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.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Massimo's Picks!

* The electron is far too round! And that spells trouble for post-Standard Model physics.

* Birds offer some insight into the evolution of extended families, but much mystery remains.

* The NSA is both fascist and tyrannical, Mussolini and John Locke agree.

* We need Adam Smith's moral philosophy more than his economics. (Ignore the final rant about misguided liberals...)

* Philosophy of novels and philosophy in novels.

* The "Francis effect" and the fundamental quandary of modern religions (except Islam).

* Is the (over) documented life worth living?

* Why human beings need to fail.

* The shameless selling of attention deficit disorder.
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2 comments:

  1. MordanicusDecember 26, 2013 9:15 AM

    About Adam Smith we could say that most of his followers are like christian fundamentalists, in that they cherry-pick the parts they like and ignore the parts they do not like.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill RaybarJanuary 05, 2014 11:51 PM

    Yet this nasty habit is common to all walks if life including you and I.

    ReplyDelete

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