At UC Berkeley, philosophy is the thug gangsta of all majors.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Workers’ Liberty on Tariq Ramadan 
Apr 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
40 reasons he is a strange ally for the left.… Read the rest
What’s Wrong With Florida House Bill 837
Apr 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Legislative analysts say bill would give students right to sue over anything presented in class.… Read the rest
Florida Academic ‘Freedom’ Bill Struggling
Apr 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Professors actually sometimes disagree with students, even about evolution. Horrors.… Read the rest
Michael Walzer on the Danger of Military Metaphors
Apr 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A ‘fighting faith’ is good for activists but not for armies.… Read the rest
Terry Eagleton on Literary Competition
Apr 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Reviews Bourdieu-influenced portrait of literature as lethal combat.… Read the rest
Kelley-Hawkins Due to be Reforgotten
Apr 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not a conflicted black writer after all, just a dull white one. Oh.… Read the rest
Strained Readings of Kelley-Hawkins
Apr 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
As critics have labored to account for the almost aggressive whiteness of her characters.… Read the rest
What History Students Read
Apr 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Textbooks, mostly; then they take a test. Not good.… Read the rest
Carlin Romano: Saul Bellow Was the Best
Apr 8th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The novelist of record when it came to America’s peculiar high-low rap. … Read the rest
Hitchens on Bellow
Apr 7th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What other American novelist has so influenced non-American writers?… Read the rest
Nostalgia and Primitivism
Apr 7th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The most important features of civilization are soap and toilet paper.… Read the rest
Simon Baron-Cohen: Autism and Sex Differences
Apr 7th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Time to distinguish politics and science, and just look at the evidence.’… Read the rest
Why Do Some Leftists Ally With Islamists?
Apr 7th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Different people have different ‘shibboleths’…… Read the rest
An Appreciation of Saul Bellow
Apr 6th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He closed the gap between Thomas Mann and Damon Runyon.… Read the rest
New York Times Bellow Feature Page
Apr 6th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Links to reviews, interviews, articles, excerpts, from 1943 to today.… Read the rest
Ted Honderich
Apr 6th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Force-fed religion in childhood, could see that nothing in religion could possibly be true.… Read the rest
Philosophy is Gaining Popularity in Schools
Apr 6th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Students find the subject interesting, ‘which makes a change.’… Read the rest
