Michael Billington: ‘He had to create a tradition rather than inheriting one.’… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Arthur Miller 
Feb 11th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Writing plays was for him like breathing.… Read the rest
Marxist Storm Eats Toast With Neocons
Feb 11th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sunday Times meets Norm Geras.… Read the rest
Norman Geras on the Reductions of the Left
Feb 11th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When imperialism is the only thing and everything else is epiphenomenal.… Read the rest
Samantha Power on Bush Admin and ICC
Feb 10th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Admin has denounced genocide in Darfur, good, but blocked ICC, bad.… Read the rest
US Opposes Criminal Court Action on Darfur
Feb 10th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bush administration doesn’t want to ‘legitimize’ the International Criminal Court.… Read the rest
No, US Was not Founded on ‘Christian Principles’
Feb 10th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The founders were deists and atheists, not godbotherers.… Read the rest
Michael Ruse’s Eulogy for Ernst Mayr
Feb 10th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Long, detailed, indispensable.… Read the rest
Taboo U
Feb 9th, 2005 8:04 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere is a lot of discussion of the Taboo mentality going on right now – which is good, in the sense that the dangers of the taboo mentality are being pointed out, but it’s bad, in the sense that there is also a lot of Taboo mentality around right now. Is it worth it to have some people thinking badly to give an occasion for other people to explain what’s wrong with bad thinking? Wouldn’t it be better and simpler just to have everyone thinking clearly to begin with? Yes, probably, but since that’s not going to happen, it’s a good thing there are people around to do some nudging.
Salman Rushdie at Open Democracy, for example.
… Read the restAt Cambridge
Brown v Churchill
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is the issue free speech or academic standards?… Read the rest
A Genocide That Wasn’t?
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Thomas Brown says Ward Churchill invented a story of intentional smallpox infection.… Read the rest
Statement of Prof. Yakin Ertürk After Visit to Iran
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Discriminatory laws perpetuate violence against women. … Read the rest
Noah Feldman Reviews Books on Political Islam
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Concern about unintended consequences of civilizational encounters.… Read the rest
Salman Rushdie on the Danger of Taboo-thought
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The moment you say any idea system is sacred, freedom of thought becomes impossible. … Read the rest
The Star-nosed Mole and ‘Intelligent Design’
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Evolutionary biologists have offered hypotheses for how complex things evolve in nature. … Read the rest
Taboo Mentality at Odds With Free Inquiry
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How much we want to believe a proposition is not a reliable guide as to whether it is true.… Read the rest
Behe Jumps the Shark
Feb 9th, 2005 | By P Z MyersNick Matzke has also commented on this, but the op-ed is so bad I can’t resist piling on. From the very first sentence, Michael Behe’s op-ed in today’s NY Times is an exercise in unwarranted hubris.
In the wake of the recent lawsuits over the teaching of Darwinian evolution, there has been a rush to debate the merits of the rival theory of intelligent design.
And it’s all downhill from there.
Intelligent Design creationism is not a “rival theory.” It is an ad hoc pile of mush, and once again we catch a creationist using the term “theory” as if it means “wild-ass guess.” I think a theory is an idea that integrates and explains a large body of observation, … Read the rest
PZ Myers Gently Takes Issue With Michael Behe
Feb 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Behe doesn’t get to just wave his hands and have all the evidence for evolutionary biology magically disappear’… Read the rest
Should Biology be Taught via the Bible?
Feb 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No. Why bother debating?… Read the rest
‘Didn’t God do That?’
Feb 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In Kansas, the state-approved answer might soon be Yes. … Read the rest
