Category Archives: Apologetics

Solve for x (good) & y (great/beautiful)

Posted on November 26, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

Following up on a segment of my last post, “It’s a greater ‘neutral value’ view that considers competing goods as neutral values before they are in the context of a decisive action,” from Graded Absolutism Revisited: Ordered Neutral Values, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Divine Essentialism, Ethics & Metaethics, Golden Rule, Harmonic Triads | Leave a comment

Graded Absolutism Revisited: Ordered Neutral Values

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

Generations of people who survived childhood are evidence of a mother’s nurturing and a father’s protection—or some other caregivers who stood in their places. At the animal level it involves following a program of parental empathy. At the intentional level … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Divine Essentialism, Ethics & Metaethics, Golden Rule, Harmonic Triads, Is-Ought Fallacy | 1 Comment

Rules: Descriptive, Prescriptive, and Purposive

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

Sparked by a “separation of church and state” discussion with my youngest son, David, and his beloved, Holly. Separation of Church/Religion and State/Science Science is descriptive – it cannot a) prescribe anything, or b) have a purpose behind it. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Ethics & Metaethics, Euthyphro Dilemma, Harmonic Triads, Is-Ought Fallacy | Leave a comment

Two quotes compressed & distilled into a concentrated compact of… curiosity… :D

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

Divine impassibility is not a lack of passion, but an eternally unshakeable, rational passion. —Anonymous (okay, it was me) A counter-obligatory imperative is no imperative at all. — Augustine of Hippo (my translation, using deontic logic terms)

Posted in Apologetics, Harmonic Triads | 35 Comments

Harmonic Triads Reference, Current Index

Posted on October 1, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

This index is not exhaustive, but current: The first fallacy: Ought-Value or Action-Quality Conflation On the impossibility of knowing a true tenseless fact without omnitemporality (read all the comments) Elaborating on C Theory Logic Venn (of Opposition/Reconciliation) C Theory of Time & the … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Ethics & Metaethics, Harmonic Triads, Is-Ought Fallacy, Justified True Belief | 3 Comments

The first fallacy: Ought-Value or Action-Quality Conflation

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

The first fallacy in philosophy, and not just the philosophy of ethics, is neither just the is-ought fallacy, nor just the failure to respect the fact-value distinction, but the fallacy of confusing the former for the latter: conflating oughts and values. This is relevant across every field, not just ethics, because it boils down and adds up to confusing action and quality. Together with the is/fact (substance) element from the first two fallacies, these three elements constitute the is-ought-value distinction, or the substance, action, quality triad. All three are required to obtain true, justified belief (knowledge) about anything, in any field of philosophy (including all the sciences). They are required together, but distinctly. One cannot stand in for either of the others.

But let’s begin in the field of ethics… Continue reading →

Posted in Divine Essentialism, Harmonic Triads, Is-Ought Fallacy, Justified True Belief | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Jesus, the Great Philosopher (Bible App reading plan)

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

Join me for the next 5 days, Friend me for life: bible.com/p/73402169/9b6a021defc94523473032611bbe1b88

Posted in Apologetics | 2 Comments

The Personhood Program

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

Regardless what species we are materially, persons are all structured to be able to see when there is inconsistency between our thoughts, values, and behaviors. We know that we are persons, and that there are other persons. We know we … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Ethics & Metaethics | 2 Comments

Who is the point?

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

Why? Why do we care what is true, or what is true about what is good? What is the meaning of life, or what is the point? If we are always good (if that were possible), can we still miss … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics | Leave a comment

On the impossibility of knowing a true tenseless fact without omnitemporality

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Maryann Spikes

TIME Q Posted on Equip / Reasonable Faith (also submitted as a question of the week) (Facebook discussion below) I recently took the Equip course on God‘s relationship to time and eternity. It was a great supplement to Dr. Craig’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Harmonic Triads | 12 Comments