From the monthly archives:

August 2003

The Seed of Liberalism

August 11, 2003

– While in Iraq, Thomas Friedman had dinner with two muslim liberals, one being the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, the other a Shiite cleric named Sayyid Iyad Jamaleddine. Friedman is heartened, as am I, of their ambition to secularize the middle-east states.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have no idea whether these are the only two liberal [...]

Read the full article →

Elevated Opinion

August 11, 2003

– There’s quite an interesting debate going on in the comments to the Carelessness and Inattention post. I thought I may as well drag some of the action out the shadows of the comments box and into the bright light of the front page.
The prodigious Robert Light continues to treat us at length to [...]

Read the full article →

Anti-Interventionism

August 11, 2003

– Nice overview of Dennett’s Freedom Evolves, an excellent book, in Blackburn’s review in the American Scientist. Someday–SOMEDAY–this subtle, accurate conception of human nature and human choice is going to get through.

Read the full article →

Carelessness and Inattention

August 5, 2003

– Derbyshire has a great encapsulation of the psycho-epistemology of conservatism. Derbyshire likes reason well enough, but wants to put it in its place. If we attempt to reason everything through to its logical end, we will, like Hume, find we can be sure of nothing. In practical affairs, we might find ourselves paralyzed if [...]

Read the full article →