online archive
12:00PM
AUG 29 2007
Philosophy, social science and human nature
A review of On Truth by Harry G. Frankfurt. A review of Relativism and the Foundations of Philosophy by Steven D. Hales. A review of Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy by John Rawls. A review of The Moral Imagination: From Edmund Burke to Lionel Trilling by Gertrude Himmelfarb. A review of Simplexity: The Simple Rules of a Complex World by Jeffrey Kluger. A review of Smoot's Ear: The Measure of Humanity by Robert Tavernor. A review of The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization by Thomas Homer-Dixon. A review of The Threat to Reason: How the Enlightenment Was Hijacked and How We Can Reclaim It by Dan Hind. A review of Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays by Frederick Crews.
From TNR, an interview with Peter Singer on the ethical difference between hunting and dog fighting, and why both of those are minor cruelties in the scale of things. What is disadvantage? How should we treat those in society who are most disadvantaged? An interview with Jonathan Wolff. Battle lines being drawn for new war over stem cells: With restrictions in countries such as the US, Germany and Australia nearing an end, research floodgates seem set to spring open and with them a whole new set of quandaries for patients and doctors. Rapid advances in genetic testing promise to transform medicine, but they may up-end the insurance business in the process. Public fears aside, scientists mimic nature’s genetic scrambling to bolster fruits and vegetables, as well as beer and whiskey.
A review of Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates our Mental World, by Chris Frith. Sex, shopping and thinking pink: The brains of men and women are, indeed, different. Through analysis, gut reaction gains credibility: In a conversation with Gerd Gigerenzer, this German psychologist looks at intuition and how we use it. A review of The Top 10 Myths About Evolution by Cameron M. Smith and Charles Sullivan. Head Case: Two fossils found in Kenya raise evolutionary questions. A review of Living with Darwin: Evolution, Design, and the Future of Faith by Philip Kitcher.
