Monthly Archives: June 2009

Knowledge and happiness

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

Writer Christopher Benson reviews The Wreck of Western Culture: Humanism Revisited, by John Carroll, in the Weekly Standard.  The book, which I haven’t read, appears to lodge the familiar conservative attack on the alleged pretensions of secular humanism to improve … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 30 Comments

Social science & engineering

Posted on June 17, 2009 by David Hume

A recent Bloggingheads.tv featured two philosophers, and was titled “Explaining and Appraising Moral Intuition”. A considerable proportion of the discussion involved the utility of cognitive and evolutionary psychology in probing the reflexive roots of our moral intuitions, and how that … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, economics, philosophy, science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

God on Campus

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

Religious readers of this site periodically rebuke me for misunderstanding the nature of prayer.  Prayer is a way of communing with God, they say; no informed believer would ask or expect God to intervene on their or others’ behalf.  Thus, … Continue reading →

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Theater of death and life

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

I highly recommend Ionesco’s Exit the King to anyone who is in New York.   It is an almost unbearably wrenching exploration of mortality delivered by the most astounding theatrical performance–by Geoffrey Rush (for which he won a Tony)–I have seen in recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Banana

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

John Tierney documents further blows to human exceptionalism: moping coyotes, rueful monkeys, tigers that cover their eyes in remorse, chimpanzees that second-guess their choices. I suppose that such signs of proto-moral reactions in animals are neutral regarding our alleged origins … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Start at the same point, go in opposite directions

Posted on June 11, 2009 by David Hume

I really enjoyed this discussion between Cato’s Brink Lindsey and David Frum. It illustrates my point about the necessity of common referents to have fruitful discussions. Brink is a libertarian who has rejected fusionism and now wishes to co-opt a … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Religion, nationality & trust of the Other

Posted on June 11, 2009 by David Hume

At Gene Expression I have a post up where I explore the relationship between lack of trust of other religions and other nationalities across nations. As many might expect, the relationship was close. On the other hand, there was no … Continue reading →

Posted in data | 7 Comments

Angels, Demons, Science, and Meaning

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Heather Mac Donald

New York Times science columnist Dennis Overbye has a nuanced column on the semi-condescending attitude towards science as a potential source of wisdom in Angels and Demons, the new Tom Hanks movie (which I haven’t seen).  I think that Overbye actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 14 Comments

Where Pretty Lies Perish

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Bradlaugh

I’m by no means the first to admit it, but I find the Roissy in DC blog hilarious and totally addictive.  He’s one of us, for sure (secular, Right); and his stone reductionism appeals to me enough to override the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 33 Comments

Disenchantment

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Just finished Thomas Metzinger’s new book The Ego Tunnel (which you can get for a few dollars at Abebooks — Amazon want some ridiculous price). It’s a very good survey of current mind studies. Metzinger is a philosopher, but he’s up … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy, science | 15 Comments