Daily Archives: February 3, 2010

Are the Problems with Evolutionary Theory Philosophical or Scientific—or Both?

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Science writer Peter Forbes recently reviewed Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini’s new book What Darwin Got Wrong, and Forbes agrees with the authors that there are real problems with evolutionary theory—yet they are not philosophical, but scientific:  [T]he problems for evolutionary theory are not philosophical. … Continue reading →

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A Pretty Darn Good Reason to Think that Evolution is True (if you have any doubts)

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

University of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne, from his admirable book, Why Evolution is True  (page 85): One of my favorite cases of embryological evidence for evolution is the furry human fetus. We are famously known as “naked apes” because, unlike … Continue reading →

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Peter Sprigg: Gays Should Get Out of the Military and Get Behind Bars?

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council in an exchange with Chris Matthews last night: Matthews:   Do you think we should outlaw gay behavior? Sprigg:  Well, I think certainly it’s defensible – Matthews:  I’m just asking you:  Should we outlaw … Continue reading →

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With Regard to the Internet, What Would Gandhi Do?

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

I found this Gandhi quote several years back while perusing an undated letter of his that I found in volume 49 of his Collected Works. At least that’s what I wrote down. My local branch library in Lancaster, Ca. just happened to … Continue reading →

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The Indifference of Generation-Spanning Stones to the Vissitudes of Human Experience

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

An introduction to Camus’s notion of the absurd, circa 1966, and a kind of theodicy prayer to the stones of Winchester Cathedral. And is the singer holding his nose?

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Quote of the Day

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Henry David Thoreau: Let us settle ourselves, and work, and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe, through Paris and London, through … Continue reading →

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A Cyber-Pearl Harbor?

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

The New York Times yesterday on what Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, told U.S. Senators could come to America over the next six months: Mr. Blair began his annual threat testimony before Congress by saying that the threat of … Continue reading →

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Christians, Not Muslims, Drove This Person Behind a “Veil”

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

The hooded man in the photograph above is from Uganda. He is seeking asylum in the United States, but he dares not show his face in public. Why? Because he is homosexual, and theocratic fundamentalists in Uganda have succeeded in instituting … Continue reading →

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