‘There is always the possibility for manoeuvre in defining identity.’… Read the rest
All entries by this author
What Is an Intellectual? 
Apr 12th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The British are not at all exceptional in suffering from ‘Dreyfus-envy.’… Read the rest
BHL on a Demagoguery Called ‘Youthism’
Apr 12th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Popular opinion is another master, no less capricious, emotional, arbitrary, than the master it corrects.… Read the rest
Free Exercise
Apr 11th, 2006 7:42 pm | By Ophelia BensonWell, this ‘Christians suing for right to be intolerant‘ thing is certainly a place where free speech rights (and the ‘free exercise’ clause and reason and religion and quite a few other things) get interesting, or difficult, or both.
… Read the restRuth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant. Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality. But the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she’s a senior, bans speech that puts down others because of their sexual orientation. Malhotra sees that as an unacceptable infringement on her right to religious expression. So she’s demanding that Georgia Tech revoke its tolerance policy. With her lawsuit, the 22-year-old student joins a growing campaign to
John Sutherland Interviews Lewis Wolpert
Apr 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If religion is a result of the way our brains are wired, all the more reason to question the truth of our beliefs.… Read the rest
Royal Society on Creationism in Schools
Apr 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Belief that Earth was formed in 4004 BC not consistent with evidence from geology, astronomy, physics.… Read the rest
James Buchan on Adam Smith
Apr 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Adam Smith of the neo-conservative right has abolished not just history but also morality. … Read the rest
School Head Cross About ‘Faith’ Schools
Apr 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Government warns of religious division and fundamentalism but approves ‘faith’ schools. … Read the rest
Bunting Keeps Flailing Away at Enlightenment
Apr 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Frets at self-righteous certainty, gobsmacking ignorance, irrational bogeymen.… Read the rest
Christians Sue for Right to be Intolerant
Apr 11th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Christian Legal Society forms a national group to challenge tolerance policies in federal court.… Read the rest
Disputation and Obedience
Apr 10th, 2006 8:24 pm | By Ophelia BensonTodd Gitlin asks a searching question:
Sects are always in need of heretics to blame, expel and punish. First, fervor takes hold, then rigidity. Righteousness dictates uniformity. Dissent seems dangerous, even treasonous. The spirit hardens: You’re either with us or with the evildoers…Why is the left so determined to eat its own? Sometimes it can be explained as the fervor of fighters determined to root out impurities.
Indeed – and the fervor of fighters determined to root out impurities is a very scary thing. And before I get all righteous, I should note that I probably have a tendency that way myself. Perhaps a strong one. There are quite a few ‘impurities’ that I want, if not to root … Read the rest
The Passion Of Amartya Sen
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We can be more than one kind of person, given different contexts, avers our argumentative Indian.’… Read the rest
Misguided ‘Respect’ for Traditions
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Aisha begged child-protection authorities for help; not wishing to be seen as culturally insensitive, they refused.… Read the rest
There is Nothing ‘Protective’ About Child Marriage
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Feudalism, exploitation, caste hierarchy, patriarchy, tradition, seeing girls as slave labour.… Read the rest
‘The Next Person to be Killed is Shirin Ebadi’
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Through this belief – that the intellectuals had abandoned God – they justified the killings as religious duty.… Read the rest
The Sectarian Mind is at Home Everywhere
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Todd Gitlin wonders why the left is so determined to eat its own.… Read the rest
Germany’s Second Unification
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Neither multicultural pieties nor hysterical fear-mongering will help anyone.… Read the rest
Is Fred Barnes Kidding or Deluded?
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Many people find ‘insurgent’ and ‘rebel’ unlikely designations for George W Bush. … Read the rest
Bernard-Henri Lévy Savaged in a New Book
Apr 10th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Best-selling books established Lévy as popular intellectual, irritated less well-known philosophers.… Read the rest
