From Prospect, philosophers used to combine conceptual reflections with practical experiment; the trendiest new branch of the discipline, known as x-phi, wants to return to those days — some philosophers don’t like it. An interview with Simon Critchley, author of The Book of Dead Philosophers. From The Space Review, an essay on Darwin and evolutionary progress to the stars; and it is worth remembering that space is not the Old West. Before we can have thoughtful debates on how to curb our population explosion, we must first learn how to talk about it rationally. Is Zimbabwe a rogue state? Christopher Hitchens wants to know. A review of Copy, Rip, Burn: The Politics of Copyleft and Open Source by David M. Berry. A review of Fakers: Hoaxers, Con Artists, Counterfeiters, and Other Great Pretenders and Other Great Pretenders by Paul Maliszewski (and more and more and more; and more from Bookforum). The Google applications Maps, Earth and Street View are as controversial as they are popular. A review of Timothy Clack's Ancestral Roots: Modern Living and Human Evolution. From Slate, an article on Lincoln's laws of war: How he built the code that Bush attempted to destroy; and a look at the extraordinary life of a Chicago neighborhood's Abraham Lincoln statue. An interview with Steve Harvey, author of Act like a Lady, Think like a Man.
