Perhaps the apology floats in a vacuum and doesn’t need anyone to receive it.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Official Wants Da Vinci Movie Banned 
May 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Coz it’s blasphemous.… Read the rest
Friends and Colleagues Sign Letter
May 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Very anxious about the fate of our friend, we urge his immediate release.’… Read the rest
Worries Over Torture, Forced ‘Confession’
May 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Jahanbegloo accused of relations with foreigners.… Read the rest
Janet Afary, Juan Cole on Jahanbegloo Arrest
May 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
MESA and ISIS express concern in letter to Khamenei.… Read the rest
Scott McLemee on Pierre Rosanvallon
May 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Neither giving two cheers for democracy, nor calling for more of it; what does that leave a philosopher to do?… Read the rest
Dave Hill on Identity
May 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
While identity politics can be a rational response to oppression they can also be deeply reactionary.… Read the rest
Go and Sin no More
May 10th, 2006 5:43 pm | By Ophelia BensonLet’s talk about sin. We don’t talk about sin enough, I’ve noticed. We’re very slack that way. Very lax. Very slothy and loose and – well – sinful. So let’s give it a look-see.
First let’s see what a godless philosophy type has to say about it.
…ideas of right and wrong can be entirely separated from ideas of what is sinful. Aristotle, for example, thought of good and bad in terms of what allowed human beings to flourish as rational animals, with no reference to God’s will. Whereas sin separates us from the divine, doing wrong separates us from our true natures or our fellow humans.
Got it. Okay. Sin separates us from the divine, so for those of … Read the rest
Baggini Guardian Takeover
May 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Do you mistrust the government or the media more?… Read the rest
Baggini Asks: Wot is Sin?
May 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Aristotle thought of good and bad with no reference to God’s will. … Read the rest
Opus Dei Synonymous With Homophobia
May 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Has not shaken off rumours of brainwashing, homophobia, murky political influence.… Read the rest
Equality Minister, Opus Dei, Gay Rights
May 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is there a problem?… Read the rest
Baggini Misunderstands Sin Shock-horror
May 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If humans are made by God, rational animal’s happiness involves conformity to God’s will. Big if.… Read the rest
‘Vatican Astronomer’ on Creationism as Paganism
May 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Said the idea of papal infallibility had been a PR disaster.… Read the rest
Twirling
May 9th, 2006 10:48 pm | By Ophelia BensonA commenter raised an interesting point on the pontifical post, a point that I’ve been pondering on and off (mostly off) ever since JS cc’d me his replies to the HERO interview.
The point the commenter raises is the same one JS raises: the idea that it’s good to teach pseudoscience in universities because otherwise people get smug and lazy. Bridget in comments:
Students who are not exposed to a range of theories with stronger or weaker truth claims, do not develop the ability to critically judge the validity of what they are taught – they become lazy thinkers.
JS in the interview:
… Read the restI’m not comfortable with consensus, so I think if it turned out that the kinds
Radio Free Europe Interview With Jahanbegloo
May 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The fourth generation is very attached to democracy and pluralism and has a global view.’… Read the rest
Iran Confirms Arrest of Jahanbegloo
May 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Authorities cite charges of ‘contacts with foreigners, including the Monarchists’.… Read the rest
‘Devout’ Christian Dies During Fast
May 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Died ‘devoting herself to the Lord’ because of her ‘strict’ and ‘strong’ Christian beliefs.… Read the rest
‘Faith’ Schools and Gender Inequality
May 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Can educational parity be squared with religions that traditionally subjugate women? … Read the rest
Review of Frederick Crews on Fuzzy Ideas
May 9th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Essays informed by the same hostility to woolly, untested thinking that drives Crews’ writing on Freud.… Read the rest
