Bentham's Newsletter

Bentham's Newsletter tackles a wide array of subjects including utilitarianism, ethical veganism, criticisms of deontology, the moral implications of factory farming, fish suffering, the feasibility of serving vegan food in prisons, debates around the definition of womanhood, and various considerations concerning atheism and theism. It often contrasts philosophical perspectives, discusses societal and ethical concerns, and critiques cultural and online behaviors.

Utilitarianism Ethical Veganism Philosophical Critiques Social and Ethical Issues Animal Welfare Cultural Criticism Debate and Discourse Theism and Atheism

The hottest Substack posts of Bentham's Newsletter

And their main takeaways

Are The Ancients Wise?

353 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Ancient Wisdom Reasoning Truth
  1. Some people believe that the wisdom of the ancients is overrated.
  2. Knowledge and understanding have evolved over time, making modern insights valuable.
  3. Respecting the ancients does not mean we should unquestioningly accept their views.

A Theistic Theory of Everything

196 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Theism Cosmology Evil Miracles
  1. The article presents a compelling argument for the plausibility of theism based on probability and explanatory power.
  2. The concept of an indifferent universe theodicy is introduced to explain the existence of evil within a theistic framework.
  3. The theistic theory discussed is said to be simple, able to explain a wide array of data, and posits unlimited perfection as its fundamental aspect.
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Why I Don't Buy The Moral Argument

196 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Theism Atheism Morality Existence
  1. The traditional moral argument for the existence of God is not convincing because the premise that without God, objective moral values do not exist is not plausible for all.
  2. Having God as the source of morality does not provide a satisfactory grounding for morality as it creates more questions and issues.
  3. Explaining the existence of moral facts by positing God as the source is as arbitrary as positing other explanations like pleasure being good.

Answers to Job

137 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Theology Philosophy God Afterlife
  1. God's response to Job highlights the limitations of human knowledge and the complexity of theodicy.
  2. The argument discusses the idea that the sufferings and evils in the world might be outweighed by unknown afterlife goods.
  3. The dialogue challenges the notion that each evil in the world can be interpreted as evidence of an indifferent universe, emphasizing the presence of identity-affecting actions.

The Evidence For And Against Theism

176 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Theism Atheism Philosophy Miracles
  1. The evidence for theism includes physical existence, useful interactions, finely tuned constants, and psychophysical laws.
  2. The evidence against theism consists of factors like the presence of evils, divine hiddenness, lack of clear miracles, and potentially inconsistent divine attributes.
  3. The problem of evil is highlighted as a significant argument favoring theism.

How To—and How Not To—Solve the Problem of Evil

137 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Theism Evil God
  1. Don't trivialize the problem of evil - it's a serious challenge to theism.
  2. Consider the underlying reasons for allowing evil instead of trying to justify each individual instance.
  3. Question the idea that every bad thing serves a grand purpose and consider the value of preventing certain evils.

Essence, Energies, and Excellence

137 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality God Simplicity Philosophy
  1. The Eastern Orthodox distinguish God's essence from energies: essence is mysterious, energies are knowable.
  2. Different arguments suggest the simplicity of theism, like God being an unlimited agent or having limitless power.
  3. The essence/energies distinction can support the idea that God is fundamentally simple, explaining all attributes from a basic nature.

God, Michael Huemer, and String Theory

98 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality God Debate Philosophy Interview
  1. Mental states may not always have a necessary pairing, allowing for randomness in our thoughts and reactions to stimuli.
  2. Accepting metaphysical weirdness in scientific theories like string theory or time-bending can help explain data, just like it does for theism.
  3. The existence of multiple possible worlds and individuals is possible without imposing unexplained limits on modality, implying the presence of numerous souls.

The Evil God Challenge

117 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Debate Theism Evil God
  1. There are two versions of the Evil God Challenge, one questioning a good God's likelihood and another flipping the Problem of Evil.
  2. The Evil God Challenge presents compelling arguments, but there are counterarguments to consider for theism.
  3. The idea of an Evil God is intuitively less believable, and there are logical reasons why a Good God is more plausible.

Two Pieces of Not Quite Poetry

98 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Poetry God Existence
  1. A beautiful narrative of a chance encounter in the rain on New Year's Eve
  2. Speculation on God providing glimpses into an indifferent universe without him
  3. A theory of reality that aims to explain the existence of physical stuff, evil, consciousness, laws, and more with beauty and explanatory power

Comparing Theism and Naturalism

78 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Theism Beliefs Logic
  1. A detailed comparison was made between theism and naturalism with various odds ratios considered.
  2. The conclusion presented was that theism is significantly more plausible than naturalism, with a ratio of 468,000.
  3. The importance of evidence, arguments, and priors in determining the probability of theism was emphasized.

Three Niche Philosophical Objections To Christianity

98 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Theism Immortality Creation
  1. Studying philosophy reveals arguments both for and against theism, particularly in relation to Christianity and the trinity.
  2. Considerations of immortality and the afterlife present interesting puzzles for theism, but they are not decisive arguments against it.
  3. The timing of creation and existence challenges can be addressed by considering concepts such as preexistence or skipping through time.

Jails Should Serve Only Vegan Food

471 implied HN points • 04 May 23
🏥 Health Politics Veganism Animal Welfare
  1. Prisons serving only vegan food can help deter crime by making the environment less enjoyable for inmates.
  2. There's a strong animal welfare argument for prisons serving vegan food to prevent the torture and consumption of animals.
  3. The idea of serving vegan food in prisons should be considered despite concerns, as the criminal justice system is inherently harsh and must be addressed realistically.

Factory Farming Is Not Just Bad: It’s the Worst Thing Ever

412 implied HN points • 16 Apr 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Suffering Atrocities Environmental Impact
  1. Factory farming is considered one of the worst atrocities in human history due to the immense suffering inflicted on billions of animals.
  2. Even with exaggerated assumptions, factory farming still emerges as a grave moral issue, surpassing many other historic atrocities.
  3. The scale of suffering caused by factory farming, even at conservative estimates, is far greater than most human tragedies, making it a significant ethical concern.

Reflections on Parfit: A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality

314 implied HN points • 02 Jun 23
📖 Philosophy Ethics Ideas Legacy
  1. Derek Parfit's life was both bizarre and fascinating as a philosopher with a mission to save morality.
  2. Parfit's eccentricities developed over time; he started out as a relatively normal boy who later became obsessed with philosophy.
  3. Those who become truly obsessed with a topic, like Parfit with philosophy, tend to make significant contributions and impact in that field.