Author: Janet Keeping

After doing graduate work in philosophy and then going to law school, Janet Keeping did legal research and some teaching of law at the University of Calgary. She spent about 12 years working on law and governance reform projects in Russia, was president of the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership from 2006 until 2012, and leader of the Green Party of Alberta from 2012 – 2017.

Democracy, Truth and the New Conspiracists

Democracy, Truth and the New Conspiracists

Is truth central to democracy? Janet Keeping explains why the two cannot be separated, and how anti-democratic forces are threatening this interdependence by spreading lies. [...]
On trees feeling pain:  Anthropomorphism run amok

On trees feeling pain: Anthropomorphism run amok

While there are good reasons to attribute certain human characteristics to trees, it is absurd to attribute to them such characteristics as sentience and self-awareness. Such misdirection d [...]
Moral Detachment, One Key to the Persistence of Dubious Ideas

Moral Detachment, One Key to the Persistence of Dubious Ideas

Why do dubious ideas persist? Janet Keeping argues that part of the problem is moral detachment. One can have the “right intellectual concepts in one’s head, but that is of little value if w [...]
Freedom and Civic Responsibility

Freedom and Civic Responsibility

Is it our civic responsibility to get vaccinated? Is it true that, as is often claimed, that vaccine mandates are unconstitutional? Does the arc of the moral universe bend toward justice? [...]
Identity Anthems – their comforts, uses and pitfalls

Identity Anthems – their comforts, uses and pitfalls

Violations of anyone’s human rights should be the concern of all, no matter one’s identity. Our shared humanity requires it. [...]
Consequences of Abuse of Power, Limitations on the Usefulness of Law and the Politics of Humiliation

Consequences of Abuse of Power, Limitations on the Usefulness of Law and the Politics of Humiliation

Keeping writes about the limitations on the usefulness of law and the politics of humiliation. [...]
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