Jonathan
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Sporting success and injustice
August 6, 2012
Those following team GB’s performance at the Olympics will have much to be pleased with this week. But even whilst celebrating, silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead had her mind on matters of justice, remarking on the sexism that she’s confronted in her cycling career. Typically – as with many sports – women cyclists earns less money, …
David Gauke and cash in hand: why do we care?
July 24, 2012
UK Treasury minister David Gauke hit the headlines this week when he claimed that paying tradespeople in cash with the hope of a discount is morally wrong. The comment comes in the context, of course, of heightened attention more generally to issues of tax avoidance. The comedian Jimmy Carr recently was the subject of much …
From maths education to philosophy: what’s the story?
A report on this morning’s news claims that Britain does badly in the maths education stakes. Nothing new here really–we’ve been told how bad we are at maths education seemingly for decades now; the point today seems to be that lots of people doing engineering–and masses doing biology–have little maths in their schooling. In part …
Stephen Hawking is Wrong: Philosophy is Alive and Well
July 2, 2012
What use is philosophy, given the phenomenal success of modern science? According to many contemporary scientists, the answer is: no use at all. Most famous of the current anti-philosophy scientists is Stephen Hawking, who recently proclaimed that ‘philosophy is dead’. The influential physicist and author Lawrence Krauss talks about ‘moronic philosophers’ (including Columbia University philosophy …
Boris Johnson: To inevitable and beyond
June 26, 2012
Boris Johnson claimed last week that attempts to keep Greece in the Eurozone will fail. Whether or not his conclusion turns out to be right, it is instructive to look at the two reasons he gives. The first is that it is a mistake to believe in inevitable progress—that “history is a one-way ratchet, an …
Morality and the Law: A taxing problem
June 21, 2012
The recent hubbub about celebrity tax avoidance provides a neat demonstration of some of the connections between morality and the law. An initial response from many who employ strategies of ‘aggressive tax avoidance’ (to be sharply distinguished from the illegal practice of tax evasion) is to argue that since their actions are permitted by the …
Extremes, caricature and the difference between painting and literature
June 18, 2012
“I’m only interested in extremes” says Martin Amis in a recent interview with the Guardian. Do extremes work particularly well in literature? They seem to have worked well for Amis, but not every successful author in the modern age has shared his preference. Proust’s characters often have a certain eccentricity, and are often marked by …
Dawkins said what?!
June 13, 2012
Dawkins said what?! On Monday (May 28h) the Observer carried an article where Richard Dawkins was waxing lyrical about the Bible. The surprising thing was that he was supporting Michael Gove’s plan to give all schools a King James Bible: “The good book should be read as a great work of literature – but it …
Being funny is no laughing matter
June 8, 2012
Last week, Telegraph columnist Tom Chivers weighed in on an ongoing debate about whether men are more funny than women. He calls for an end to it: the nature vs. nurture debate is complex, and we shouldn’t expect any clear view on whether respective funniness is the result of genes or socialisation (the philosopher J.S …
Can we be serious about Harry Potter?
June 6, 2012
On Friday May 18th, The Telegraph had a sniffy article about a conference on Harry Potter as literature. Correspondent Sarah Rainey said: “If Dumbledore and Hagrid can be granted the status of Don Quixote and Hamlet, it’s alarming to contemplate what’s next. A dystopian interpretation of A Very Hungry Caterpillar? The Twilight series as an …
