From Humanitas, James J. Dillon (SUWG): The Tears of Priam: Reflections on Troy and Teaching Ancient Texts; Quentin Taylor (RSU): John of Salisbury, the Policraticus, and Political Thought; Michael P. Berman (Brock): Locke the Hermenaut and the Mechanics of Understanding; William F. Byrne ( St. John’s): Burke’s Higher Romanticism: Politics and the Sublime; Mark T. Mitchell (PHC): Michael Polanyi, Alasdair MacIntyre, and the Role of Tradition; and George Bragues (Guelph): Richard Rorty’s Postmodern Case for Liberal Democracy: A Critique. From The Wilson Quarterly, Theo Anderson on One Hundred Years of Pragmatism: William James grappled with the great question of modern times: How is it possible to believe? A century later, his answers are still fresher and more relevant than most. From Philosophy Bites, does the end justify the means? An interview with Brad Hooker on consequentialism; and an interview with Simon Blackburn on moral relativism.
For the first time, researchers have published the DNA sequence from both sets of chromosomes in a single person. That person is none other than pioneering genome researcher J. Craig Venter. One man's DNA shows we're less alike than we thought. In the Genome Race, the Sequel Is Personal: A newly decoded genome makes clear that the variation in the genetic programming carried by an individual is much greater than expected. An article on biology and belief: Foundations of faith? If not religion, What? Science can’t talk with faith, but philosophy can. Alan Contreras argues for a shift in who does the debating in our continuing national argument. A survey finds that the least religious of all medical specialties is psychiatry. A review of The Death of Sigmund Freud: Fascism, Psychoanalysis and the Rise of Fundamentalism by Mark Edmundson.
The U.S. News Rankings Roll On: Academic leaders seek alternatives, and participation in the survey drops, but no one expects the magazine's college guide to fade away. The Academy as a Community Greenhouse: The “ivory tower” analogy is outdated, and comparing colleges to businesses is shortsighted. A review of God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America by Hanna Rosin.Mr. Rodgers Goes to Dartmouth: A cautionary tale about a businessman who ventured back into the Ivory Tower. From Ralph, taking cat-naps four or five times a day helps to keep you in the pink, and the ivy-covered halls of academe, with their windy faculty meetings and frequent seminars, have long provided an ideal venue for this practice; and a letter on boredom and academia. Literary boredom: Why is academic writing so boring? Academics love a dull read.
