Even on the left, even the secular left, criticism of religion is not allowed.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Faked research and how it is caught
Oct 15th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThough the process worked and the fraud was exposed, scientists wish the process had worked a bit faster.… Read the rest
Good idea but over-optimistic
Oct 13th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonJeremy Rifkin’s ideas about hydrogen fuel cells may depend too much on starry-eyed hopes for ‘new consciousness’.… Read the rest
He was admired, his ideas were rejected
Oct 12th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonJohn Tooby examines the paradox of Darwin’s celebrity despite widespread skepticism about natural selection.… Read the rest
A Darwinian Left
Oct 11th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonStudy of the psychological effects of inequality attracts thinkers to evolutionary theory, thus beginning to heal the breach between sociobiology and the Left.… Read the rest
Senator Clinton queries theology-based research
Oct 10th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnti-abortion doctor who writes books on “healing power of Jesus” appointed by Bush administration to drug-review panel.… Read the rest
Nobel economists go against the grain
Oct 9th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonEconomists add cognitive psychology, laboratory experiment to the old ‘rational choice’ view.… Read the rest
Hobbes was right, Rousseau was wrong
Oct 8th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSteven Pinker interview explores why sociobiology is so upsetting to both left and right.… Read the rest
Venus and Mars revisited
Oct 8th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonStudies on jealousy agree on evolutionary origin but differ on how it plays out.… Read the rest
It depends on how you frame the question
Oct 7th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnother skirmish in the long-running debate over how evolution shapes sexual differences.… Read the rest
Just another theory, yet again
Oct 6th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA Georgia school board, in Postmodern vein, says diversity of opinion is the way to go–at least when it comes to evolution.… Read the rest
Euphemistic evasion or sententious aphorism
Oct 5th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDidactic impulses or nationalist piety can shape the work of even the most detached biographer.… Read the rest
Ghastly, shameful, inadvertently hilarious
Oct 4th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMarina Warner on the spiral of duplicity between thoughtful men and women and bogus mediums.… Read the rest
Pauline Kael against sleep-inducing lies
Oct 2nd, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonVulgar Kaelism gets it wrong: she did not think popular movies were automatically art, and she was not a moral relativist.… Read the rest
Self-esteem not a miracle cure after all?
Oct 1st, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWhen scholars actually look at evidence, they find rapists and failing students as pleased with themselves as the next person.… Read the rest
When commitments hit home
Sep 27th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCroatian President Stipe Mesic tells his fellow Croatians they must honour all their commitments, not only the painless ones.… Read the rest
Duking it out on the air
Sep 26th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonShouting match over genes versus parents ruffles calm of Radio 3.… Read the rest
It’s not the parents
Sep 25th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSteven Pinker says parents have less influence than they think, while peers have more.… Read the rest
It’s the parents
Sep 25th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonOliver James says emphasis on genes to explain human nature is a way to escape guilt.… Read the rest
Truth-skeptics make truth-claims
Sep 24th, 2002 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBernard Williams points out that Nietzsche did not settle for ironic chat or a smug nod at deconstruction-work, and nor should we.… Read the rest