These past two weeks have seen an escalation in ecological activism with protesters taking control of the arteries of major cities in the UK, bringing traffic to a standstill, in order to force radical action on the government regarding climate control. While I feel encouraged by young people taking action over an issue they are… Continue reading Climate change as a scientific paradigm (part 1)
Alice in the Departure Lounge
Alice was not happy. A holiday at the Hotel Humpty Dumpty had seemed like a fine idea when she had read the reviews in the tourist brochure. How could it be that, after just checking into a hotel, everything in your life could become so difficult? Her discussion with the hotel concierge the previous day… Continue reading Alice in the Departure Lounge
Beauty: more than the eye of the beholder (part 2)
Changes in the apperception of the beautiful across historical time and the very individuality of the experience of beauty, have led to a false doctrine of the relativity of beauty and the negation of the idea that there is anything essential, constant or communicable regarding beauty. In fact, the history of the development of knowledge… Continue reading Beauty: more than the eye of the beholder (part 2)
The Soul of the World: Teilhard de Chardin’s Evolutionary Pantheism and its Challenge to Secular Humanism
Despite the obvious attractions of secular humanism, particularly in freeing individuals from conformity to religious doctrines unsupported by science, and by transcending religious particularism and exclusivity by focusing on the universality of the human experience, there are several problems with it. One is, at a fundamental philosophical level, there is no more evidence (there might… Continue reading The Soul of the World: Teilhard de Chardin’s Evolutionary Pantheism and its Challenge to Secular Humanism
Free Speech: At What Cost?
One morning the prophet Zarathustra went into the village square to address the people. Looking around he was happy to see a good number had already gathered in expectation. However a wave of panic washed over him as he discovered, on inserting his hand into the inside pocket of his recently purchased Kanuk Softshell jacket,… Continue reading Free Speech: At What Cost?
Alice Checks out of Hotel Humpty Dumpty (Or Does She?)
“I’d like to check out today,” announced Alice to the hotel receptionist who greeted her with a fixed smile. “I trust everything was to your satisfaction,” was his polite reply. “Well, not exactly. The hotel has not really lived up to the 5* billing it received in the tour guide I was given last year.”… Continue reading Alice Checks out of Hotel Humpty Dumpty (Or Does She?)
Humpty Dumpty Explains Br-eggs-it
“I’m sure that is Humpty Dumpty sitting atop that wall,” Alice thought to herself, espying him from a distance. As she approached she remarked out loud “But he looks just like an egg.” “And she looks just like a typical Br-eggs-iteer with her public school accent and old-fashioned attire,” came back the riposte. “I’m sure… Continue reading Humpty Dumpty Explains Br-eggs-it
Beauty: more than the eye of the beholder (part 1)
In my estimation there is no more perverse doctrine than that which states that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. Not because it is not true that the experience of beauty is apprehended and appreciated at the level of individual perception, which is, in some sense, a redundant observation, but because of the… Continue reading Beauty: more than the eye of the beholder (part 1)
Book Review: Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life
London: Allen Lane, 2018; 412 pages, paper, £20 Jordan Peterson is one of a new wave of public intellectuals who have become known primarily through the medium of their presence on You Tube. Initially, he used the medium to broadcast his lectures given at the University of Toronto. However, he became more widely known about… Continue reading Book Review: Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life
Is It True that There Is No Such Thing as Truth?
After a day or two among the people of one village he visited, the prophet Zarathustra began to see that they were a tight-knit community where everyone took an interest in what others were doing and readily offered help when it was needed. But as a consequence of this getting along, they had all come… Continue reading Is It True that There Is No Such Thing as Truth?