Okay, now we’re cooking with Crisco. Here’s the abstract for an article , in the August issue of the journal Political Theory , called “Sovereignty and the UFO,” by Alexander Wendt (Ohio State Univ.) and Raymond Duvall (Univ. of Minnesota): Modern sovereignty is . . . . Continue Reading »
From the Language Log , a note on Sir William Jones, the great scholar credited with identifying the Indo-European family of languages and founding modern historical linguistics: “At an early stage in his life, Jones’s father had considered attaching him to a chambers to get a legal . . . . Continue Reading »
I did read Lennard Davis’ new essay on Woody Allen—or, at least, I read it up to the point where Davis said that Woody Allen “stares at a world that Dostoevsky could not bring himself to imagine when he said that without God there could be no morality.” But then, somehow, I . . . . Continue Reading »
Most observers agree that education in the sciences in the United States is not where it should be. Commentators like Richard Dawkins think that the lion’s share of the blame must go to that tireless agent of premodern darkness, the religious right. Since the test of intellectual seriousness . . . . Continue Reading »
Earlier today, Keith Pavlischek passed along news that the Democratic Party has dropped its “safe, legal, and rare” platform on abortion. Ironically, the dropping of the word “rare” seems eerily appropriate, as Crain’s reports that 72 abortions occur for every 100 live . . . . Continue Reading »
Christopher Hitchens has a column in the latest issue of the Atlantic on the short stories of Saki. It’s all right, I guess. Not my favorite account, but, then, any mention of Saki is good, if only to remind readers about him. But how could Hitchens leave out the single greatest Saki story, . . . . Continue Reading »
Jody recently sent me an article from the science blog Gene Expression entitled ” Historical Dynamics and contingent conditions of religion.” Basically, what the piece argues is that the same types of mathematical formulas that Peter Turchin uses to explain the rise and fall of states . . . . Continue Reading »
A brief but troubling interview with the Republican nominee, posted by the Weekly Standard . “John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned,” says his campaign website , “and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not . . . . Continue Reading »
There is a story out today that I find very disturbing, for it both reflects the apparent urge among some organ professionals to cross crucial ethical boundaries and promotes public confusion about when someone can be properly declared dead. It involves heart transplants from babies and implies . . . . Continue Reading »
This news comes from Natalie Stilwell, a graduate student in moral theology in northern Virginia: Yesterday I came across a striking article from the science news site LiveScience: ” The Pill Makes Women Pick Bad Mates .” The results of a study headed by evolutionary psychologist . . . . Continue Reading »
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