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 …
Michael Gove might benefit from doing some philosophy
One thing philosophers do well is draw distinctions. One of those distinctions is between justification and explanation. One aspect of this distinction concerns the scope of these notions. Almost all events can be explained (this extends even, perhaps, to the Big Bang, see: A Universe From Nothing | Lawrence Krauss). Why did the volcano erupt? …
Efficiency: Real or Imagined?
A recent report by the think tank Centreforum has recommended reforms to the system of childcare in the UK with the aim of making it more affordable. BBC News – UK childcare needs to be more affordable – CentreForum. One way of making it more affordable would be to decrease the quality of the service offered. …
