moral philosophy - blog.blb.works

Minimal abstract illustration with a few delicate, irregular concentric rings and tiny varied dots, some rings overlapping and intersecting. The sparse shapes sit against a warm off-white background, accented with muted charcoal and soft sage. The composition suggests interconnected living systems and cosmic scale, with a calm, understated editorial style. No text or recognizable objects.

From Human Rights to Cosmic Context: Rethinking Universality in an Evolutionary Universe

BLB 15, December 2025

For decades, “universal human rights” have been treated as moral bedrock: timeless, self-evident entitlements belonging to every human simply by virtue of being human. Philosophers like David N. Stamos have challenged this picture, arguing that if we take evolutionary biology seriously, we find no such innate, equal, universal rights inscribed…

Abstract illustration of many translucent colored lines and geometric forms emerging from different parts of a deep indigo and teal field, converging toward a softly glowing center in warm ivory and gold. The distinct paths suggest different systems of thought meeting in shared understanding, while the central light evokes the search for universal truth and clarity.

The Word That Must Be Shareable

BLB 28, September 2023

An essay on metaphysics, epistemology, and common ground (18m audio) In 1978, I began with a conditional: If there is a supreme deity, that being must be omniscient and omnipresent. From there, I drew a consequence. Such a being could communicate a directive clearly to any human being, regardless of…