Sean Carroll in Preposterous Universe:
What does it mean to be a good person? To act ethically and morally in the world? In the old days we might appeal to the instructions we get from God, but a modern naturalist has to look elsewhere. Today I do a rare solo podcast, where I talk about my personal views on morality, a variety of “constructivism” according to which human beings construct their ethical stances starting from basic impulses, logical reasoning, and communicating with others.
In light of this view, I consider two real-world examples of contemporary moral controversies:
- Is it morally permissible to eat meat? Or is there an ethical imperative to be a vegetarian?
- Do inequities in society stem from discrimination, or from the natural order of things? As a jumping-off point I take the loose-knit group known as the Intellectual Dark Web, which includes Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris, Ben Shapiro, and others, and their nemeses the Social Justice Warriors (though the discussion is about broader issues, not just that group of folks).
Probably everyone will agree with my takes on these issues once they listen to my eminently reasonable arguments.
More here.