Skepticism vs. cynicism: the modern day quest for certainty. Cynics are those who distrust most information they hear or see, and even more so when the information challenges their own system of beliefs. Because of this they tend to be intolerant of other people’s ideas. Skepticism, by comparison, is a key part of the critical
READ MOREAt times the works of Georges Bernanos may seem quite dark and penetrating. There is a brutal realism to his writings that acts as a mirror for the reader to pierce his own soul, to reflect upon his own evil and good. In The Diary of a Country Priest (1937), Bernanos follows the life of
READ MORELast week marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most famous magazine covers ever. In The Gay Science (1882), Friedrich Nietzsche’s character of the madman had proclaimed, “God is dead.” The Time cover for April 8, 1966, turned this proclamation into a provocative question for a world where religious practice was waning: But, though
READ MOREThe Independent is reporting on a thought-provoking AMA (“ask me anything”) on Reddit that featured an anonymous, though verified, criminal psychologist and his/her perspective on pedophilia. Paedophilia is a ‘sexual orientation’ like being straight or gay, according to a criminal psychologist. The idea that sexual attraction to children is an ‘orientation’ is highly controversial as
READ MOREA couple months ago, the Brookings Institution came out with a paper questioning the evidence on pre-K’s effectiveness. As author Dale Farran noted: “The proposition that expanding pre-K will improve later achievement for children from low-income families is premature. Premature as well is the presumption that solid research exists to guide the content and structure
READ MOREGermany’s path toward Nazism during the 1920s is a story well known. The most familiar facets in this story are the indoctrination of children through the Volk Movement and the creeping anti-semitism of the bourgeois and the German bureaucracy. What has received less attention is the radicalization of universities and students during the Weimar era
READ MOREAmericans are strong and confident about many things. But when it comes to money and financial security, that confidence is thrown out the window. According to a 2015 Pew report: “Only half of Americans (51 percent) said their households are financially secure, and more than half (56 percent) reported worrying about their finances over the
READ MOREAs Intellectual Takeout has reported in the past, American students can be a bit clueless when it comes to historical events, even relatively recent ones like the Holocaust from World War II. But some teachers are seeking to change that through a new project known as History Unfolded. According to The Washington Post: “The project,
READ MOREThe day before Easter in the Western world, King Abdullah of Jordan, a Muslim, announced that he is funding the restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. That may seem like mere inside baseball to non-believers. But in the wider picture of what’s sometimes called the “clash” of Muslim and Western civilizations,
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