General Articles: Articles

Theology & Falsification: A Golden Jubilee Celebration

Can religious beliefs be disproved? If not, what does this imply? 1950 saw the first appearance of a short article which changed the way theologians look at the problem. Antony Flew describes the circumstances in which he wrote it, and we mark the anniversary by reprinting his original article.
[Issue 29: October/November 2000]

Astrophysics & the Question of Sample Size

Michael Philips on the search for cosmic laws and theories.
[Issue 29: October/November 2000]

More Praise for Idleness

Bertrand Russell argued that the time spent working by an average person should be drastically reduced, work being an overrated virtue. Paul Western believes that ‘idleness’ is still not valued highly enough.
[Issue 29: October/November 2000]

Proper Sentiment and Human Cloning

Stephen Clark on the responsibilities of those who create new kinds of life.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

Sophie’s World: The Boardgame!

Chris Bloor spends a Summer afternoon wisely with white wine, some friends and a pair of dice.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

Cross-Dressing with Jacques and Judy

Peter Benson ponders the construction and deconstruction of our traditional notions about gender.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

At the Festival of Philosophy

Over the last 150 years the commanding heights of philosophy have been captured by paid, university-based academics. A feature of this shift has been the growth of conferences – hundreds take place each year, tiny ones and vast ones, some devoted to narrow topics such as the Early Wittgenstein and others covering the whole range of human thought. Opinions are divided about conferences, with some seeing them as a substitute for actually doing philosophy and others regarding them as essential to the exchange of ideas which can spark genuinely creative work. Here we present two very different views of two very different conferences.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

Survival of the Fittest

Does ‘survival of the fittest’ simply mean ‘survival of those best able to survive’? If so, is the theory of evolution just an empty statement of the obvious? Fred Leavitt unravels a logical challenge to Darwinism.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

The Singer Revolution

Ethicist and animal rights advocate Peter Singer has faced public outrage over his views on infanticide and euthanasia. Richard Taylor explains why he regards Singer as the most important thinker of the present generation.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

Needs & Wants

Peg Tittle wonders if she can be happy alone without feeling guilty about it.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

...