Wednesday
16Sep2009

I Guess We're Not All Do-It-Yourselfers

There, I Fixed It.I think most people could benefit from doing more work for themselves. Not only would it save them money, but it would help them become more knowledgeable and better at solving problems.

But then, here’s a site dedicated to proving not everybody should do-it-themselves.

No arguments here. 

Monday
14Sep2009

Check Out My New Facelift...

… for this website, of course.

You’ll find no more sidebar navigation or fancy graphics here. It’s just a simple blog and some photo galleries. Enjoy.

Sunday
13Sep2009

Fish Lake Photo

Copyright 2009, Andrew Stark

Wednesday
28Feb2007

An Evaluation of Ethical Relativism

Since people often look at me like I’m a lunatic when I tell them I took philosophy in university, I’m posting this as an example of the type of paper I wrote during that time. Not that it is necessarily a typical philosophy paper, but it is representative of the sort of papers written by yours truly.


 
Ethical relativism comes in several forms. Firstly, descriptive relativism is the theory that real-world cultures vary greatly in terms of morality. Secondly, meta-ethical relativism states that cultures differ greatly in their meanings and uses of moral terms so as to render cross cultural discussions of morality and ethics unintelligible. Lastly, normative relativism is the theory that the actions that individuals ought to take are determined by the prevailing opinions of their culture. Another form of this last theory contends that persons ought to act according to their personal moral standards. The following discussion will attempt to refute each of these forms of ethical relativism.

Descriptive relativism is an important theory because it is often argued that, if it is true, at least one of the other theories of ethical relativism is also true. While there are certainly differences from one culture to the next on a wide variety of subjects, it is disputable whether or not there are meaningful differences between cultures in the area of morality. As to the exact moral actions that individuals in differing cultures are expected to perform, there is evident disagreement. Yet, in terms of prevailing principles of a more general kind there may be markedly less difference. For instance, while cultures may differ as to whether euthanasia can be a charitable act, most, if not all, cultures believe that charity itself is a moral virtue. Therefore, while the root of this disagreement may seem to be a difference in a general moral principle, it is actually in a difference in the application of the same general principle to a particular situation. Therefore, there may be less moral disagreement among cultures over morality than it would seem when examining isolated cases or particular situations.

Click to read more ...

Monday
19Feb2007

Here I Am

This poem is inspired in part by my home away from home, Vancouver, BC.
Here I am
A city’s height is measured by its concrete forms and curtain-walls,
        while down below they’re dressing up its garbage-bins as bathroom stalls.
Here I am, a fleeting sight for hardware under glass,
        the only ones with eyes that call, “come hither” as I pass.
                I make a stop.
                I stand mid row
                to see if there’s somewhere to go.
                        And arrows bend
                        to form a frown.
                        It asks the sky, “What slows me down?
                An iron post?
                A planted tree?
                A pillar where a plane should be?”
                        For without eyes it cannot see
                                the one who clogs its lifeblood—Here I am.

A city’s speed is measured by pop-rivets on its plastic trains,
        where hanging from the stainless-steel, a travelling circus entertains.
Here I am, the only one who’s paid to see the show,
        yet here I hang and swing and sway, performing as I go.
                I see a space.
                I lust for it.
                Can that be a place to sit?
                        But boldfaced feed
                        on empty chair;
                        Sir Evening Paper beats me there.
                So on I grip.
                Fatiguing hands
                are flexing like elastic bands.
                        Among the moving cargo stands
                                a man without an exit—Here I am.

Click to read more ...