Blog 2 Columns Left Sidebar

Logical Fallacies in the Gun Debate 1
- Politics
- February 27, 2018
In 2017, the data website FiveThirtyEight declared that the U.S. had become more polarized on the issue of guns that at any time in the nation’s history. Because of the emotional nature of the debate, both gun control advocates and Second Amendment proponents increasingly resorted to violent rhetoric (“burn her!”), conspiracy theories, and especially irrational
READ MORE
Do Not Get a PhD in the Liberal Arts, Unless…2
- Education
- February 27, 2018
I have a Ph.D. in Theology. I’m happy I have the Ph.D., and it’s been useful to me both in my thinking and writing. But would I have gone on for a Ph.D. knowing what I do now? Probably not. Recently, my friend Dave Deavel published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled “The
READ MORE
What’s Really Behind the Multiverse Theory 0
- Science
- February 27, 2018
That there might be more than one universe, indeed infinitely many, seems at first to be more than a science-fiction fantasy. Respectable scientific cosmologists seriously posit and explore the hypothesis that there is a “multiverse.” But there’s good reason to believe that not all is as it seems. The piece I linked to above, which
READ MORE

Why Thoughts and Prayers are Better than Righteous Anger 0
- Philosophy
- February 26, 2018
It is fashionable to “prayer shame” those who offer “thoughts and prayers” as a response to violence. Public response to the gun violence at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is an example. If you did not deliver an angry diatribe against gun ownership, your failure to fall in line with the politically correct position is
READ MORE
Five Reasons Why Being Kind Makes You Feel Good – According to Science 0
- Culture
- February 26, 2018
Everybody can appreciate acts of kindness. But when it comes to explaining why we do them, people often take one of two extreme positions. Some think kindness is something completely selfless that we do out of love and care, while others believe it is just a tool that we cunningly use to become more popular
READ MORE
Prominent Magazine Ranks America as a ‘Flawed Democracy’0
- Politics
- February 26, 2018
The Economist magazine recently issued a study purporting to compare countries on the basis of how democratic they are. The U.S. ended up ranked as a “flawed democracy.” In one sense this is absolutely true. As great as America is, it will always be flawed, as will any other country in which human beings run
READ MORE

Logical Fallacies in the Gun Debate 1