Our mission should be to rid our students of automatic or blinkered thinking.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Monaghan on Caton on Freeman on Mead
Jan 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Review of a historian’s take on an anthropologist’s take on an anthropologist.… Read the rest
Eric Foner Tries to Remind Us of Reconstruction
Jan 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Forever Free is a reminder of the immense, lasting cost of squandered opportunity. … Read the rest
Chris Mooney on the Kitzmiller Decision
Jan 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Propaganda campaigns are one thing, and courtrooms are another. Fortunately.… Read the rest
Norman Geras on Crimes Against Humanity
Jan 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The idea of crimes against humanity is a new one, and needs justification and defense.… Read the rest
Science and Religion
Jan 9th, 2006 10:52 pm | By Ophelia BensonIf you want to hear some thoroughly silly reactions to Dawkins on God, listen to the latest Saturday Review.
First you get a bit of soundtrack, of the cheery perky dense evangelical telling Dawkins what’s what.
Ted Haggart: ‘We fully embrace the scientific method, as American evangelicals – and we think, as time goes along, as we discover more and more facts, that we’ll learn more and more about how God created the heavens and the earth – ‘
Dawkins points out that the evidence shows the earth to be 4.5 billion years old, Haggart says (perkily, cheerily), ‘You know what you’re doing?’ and explains that he’s paying attention to just part of the scientific community, and that maybe … Read the rest
Carlin Romano Reviews a History of Astrology
Jan 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘A few bouts of “astrologese” and you’re ready to knock the wizard’s cap off the author’s head.’… Read the rest
Interview With Simon Critchley
Jan 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Heidegger’s work has ‘a dangerous power that I try to inoculate myself against and always fail.’… Read the rest
Lancet Article on Female Abortion [registration]
Jan 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
10 million missing females, and the absolute number is likely to grow in the future.… Read the rest
Selective Abortion of Females in India
Jan 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Half a million babies are aborted every year because they are girls, says Lancet study.… Read the rest
A Call for an End to ‘Faith’ Schools in Scotland
Jan 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Religion and education should not be joined.’… Read the rest
Resistance is not Futile
Jan 8th, 2006 11:18 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe Herald on Dawkins on religion on channel 4.
This new two-part documentary, which begins on Channel 4 tomorrow, asserts that there is no safe or defensible middle ground between science and religion, its thesis being that even the moderate followers of Islam, Judaism and Christianity are deluded, defective and potentially dangerous…It is in this capacity that Dawkins travels to various theological flashpoints…challenging a full range of beliefs and their advocates. And for an ambassador, he is not particularly diplomatic. The programme takes its cue from a statement Dawkins made immediately after September 11, 2001: “[Religion is] lethally dangerous nonsense. Let’s now stop being so damned respectful!”
Well, we’ve tried diplomacy, and what has it gotten us? Only more … Read the rest
Marginal Comments
Jan 8th, 2006 7:31 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere are some oddities in this piece on books about how to read Derrida and Marx.
The assumption of Granta’s How to Read series is that readers will go on to read at least some of the works discussed. Including this author in a series of this sort, aimed at a “general reader”, invites an interesting question: should one read Derrida? Is his work important, something with which any intelligent person should be familiar? In the grand scheme of things, perhaps not, but the question is complicated. What might it mean to say that an author is important, not just in a particular field, but for society as a whole?
What, indeed? Surely it’s fairly obvious that one has … Read the rest
Self-censorship, Mental Torture, Provocation
Jan 8th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The cartoons did nothing that transcends the cultural norms of secular Denmark.’… Read the rest
You’re Simply Not Allowed to Attack Religion
Jan 8th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘You can attack their politics or their football team, but not their faith.’… Read the rest
ID’s Big Problem: Who Designed the Designer?
Jan 8th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Design is not a real alternative to chance at all because it raises an even bigger problem than it solves.… Read the rest
Be Careful in Interpreting Poll Results
Jan 8th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Unlike scientists, the general public does not understand that belief takes no part in scientific thinking.… Read the rest
Oi, George, What About This Leaky Roof?
Jan 8th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How easy is it for Galloway’s constituents to contact him? Vikram Dodd finds out.… Read the rest
When in Doubt, We Ditch Logic
Jan 8th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Brain-imaging study finds that the higher the level of uncertainty, the more instinct, not logic, will rule.… Read the rest
How to Read Derrida and Marx
Jan 8th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Disconnected from political engagement, reading lacks urgency.’ It does?… Read the rest