Articles written by Patrick Julius - Page 8

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About me - Patrick Julius

I am a sophomore undergraduate at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. I am of undecided major, but currently considering cognitive science, medical ethics, and secondary education.

I am the author of two books, one self-published and the other currently seeking

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Relationships & Family > Gay & Lesbian Issues Should the United States legalize gay marriage?: 37 of 38
Gay marriage could be among the greatest moral and social improvements in the history of the United States-right up there with abolition of slavery and women's suffrage-but instead it is debated. Instead of realizing that we are denying obvious rights to tens of millions of Americans, we quibble and act as if there is really ... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ethics Is honesty really the best policy?: 75 of 76
Yes, honesty is the best policy, in all but the most extreme circumstances.Sure, it might make sense to lie if there is an ax-murderer at your door (the famous anti-Kantian thought experiment). Actually, I think there are many better options than lying even in that ludicrously extreme case.Indeed, I'm willing to say that even... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Atheism & Agnosticism Life without purpose and the search for meaning: 24 of 24
I don't know why so many people look up into the sky, expecting the stars to give them answers, or pray to some invisible being hoping that all we be revealed. I don't understand why people look for *cosmic* purpose, purpose at the level of the universe itself; it's obvious that such a thing could not exist.For if the univers... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ethics How determining the meaning of good and bad is all relative: 8 of 8
Only if you've thought about the issue a little bit-but not enough.If good and bad are purely relative, then quite literally anything goes. I could list behaviors that any reasonable person knows are wrong (murder, genocide, and so on), but the point is that such things definitely do exist. And just as significantly, even CLA... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Presidential Elections 2008 US elections: The call to ban campaign ads: 8 of 8
Campaign ads, like most advertisements, are a form of skillful mass manipulation.Only the tiniest fraction actually say anything meaningful about a candidate or his policies; most are based around seeming "all-American" and promoting "family values" and painting the other candidates as "un-American" or "untrustworthy." It's c... More..
Computers & Technology > Software (Other) Defining TeX document editor: 2 of 2
TeX is actually a whole class of programs in various distributions, designed for quite literally any operating system on the market (including obscure Linux distributions!); its primary purpose is in typesetting words and equations, and it is in wide use among scientists and mathematicians.The basic idea of TeX is that a keyb... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Theories of Spirituality An analysis of the Invocation of The Future Self: 2 of 2
This topic is so ludicrous, I'm not sure I should even give it the honor of writing under it.Magic(k?)al incantations to invoke the "8-circuit self"? Come on!Human identity is complicated enough, without adding all sorts of superstitious numerology and mysticism. The entire analysis reads like intentional obscurantism, using ... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Comparative Religion Native American and biblical creation stories compared: 2 of 2
This seems like such an odd topic to me. No one would ever start a discussion with the topic, "Greco-roman and Mayan theories of matter compared"; we already have a much better theory of matter in the scientific theory of quantum mechanics.Likewise, we have a much better theory of the creation of the world; namely, Big Bang c... More..