The disappearance of the New Critics isn’t just another evolution in intellectual history. It’s a critical gap.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Discover’s Top 100 Science Stories 
Dec 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pollution, consciousness, planets, arctic thaw, dark matter, drought.… Read the rest
Farrukh Saleem on Truth and Denial
Dec 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Who will take the honour out of these killings? Who will expose the horror from under the hijab?… Read the rest
There is a Discursive Machine of Hegemony
Dec 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Soumaya Ghannoushi says something about Muslim women. Not clear exactly what.… Read the rest
Ramin Jahanbegloo at World Philosophy Day
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Philosophy teaches you, and you teach others, how to think otherwise. To question and to criticize.’… Read the rest
Jonathan Derbyshire on The Philosophy of Insults
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We should see certain kinds of offended feelings as being among the costs of free thought and inquiry… Read the rest
Grayling Replies to Dalrymple on ‘New’ Atheists
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The old arguments have been forgotten by the reviving, resurgent, insistent, assertive-to-the-point-of-bombing religionists. … Read the rest
Life as a Fundamentalist Mormon
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Married off at 18 to a man of 50 – then things deteriorated.… Read the rest
The Pressures Inside Mr Parvez’s Head
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The question is how to deal with people who believe the laws of God should trump the laws of humans.… Read the rest
A Stunning Performance in Mental Gymnastics
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Madeleine Bunting has taken the floor to wild applause.… Read the rest
We Are Allowed to Use Reasons in Voting
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We can even decide not to vote for X because we disagree with X’s religious views. Imagine that.… Read the rest
Eric Hobsbawm Interview
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Excerpts translated for the German-challenged.… Read the rest
Cosmopolitan Courage on the Subway
Dec 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A Muslim Bangladeshi student risked injury to help three Jewish people who were being beaten up. … Read the rest
Saudi Rape Victim ‘Pardoned’
Dec 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Now all she has to fear is murder by male relatives. She will be allowed to live in a state shelter.… Read the rest
Theo Hobson Gives the Argument from Xmas
Dec 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Carols make Theo Hobson lachrymose, therefore Dawkins is a bad man. See?… Read the rest
King’s Pardon as Arbitrary as the Justice System
Dec 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The king remains certain the verdicts were fair. The pardon is just because…whatever.… Read the rest
Egyptian Beheaded for ‘Sorcery’ in Saudi Arabia
Dec 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A useful and fun way of scapegoating foreigners. … Read the rest
Scholars Hook Up With Data on Facebook
Dec 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A new way of doing social science, says Harvard sociologist. Predecessors could only dream of such data.… Read the rest
Daily Mail Has a Good Idea
Dec 16th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But the EU got there first.… Read the rest
Mo Learns to Love Science
Dec 16th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Tweak that gay gene.… Read the rest
