online archive
6:02AM
MAY 31 2007
Science, ethics and history
From The New Atlantis, Adam Keiper on The Trouble With Nanoethics; Leon Kass on The Right to Life and Human Dignity; and an essay on Brave New World at 75. A new issue of Edge is out. A review of From Epicurus to Epictetus: Studies in Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy by A. A. Long. A review of A Theory of Virtue: Excellence in Being for the Good by Robert Merrihew Adams. A review of Appearances of the Good: An Essay on the Nature of Practical Reason by Sergio Tenenbaum. A review of The Ethical Imagination: journeys of the human spirit by Margaret Somerville. A review of The Flight from Reality in the Human Sciences by Ian Shapiro.
From Seed, if we're serious about building a society that makes scientifically informed decisions, then science needs to figure out a way to get its message across effectively. From Salon, Inside the Creation Museum: Adam and Eve frolic amid the dinosaurs in the new $27 million museum that demonstrates Darwin has nothing on the Book of Genesis. Travelling via the US is a bit of a trial for Richard Dawkins, thanks to security gone mad. But later, he goes on to encounter another, lovely, kind of booby - and a terrific eco-friendly sports car. A review of The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould.
A review of Wild: An Elemental Journey by Jay Griffiths. A review of A Guinea Pig's History of Biology: the Plants and Animals who Taught us the Facts of Life by Jim Endersby (and more). Life decisions separate "hawk" from "dove": The way animals decide how to live their lives, and when to reproduce, may control their "personalities", according to a new model. Animals differ strikingly in character and temperament. Yet only recently has it become evident that personalities are a widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom.
Research finds children can perform approximate math without arithmetic instruction. A review of The Poincare Conjecture by Donal O'Shea. A review of Flat Earth: the History of an Infamous Idea by Christine Garwood (and more). Thomas Fleming reviews Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade. Evidence from ancient European graves raises questions about ritual human sacrifice. A review of The Great Pyramid by John Romer. And a review of Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination
