Hilary Benn says the International Criminal Court is collecting evidence.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Thin-skinned Syndrome 
Oct 1st, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Was guy who mumbled ‘nonsense’ at Jack Straw thrown out because offensive to foreign secretary community?… Read the rest
Freud and his Critics: a Discussion
Oct 1st, 2005 | By Allen Esterson, Richard Warnotck, Paul PowerFrom B&W’s Letters page, a discussion of Freud, Webster, Masson, the unconscious, the seduction theory. Allen Esterson is the author of Seductive Mirage: an Exploration of the Work of Sigmund Freud.
Richard R. Warnotck, 25/09/2005
Understanding history may not be absolutely essential to understanding psychology but it is at least very helpful. The truth is that Webster gets some of Freud’s ideas just wrong, so his arguments are directed not so much against Freud as against his caricature of Freud. Consider the issue of ‘unconscious emotions’.
Here is Webster, page 250:
“One of the central objections to Freud’s methodology, however, is that by positing the existence of an Unconscious he effectively deepens the very mysteries which he claims to … Read the rest
A Problem in Democracy
Oct 1st, 2005 1:46 am | By Ophelia BensonThis article by Ishtiaq Ahmed raises an issue I fret about a lot. It’s one which doesn’t get discussed much, especially not in unequivocal and non-euphemistic terms. The issue is: democracy is widely seen as a good thing, and in many ways it is a good thing, but – there is a problem. The problem is that there is no magic mechanism that prevents majorities from voting to take away or deny the rights of some people – of even a majority, such as for instance women. The disputes over the Iraqi constitution are all about that problem, obviously, and yet the problem is seldom put in quite those terms. But it is a very real problem, which is why … Read the rest
Richard Lewontin Reviews Ruse and Others
Sep 30th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Change, not progress, was the ideological leitmotif of evolutionary theory.… Read the rest
Can Blogs Help Popularize Good Academic Books?
Sep 30th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They’re an improvement on reading the catalogue aloud, at least.… Read the rest
Jerry Fodor on Simon Blackburn on Truth
Sep 30th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Fodor wonders if there is more silliness around now than there has always been.… Read the rest
Harold Bloom Should Try Harder
Sep 30th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Lacks the good teacher’s humility, good popularizer’s ability to make a complex subject clear.… Read the rest
Both Sides of Culture Wars Are Populist
Sep 30th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Multicultural left and populist right differ only in preferring different popular cultures.… Read the rest
Journal of Religion and Society Article
Sep 30th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If religion has receded in some western nations, what is the impact on their populations?… Read the rest
Sartre, Beauvoir, Letters, Daughters, Copyright
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Adopted daughters dispute book on Beauvoir-Sartre relations.… Read the rest
Baudrillard, Virilio, Žižek on September 11
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘These three texts present theoretical ideas that are largely familiar…’… Read the rest
The Great Thing About ID
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It takes all that pesky uncertainty out of science. Whew!… Read the rest
ALF Has Launched New Wave of Attacks
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We have identified and tracked down many of your senior executives and also junior staff…’… Read the rest
ALF Not Returning Telegraph’s Calls
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Animal Liberation Front is thought to be behind the threats.… Read the rest
Animal Rights Militia Sends ‘Warning Letters’
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Drop HLS or you will face the consequences.’… Read the rest
Animal Rights ‘Activists’ Threaten Nurseries
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Leapfrog Day Nurseries warned to sever all links with Huntingdon Life Sciences.… Read the rest
Evolution in the Dock
Sep 29th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Live Science gives details on anti-evolution legislation in 17 states.… Read the rest
Scott McLemee Reads the Classier Tabloid
Sep 28th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How does anyone keep up with all the secondary literature, let alone the two-headed alien babies?… Read the rest
Another Mock Dictionary
Sep 28th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Leadership: An undefined quality attributed to bosses on public occasions. … Read the rest
