Tag Archives | science

The Vindication of Reason

Feature Article by , September 29, 2018

Nathanael Blake invites me to “discuss our differences over a bottle of whiskey and a large stack of books.” I’ll say yes to the whiskey, though I’ll have a few additions of my own to make to his list of books. This is his introduction to a case that the Enlightenment ideal of rationality is […]

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Hurricane Florence Proves that Weather Is Climate

Feature Article by , September 14, 2018

During the approach of Hurricane Florence, the left has been going all Pat Robertson on us, claiming that the storm is a higher power’s vengeance on America for our wickedness. No, it’s not God who is sending this storm to smite us for our sinful debauchery. It’s global warming that has come to punish us […]

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What Does It Mean to Be a Parrott?

Commentary by , August 30, 2018

Five Things You Need to Read Today August 30, 2018 1. Overhanging Existential Dread A while back, I described the dominant mood of the Trump presidency as one of “overhanging existential dread.” For every good thing we get out of this administration–say, a reasonably good Supreme Court appointment or two–there is always the question looming […]

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How to Defend the Enlightenment Without Really Trying

Feature Article by , August 5, 2018

The Trump era—which has been characterized by a rise of anti-intellectualism, the ideological muddling of the right, and a swerve toward illiberalism on both sides of the political debate—has, by way of compensation, also produced a mini-revival of interest and debate about the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment. One of the most prominent entries in […]

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Science That Lives by the Narrative Can Die by the Narrative

Feature Article by , June 21, 2018

“Science” is all the rage these days, particularly among those who preen themselves as the “party of science.” We’re not just supposed to love science. We’re supposed to love it with an intensity so great, we need to drop the F-bomb to express it. We’re supposed to learn about science from popularizers who are alternately […]

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The High Road of Hope and Prosperity

Commentary by , June 20, 2018

Five Things You Need to Read Today 1. Did Monticello Just Evict Thomas Jefferson? Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, has just completed a restoration of the house’s outbuildings and slave quarters. The way the New York Times describes it, this is being used as an excuse to evict Jefferson from his own house. The […]

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Progressives Against Enlightenment

Feature Article by , June 6, 2018

One of my concerns about the Trump era is that it signals a wave of anti-intellectualism on the right, a collapse in concern for basic ideas. It has also triggered something of an anti-intellectual response on the left, because Trump is the bogeyman who justifies blind, frenetic “resistance” in place of thoughtful criticism and reasoned […]

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Just “Imagine,” or Trust But Verify?

Commentary by , April 30, 2018

Five Things You Need to Read Today Here is your latest update, for subscribers only, recommending five stories that are worth catching. 1. Just “Imagine”–or Trust But Verify? So is this peace overture from North Korea for real? Well, maybe. But probably not. North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-Un has visited South Korea–in itself a first–and […]

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Five Things You Need to Read Today

Commentary by , February 4, 2018

Here’s your weekly update, for subscribers only, drawing your attention to five stories that are worth catching. Today, the main theme is the struggle we’re having these days between reason and dogma. 1. Donald Trump, Libertarian? Donald Trump ran for president as an economic nationalist. But has he governed as a libertarian? That’s the upshot […]

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Five Things You Need to Read Today

Commentary by , January 28, 2018

Here’s your weekly update, for subscribers only, drawing your attention to five stories that are worth catching. Today, the main theme is our struggle to assert facts over narratives or symbolism. 1. How Bad Ideas Happen I have lamented before about how many bad ideas for the expansion of government–the basic income, the individual mandate, […]

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