Jesus is reading Dawkins’s book, Mo is reading Dennett’s. They feel cross.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Chapter of Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves 
Nov 17th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘This book’s title is intended to be provocative, not sociologically precise.’… Read the rest
Kicking the Headscarf Habit
Nov 17th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why is it religious to put on a headscarf but never to take one off?… Read the rest
Jürgen Habermas on Opening Fortress Europe
Nov 17th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The liberal state demands that all religious communities recognise universal principles of modern law. … Read the rest
Nick Cohen Talks to Ted Honderich
Nov 17th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He is not entirely won over.… Read the rest
New Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.
Nov 17th, 2006 | By Center for InquiryPRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nathan Bupp
Phone: (716) 636-4869 x 218
E-mail: nbupp@centerforinquiry.net
Washington, D.C. (November 14, 2006)—The Center for Inquiry/Transnational, a think tank devoted to promoting reason and science in all areas of human interest, announced today that it is opening a new Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C. This initiative will mark an unprecedented drive to bring a rigorous defense of science and secular values to policy makers located at the focal point of America’s political and cultural battleground.
Paul Kurtz, chairman and founder of the Center for Inquiry/Transnational and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, says that the foundations of our democratic society are now under attack. “The social … Read the rest
Not so fast
Nov 17th, 2006 12:27 am | By Ophelia BensonSomething from an essay by Richard Rorty – ‘Globalization, the Politics of Identity and Social Hope,’ in Philosophy and Social Hope (1996). See what you think.
… Read the restAs I see it, the emergence of feminism, gay liberation, various sorts of ethnic separatism, aboriginal rights, and the like, simply add further concreteness to sketches of the good old egalitarian utopia…In that society, people who wanted to think of themselves as Basque first, or black first, or women first, and citizens of their countries or a global cooperative commonwealth second, would have little trouble doing so. For the institutions of that commonwealth would be regulated by John Stuart Mill’s dictum that everybody gets to do what they like as long as it doesn’t
Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism
Nov 16th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cultivation of critical thinking essential not only for science but also for an educated citizenry.… Read the rest
New Think Tank to Promote Thinking
Nov 16th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Brainchild of Paul Kurtz will lobby for science-based decision making and against religion in government.… Read the rest
Pope’s Secretary Declares Pope-jokes Not OK
Nov 16th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Satire is fine. But these things do not have any intellectual quality and offend men of the church. They are not acceptable.’… Read the rest
Scott McLemee Reviews New Thomas Pynchon
Nov 16th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
To discuss the book adequately would demand a seminar lasting four months.… Read the rest
The Phenomenology of Smell
Nov 16th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Visual clues are more reliable than olfactory ones for a two-legged fallen human. … Read the rest
Hitchens Reviews Clive James
Nov 16th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
London would have been far less amusing without Clive James’s willingness to take chances.… Read the rest
Two Historians Win Prize for Study of Humanity
Nov 16th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
John Hope Franklin and Yu Ying-shih share the Kluge prize.… Read the rest
Revisiting the question of the veil
Nov 16th, 2006 | By Azar MajediThe question of the veil has become a heated debate in the British media. In this debate some fundamental principles seem to be at stake: individual freedom to practice one’s religion, freedom of choice, freedom of clothing and discrimination against a particular community, that is, the so-called Muslim community. Islamists and some human rights activists maintain that the so-called Muslim community is being stigmatized and has been under racist attack since September 11th. They argue that the latest attempts to ban the burqa or the niqab are a violation of individual freedom and another racist attack on Muslims. Let’s examine these issues more closely.
Two events following one another brought up the question of the Islamic veil in the British … Read the rest
Another untrue Scot
Nov 15th, 2006 8:34 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnd more again.
Consider the typical skirmish between secular and religious protagonists (AC Grayling provides a good case in point with his blog). They lead, at best, up a cul-de-sac because their arguments only go round and round in circles. They are, at worst, dangerous because in forcing people to take sides, they nurture extremes – whether religious or secular. This rides roughshod over the ground that is genuinely fascinating, humanly enriching, and socially essential: the places where science and religion reach the respective limits of their understanding and meet. The militant atheist and the fundamentalist believer alike try to rubbish such engagement because it offends their faith that science or religion can and should say it all.
One, … Read the rest
Mutual Contempt is a Sacred Liberty
Nov 15th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Brown should not be seen to promote, by force of law, some dubious concept of a ‘mainstream.’… Read the rest
Press Releases from HRC of Pakistan
Nov 15th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Lots of news there.… Read the rest
Africans React to Gay Marriage Bill
Nov 15th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In Uganda, Faridah Kenyini said South Africa had set a good example for rest of continent.… Read the rest
Pakistan Votes to Amend Rape Laws
Nov 15th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A woman is raped every two hours and gang-raped every eight hours in Pakistan, according to HRC.… Read the rest
