About Rationally Speaking


Rationally Speaking is a blog maintained by Prof. Massimo Pigliucci, a philosopher at the City University of New York. The blog reflects the Enlightenment figure Marquis de Condorcet's idea of what a public intellectual (yes, we know, that's such a bad word) ought to be: someone who devotes himself to "the tracking down of prejudices in the hiding places where priests, the schools, the government, and all long-established institutions had gathered and protected them." You're welcome. Please notice that the contents of this blog can be reprinted under the standard Creative Commons license.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Massimo's picks

* A delightfully naughty editorial by Maureen Dowd on, you guess it, Sarah Palin!

* Simon Blackburn's review of Karen Armstrong's The Case for God. Could have been a bit stronger, but still...

* The neurobiology of uncontrollable desires.

* More on neurobiology: why we can't keep our mouths shut when we really ought to.

* The various shades of sex in nature, though I think the author pushes the biology beyond what it actually says.

* Not only positive thinking may be overrated, but negative thinking might be good for you...
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2 comments:

  1. Daniel MannJuly 11, 2009 1:55 PM

    I appreciated Blackburn's review of Karen Armstrong's "The Case for God." It is indeed hard to understand how someone who has written 15 books about God can maintain that we can only exercise silence in the face of God and not approach God with thoughts and theology. If a Creator-God exists, it makes more sense that this Reality would not only exercise our feelings but also our thoughts and lives.

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  2. J. Marcelo AlvesJuly 21, 2009 12:16 AM

    "Caribou Barbie is one nutty puppy."

    Best. Line. Ever! hahaha :-)

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