I try to avoid inflamatory language, but this petition is upsetting: philosophers splitting hairs in support of policies that discriminate against homosexuals (HT: Leiter Reports). Their main point seems to be that you are not really discriminating against homosexuals as long as you are not asking them to change their sexual orientation but simply to abstain from homosexual behavior. As someone else pointed out in this discussion, it’s like saying that you are not really discriminating against Christians as long as you are not asking them to change their belief but simply to abstain from going to Church or profess their beliefs in any way. Actually, it seems to me worse than that. Fortunately, the petition is attracting very little support. Most names of serious philosophers who initially appeared as signatories have been removed, presumably because their names were added by someone else.
Philosophers Defend Bigotry
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I was particularly interested in the signer of the counter-petition, now removed, named “Jesus H. Christ Th.D.” from “Heaven University”.
I figured they’d want that name on their petition to give it some degree of legitimacy…
“As someone else pointed out in this discussion, it’s like saying that you are not really discriminating against Christians as long as you are not asking them to change their belief but simply to abstain from going to Church or profess their beliefs in any way.”
Ironically, that’s exactly what the APA petition is requiring: Christian institutions can believe that homosexual acts are immoral for all persons, but they can’t act as if that’s true.
Whenever you can’t see irony, you don’t understand you’re own position.