’s hybrid theory of meaning. We come to see that genuine meaning for either theists or atheists requires some conceptual commitments, and the dispute about which side can live meaningfully is yet another case of the two sides talking past each other. Alternatively, if we allow for the different kinds and degrees of meaning we may conclude that both theists and atheists are able to offer rationally acceptable theories of life’s meaning. (shrink)

In an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Jon Stewart explained that the point of view of The Daily Show “is that we're passionately opposed to bullshit.” This might explain why Stewart invited Ivy League philosopher Harry Frankfurt to appear on The Daily Show (March 14, 2005) to discuss his bestseller On Bullshit. Philosopher‐comedian Stewart followed up the discussion of the lie/bullshit distinction with the following question, which he posed to Frankfurt but never quite let him answer: “What is the difference (...) between bullshit and political spin?” This chapter briefly considers Frankfurt's second visit to The Daily Show (January 9, 2007) when he discussed a much less sensational topic than bullshit. In his second very little book entitled On Truth—with its gold‐foiled cover that made Stewart think it would contain chocolates—Frankfurt is not very concerned with the “boring” philosophical question about the nature, or definition, of truth. (shrink)