Oscar Wilde’s literally genius can be found in many literary styles, but it was his use of paradox that truly set him apart from all others. The possible exception to this, of course, was a contemporary of Wilde’s: G.K. Chesterton. In many ways—politics, temperament, religion, and taste in art—the two men could not have been
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On May 20th, 1806, one of the great philosophers of the 19th century was born: John Stuart Mill. Known for his promotion of utilitarianism, a philosophy declaring that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness,” Mill also penned a number of
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Chalk up another brilliant school suspension to the zero-tolerance police. The perpetrator this time? A 5-year-old with a *gasp* plastic bubble gun. A local news station reports: “The girl’s mother, who goes by Emma, said she was shocked when she got a call from the school telling her she needed to pick up her daughter and
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In Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, the philosophical emperor Marcus Aurelius makes a wonderful appearance. In this poetic portrayal of the truths of history, Marcus Aurelius (played by Richard Harris) chooses the fictional Maximus as his true spiritual heir, because his errant son Commodus is not a man of virtue as his father is. The interesting question is
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Do women who have more children live longer? That’s the conclusion of a recent, peer-reviewed study cited in this January article by The Atlantic’s health editor, Julie Beck. It is supported by other, less recent studies. What’s interesting is that it runs counter both to intuition and to other evidence. After all, the stress of
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Over the weekend, I had the fun of revisiting one of my long-time favorite films, The Pride of the Yankees. For those unfamiliar with The Pride of the Yankees, the movie portrays the life story of baseball legend Lou Gehrig, who died at the age of 37 from ALS, the disease which now bears his
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