Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow and the implications for morality and universalism.… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
PZ on Sam Harris v Sean Carroll 
May 9th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Can we use science to justify maximizing the well-being of individuals? No.… Read the rest
Sean Carroll on Sam Harris and a science of morality
May 9th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There’s no simple way to aggregate well-being over different individuals. … Read the rest
Sam Harris: Toward a science of morality
May 9th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
His goal is to start a conversation. “Few things would make this goal harder to achieve than for me to speak and write like an academic philosopher.”… Read the rest
Metamagician: tone does matter
May 9th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Many readers don’t get tone, but the cure for that isn’t less discussion of tone; it’s more intelligent discussion of tone. … Read the rest
Evan Harris is no stranger to principle
May 9th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Harris was a rare voice in Parliament for reason and evidence and against quackery and nonsense.… Read the rest
Heidegger as Nazi philosopher
May 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The seminars of 1933-5 show the outright transformation of Heidegger’s thought into a tool of Nazi indoctrination.… Read the rest
Worldwide trends in honor killings
May 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Honor killings are based on codes of morality often reinforced by fundamentalist religious dictates.… Read the rest
Palin thinks US law should be based on bible
May 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Cites 10 commandments, which mandate monotheism, sabbath, methods of swearing, iconoclasm.… Read the rest
Prayers and god ruled ok at inaugurations
May 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Because they’re longstanding traditions therefore they are constitutional, federal appeals court rules.… Read the rest
Scripture classes “lose” half of students to ethics
May 8th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Because of course the scripture classes owned the students to begin with.… Read the rest
Hesba law lets fanatics sue intellectuals
May 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There are many in Egypt who regard this type of legal vigilantism as ludicrous.… Read the rest
Egypt: call to ban Thousand and One Nights
May 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A direct result of opening Egypt to the fundamentalist winds of Wahhabi Salafism.… Read the rest
Saudi photo of women with naked faces shock
May 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Titanic struggle between reactionaries and lunatics plays out in Wahhabi kingdom.… Read the rest
The pastor and the rent boy
May 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Baptist minister George Rekers co-founded influential right-wing Family Research Council, hired male prostitute to “carry heavy baggage.”… Read the rest
The document trail: William Levada
May 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The New York Times gives 81 pages of primary docs.… Read the rest
NY Times looks at Cardinal Levada’s record
May 7th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Complicated by the fact that his congregation’s decisions are shrouded in confidentiality rules.… Read the rest
Religious Right’s Public Piety Pageant Goes On
May 6th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But this year Shirley and James Dobson were not invited to the White House. … Read the rest
Jesus and Mo are sad about bigots
May 6th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nobody seems to care what they think any more!… Read the rest
Behzti is no longer taboo
May 6th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Of course that doesn’t mean you can actually see it performed.… Read the rest
