Observers express surprise but Singer has always balanced harms and benefits.… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
Pamela Bone: It Is Women Who Will Reform Islam 
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Change must come from within, say the good liberals. No one said that about apartheid.’… Read the rest
Historical Research as Precondition of Dialogue
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We remain hostage to our sense of grievances. Our narratives have become our prison, paralyzing discourse and hindering understanding.’… Read the rest
Religious Bullies Emboldened by Successes
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘It would seem that the homosexual person’s rights trump the religious person’s rights.’… Read the rest
Simon Blackburn on Harry Frankfurt on Truth
Dec 1st, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Utility sits uneasily with truth; we need an explanation of how the virtue of truth can stand opposed to pragmatism.… Read the rest
Surprise at Muslim Scholars’ Rejection of FGM
Dec 1st, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘I thought Islam told us to do so,’ said Samar.… Read the rest
World Aids Day
Dec 1st, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
More than 36 million people of working age have the virus.… Read the rest
India Has Highest Number of Aids Infections
Dec 1st, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
At 5.7 million. More than 40 million people worldwide infected with HIV/Aids, UN says. … Read the rest
Nigel Warburton Interviews Stephen Law
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Consider the relationship between sentimentality and Christmas.… Read the rest
Scott McLemee on the Yale Book of Quotations
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Billie Holliday and Bob Dylan, worth the space, but ‘Plop plop fizz fizz’?… Read the rest
How to Train a Computer to Think Like a Person
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Intelligence Augmentation uses human beings as part of computer programs.… Read the rest
Ronald Dworkin Reviews Peter Kramer’s Freud
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Freudian analysis is not science; it is fashion, totally dependent on public acclaim.’… Read the rest
Why Arendt Matters
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Arendt blurred categories; a philosopher who offered notes on the very latest world affairs.… Read the rest
Michael Walzer on the Utilitarianism of Extremity
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When our deepest values are radically at risk, the constraints lose their grip.… Read the rest
Oral History Bumps into Regulation
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
With colleges wary of potential lawsuits, oral historians find their work caught up in regulatory reviews.… Read the rest
Nigel Warburton Interviews Richard Norman
Nov 30th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The success of scientific explanations of the natural world makes religious explanations redundant.’… Read the rest
Oxfam Says Most Afghan Children Not in School
Nov 29th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Girls are particularly losing out: 1 in 5 girls in primary, 1 in 20 in secondary school.… Read the rest
Oxfam Report on Education in Afghanistan
Nov 29th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Seven million Afghan children are out of school while five million children attend school.… Read the rest
Ken Livingstone on Multiculturalism
Nov 29th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘What is prohibited is one group or person imposing their will on others.’ Tell that to al Qaradawi.… Read the rest
