The meaning of ‘legal persons’

This post, which follows a rant about a pet peeve of mine, is for those who might be confused by the idea of giving non-humans the status of legal persons. As a term of art, the phrase ‘legal person‘ only makes sense as long as you don’t confuse it with the ordinary meaning of ‘person’.
Legal [...]

Read Full Post »

Monuments in the machine: Google Earth Darfur

CNN’s Elise Labbot is reporting Google Earth Maps Out Darfur Atrocities. The project is a joint effort with the search engine company and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
While I appreciate the emotional power of pictures and maps, I doubt this will be an effective means by which to generate a political response to the [...]

Read Full Post »

More on monuments

3,598 killed, 7,000 wounded, none unscathed.
Today is the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. It is a powerful element of Canadians’ national mythology, akin to Newfoundlanders’ patriotic memories of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel.
To honour the more than 15,000 Canadian soldiers who fought for 4 days to take Vimy Ridge, Canada’s built [...]

Read Full Post »

Monuments that shame

Moral judgements can make us uncomfortable, especially when making them public exposes us to criticism.
Philosophy professors see this all the time when students minimize their position by prefacing it with “It’s just my opinion, but…” – a conversational habit that is a pet peeve of mine.
Should we be surprised, then, when we stifle moral judgements [...]

Read Full Post »