It’s become hip to regress into childhood.… Read the rest
Pick up Another, More Challenging Book 
Jun 23rd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘…the outlandish claims that were frequently made for Potter made you wonder whether some of these people had ever read anything else.’… Read the rest
Creationism Gaining Ground in the US
Jun 22nd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Dini case, a conspicuous ‘debate’ in Tucson, a new ‘Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination’ in Ashcroft’s Justice Department.… Read the rest
Words Do Matter
Jun 22nd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Under God, one man one vote, Muslim child – language does shape our consciousness.… Read the rest
Whiteness Studies
Jun 21st, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Race is a fiction, therefore everyone must learn to be completely obsessed by it. Eh?… Read the rest
A Recipe not a Blueprint
Jun 20th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Matt Ridley on the way genes and experience interact.… Read the rest
Say Anything and Say It Murkily
Jun 20th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A mash note to Alan Sokal in the Guardian.… Read the rest
A Debate on ‘Diversity’ in the Arts
Jun 19th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Whether the arts should be judged on aesthetic grounds, or on ethnic representation.… Read the rest
Who Took What When?
Jun 19th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The reporter who investigated what happened at the Baghdad Museum says the waters are still being muddied.… Read the rest
Bristol Reaffirms Admissions Policy
Jun 19th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bristol University will continue to consider backgrounds as well as academic records.… Read the rest
A Psychologist’s Choice
Jun 18th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Authoritarian cults that demand sensitivity or else, or hard-headed researchers who ask questions.… Read the rest
Atwood on Orwell
Jun 18th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How quickly rebels can move to the other side.… Read the rest
Virginia Woolf Being Unpleasant
Jun 18th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Woolf’s early notebook reveals – surprise! – she had her flaws.… Read the rest
How We Do Love Female Victims
Jun 18th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Virginia Woolf told jokes, including obscene ones, Doris Lessing points out.… Read the rest
A Rich and Moving Elegy
Jun 17th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Richard Wollheim on Bernard Williams in The Independent.… Read the rest
Not New but Timely
Jun 17th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An interview with Bernard Williams in the Guardian last November.… Read the rest
The precautionary principle
Jun 17th, 2003 | By Julian Baggini"Genetically modified crops raise more questions than they answer. Insufficient
laboratory tests have been done on the effect of GM crops before going to
field-scale trials. The precautionary principle means that, if you are unsure
of what the result will be, especially if it is going to be so serious, it
would be wiser not to do it until more evidence is available."
RSPB spokesperson. Source: Belfast Telegraph, 4 June 2003
If you want to see a good idea become misunderstood and abused, give it a clear
and simple name. Very often, this is the cue for people to start mistaking the
clarity and simplicity of the nomenclature for clarity and simplicity in the
idea itself.
Such is the … Read the rest
Grayling on Williams
Jun 16th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A.C. Grayling on Bernard Williams in The Financial Times.… Read the rest
Williams in The Times
Jun 15th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Another good obituary essay on Williams’ work and why it mattered.… Read the rest
Who Would Mate With Rational Economic Man?
Jun 15th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is Feminist Economics less silly than it sounds?… Read the rest
