Legislators are not the best people to answer the question ‘What is truth?’ … Read the rest
All entries by this author
Sean Wilentz on Arthur Schlesinger 
Mar 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘He often quoted the great Dutch historian Peter Geyl, that “history is argument without end”.’… Read the rest
Scott McLemee Looks at the Inspiration Biz
Mar 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Faculty had chance to attend ‘Making a Difference: It Begins With You.’ They skipped it.… Read the rest
A reader
Mar 1st, 2007 12:27 am | By Ophelia BensonIn sharp contrast to Our Terry, here’s a nice thing – a former MP (Labour) for Reading East who is reading Why Truth Matters and thinks it’s worth reading.
… Read the restIf you go to the Butterflies and Wheels site, you will find a fascinating thread prompted by a piece by Nick Cohen in the Observer yesterday; the piece was largely about the jailed Egyptian blogger Abdel Kareem Suleiman, but also mentioned Chinese government attempts to police the internet – but as so often it is the comment thread which proves the more illuminating. It is a fact that hardly any bloggers posting in English have had anything to say about Kareem. It is a fact, for instance, that when I posted
If it’s difficult, fix it
Mar 1st, 2007 12:12 am | By Ophelia BensonTime to get out the trusty old grain of salt, and put it to good use. It’s to do with Terry Eagleton again.
… Read the restIn the preface to his latest book, The Meaning of Life, Terry Eagleton writes that his subject matter is fit only for the crazed and the comic, and hopes that he inclines more towards the latter. “I have tried to treat a high-minded topic as lightly and lucidly as possible,” he says. He has certainly managed the light bit…But comic? Or lucid? There are precious few gags on offer – unless you count passing references to Monty Python and Douglas Adams – and the prose is so dense in parts, you can re-read a passage several
Do Women and Girls Have Human Rights?
Feb 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Christian and Muslim conservatives unite to block women’s rights and freedom.… Read the rest
Stuart Sim Defends Postmodernism
Feb 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘When religions enter politics, they have a depressing habit of gravitating towards theocracy.’… Read the rest
No ‘Third Way’ Between Islam and the West
Feb 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
To have to defend the Enlightenment against an accusation of fundamentalism is pretty ludicrous.… Read the rest
Terry Eagleton Prides Himself on Being ‘Difficult’
Feb 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘As Britain’s answer to Derrida, Althusser and Deleuze, Eagleton has standards to maintain.’… Read the rest
Richard Sykes Talks to Alok Jha About Science
Feb 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We live in a world that likes things to be mysterious and not explained in detail all the time.’… Read the rest
Russian Schoolgirl Loses Evolution Lawsuit
Feb 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When schools impose this theory on children, they violate the human right of free choice.… Read the rest
Letters to Guardian About Stuart Jeffries Piece
Feb 28th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Adherents to the supernatural explanation of life apparently cannot bear to hear any opposition.’… Read the rest
George Scialabba on AI vs Meditation
Feb 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The science of mind doesn’t appear to have a generally agreed-on theory of anything.… Read the rest
Tests Accused of Mocking Muhammad
Feb 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Which is odd, since they were sponsored by the Iranian government.… Read the rest
Nick Cohen Talks to Simon Baron-Cohen
Feb 27th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Evolutionary explanations of the brain are not as politically hazardous as they once were.… Read the rest
Prospect Asks 100 Thinkers The Big Question
Feb 26th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What’s next? What will take the place of left and right?… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on Transgressive Genius
Feb 26th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An academic journal that publishes a fringe review of a fringe book owes readers some background.… Read the rest
Stuart Jeffries Moans Over ‘Dearly Held Beliefs’
Feb 26th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Dean of Southwark calls atheists as fundamentalist as tube-bombers. Really.… Read the rest
‘DNA Shows the Tomb is That of Jesus’
Feb 26th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Tests on samples’ show Jesus and Mary Magdalene were a couple. Eh?… Read the rest
The Bones of Our Lord
Feb 26th, 2007 | By R. Joseph HoffmannHappily coinciding with our Lenten observances, CNN and the Discovery Channel have colluded to bring us startling news, just ahead of the feast of the resurrection: namely, that Jesus lay for two thousand years in a family tomb next to his beloved bride, Mary (or Murray) Magdalene, and their little son, Judah, also known as Timmy. “The Lost Tomb of Christ” will air on March 4th. The miracle of the millennia has become the love story that could not be told.
“The Lost Tomb of Christ” will air on that paragon of scientific rectitude The Discovery Channel, home of such mind benders as “The Miracles of Jesus,” “Da Vinci’s Code,” and “Mysteries of the Bible.” Essentially the hoopla is all … Read the rest
