archive

Legal philosophy, brain science and education

David Hugh-Jones (Essex): Federalism and Democratic Forms. Chris Bonneau (Pittsburgh): The United States Supreme Court: Continuity and Change. Mark Tushnet (Harcard): The Rights Revolution. Scott Shapiro (Michigan): The Hart-Dworkin Debate: A Short Guide to the Perplexed. Brian Z. Tamanaha (St. John's): Understanding Legal Pluralism: Past to Present, Local to Global. Brian Bix (Minnestota): Law as an Autonomous Discipline. Steven Douglas Smith (San Diego): Jurisprudence: Beyond Extinction? An interview with Steven Smith, author of Law's Quandary. If you are looking for the future of legal scholarship, chances are that you may find it not in a treatise or the traditional law review but in a different form, profoundly influenced by the blogosphere. A review of The Constitutionalist: Notes on the First Amendment by George Anastaplo.

From Metapsychology, a review of Neuroscience and Philosophy: Brain, Mind, and Language by Maxwell Bennett, Peter Hacker, Daniel Dennett, and John Searle; a review of Neuroethics. A review of Cerebrum 2007: Emerging Ideas in Brain Science; a review of The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God by David J. Linden; and a review of How the Body Shapes the Way We Think: A New View of Intelligence by Rolf Pfeifer and Josh C. Bongard. Mind Over Manual: Despite the great progress being made in neuroscience, we still don’t have a clear picture of the brain mechanisms underlying most mental illnesses. Low Technologies, High Aims: MIT has nurtured dozens of Nobel Prize winners in cerebral realms, but lately it has turned its attention toward concrete thinking to improve the lives of the poor.

The Washington Post asks educators, lawmakers and others for their views of No Child Left Behind, and what might improve it. Teaching Past the Test: Schools are leveraging data collected for No Child Left Behind to improve individual student performance. Students have real-life problems too: Grades and learning often pale in comparison to the hard-luck realities faced outside the classroom. You and Your Quirky Kid: What parents and experts say about the children who just don't fit in. An interview with William J. Bennett on all things education. Maryland's Joppatowne High School became the first school in the country dedicated to churning out would-be Jack Bauers. An interview with Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley, authors of Restless Virgins: Love, Sex, and Survival at a New England Prep School. Come Back, Mr. Chips: Stereotyping, low pay, lack of role models. Why the number of men teaching in schools is at a 40-year low.