Scott Alexander explores the ethics of tattling and promise-keeping, arguing for the importance of trustworthy promises even when they conflict with moral imperatives. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses his conflicting feelings about a patient who reported another patient using heroin in rehab. He explores the concept of tattling and promise-keeping, comparing his stance to Leah Libresco's views on breaking immoral agreements. Scott argues for the importance of trustworthy promises in society, even when they might conflict with moral imperatives. He suggests that clear consequences for breaking promises, like in ancient oaths, might be preferable to the ambiguity of modern moral reasoning about promise-keeping. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander humorously responds to bizarre search terms that have led people to his blog, covering a wide range of topics with wit and sarcasm. Longer summary

This blog post is a humorous compilation of unusual and often absurd search terms that have led people to Scott Alexander's blog. Scott provides witty responses to many of these search queries, showcasing his characteristic blend of humor, skepticism, and intellectual curiosity. The post touches on various topics including misspellings of the blog's name, peculiar questions about aliens and ethics, recurring themes of incest-related searches, and random philosophical or scientific inquiries. Scott's responses range from puns and pop culture references to sarcastic remarks and occasional genuine concern. Shorter summary

Scott argues that virtue ethics is not merely intuitive morality and that relying on intuition alone fails to address complex ethical dilemmas. Longer summary

Scott critiques the idea that virtue ethics is simply using intuitive moral sense. He outlines five key claims of virtue ethics, arguing these are not intuitive for most people. He then discusses the limitations of relying solely on intuitive morality, pointing out that moral philosophy is needed precisely for situations where intuition fails or conflicts arise. The post concludes that while intuitive morality is useful for obvious cases, it doesn't solve the complex ethical dilemmas that moral philosophy aims to address. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that virtue ethics is neither how people naturally think about morality nor an effective way to make people more moral, proposing alternative methods and using a grammar analogy to illustrate his point. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques virtue ethics, arguing that it is neither how people naturally think about morality nor an effective way to make people more moral. He describes his own experience of morality as contrary to virtue ethics in many ways. Scott then suggests alternative methods for improving morality, such as certain beliefs and practices, with meditation being his top recommendation. He concludes that virtue ethics doesn't satisfy the criteria for effectively grounding morality and that there are many better alternatives. The post ends with an analogy comparing virtue ethics to a hypothetical 'virtue grammar' to further illustrate his point. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander critiques Alasdair MacIntyre's 'After Virtue', finding fault with its arguments for virtue ethics and its historical claims about morality in ancient societies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Alasdair MacIntyre's book 'After Virtue', criticizing its central arguments and historical claims. He finds MacIntyre's critique of modern moral philosophy somewhat valid but disagrees with the proposed solution of virtue ethics. Scott argues that virtue ethics is particularly ill-suited to solve moral dilemmas, contrary to MacIntyre's claims. He also challenges MacIntyre's historical narrative, pointing out that the problems MacIntyre attributes to modern society were present in ancient Greek society as well. Scott expresses confusion about why MacIntyre is so highly regarded, comparing him unfavorably to Edward Feser, another philosopher with similar views but whose arguments Scott found more coherent and illuminating. Shorter summary