To do philosophy well you have to know everything, and no one does.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Happy Darwin Day 
Feb 12th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Science is our most reliable knowledge system, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity.… Read the rest
Science Teachers Refuse to Read ID Statement
Feb 12th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The struggle between ‘Godly America’ and ‘Worldly America’ continues.… Read the rest
US Government Scientists Told to Alter Findings
Feb 12th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Commercial interests applied political pressure to reverse conclusions thought harmful to business.… Read the rest
Arthur Miller
Feb 11th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Writing plays was for him like breathing.… Read the rest
Death of a Playwright
Feb 11th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Michael Billington: ‘He had to create a tradition rather than inheriting one.’… Read the rest
More Republican Fans Than He Wants
Feb 11th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hitchens was getting bored with politics and politicians.… 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
Marxist Storm Eats Toast With Neocons
Feb 11th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sunday Times meets Norm Geras.… Read the rest
Michael Ruse’s Eulogy for Ernst Mayr
Feb 10th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Long, detailed, indispensable.… 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
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
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
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
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
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
Noah Feldman Reviews Books on Political Islam
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Concern about unintended consequences of civilizational encounters.… 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
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
Brown v Churchill
Feb 9th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is the issue free speech or academic standards?… Read the rest
