Monthly Archives: May 2024

A Table of Moral Polarities, Initial Take

Posted on 11 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve been making notes over the past month for a table of moral polarities, in order to align and summarize some of the concepts and the many news examples I’ve compiled lately. Recall how I’ve mentioned that certain attitudes, especially … Continue reading →

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Friday 10 May 2024

Posted on 10 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A round of assorted items collected on the web the past few days. Here’s that item about what universities are for, that I couldn’t find the other day. The Atlantic, Derek Thompson, 8 May 2024: No One Knows What Universities … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Morality, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Friday 10 May 2024

Estate Matters

Posted on 9 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Busy with estate matters today. It’s not easy being an executor. So many things to take care of. People who do not respond to your emails. One pic for today, almost full-sized, of books he left behind.

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Can Education Account for Evolutionary Change?

Posted on 8 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Steven Pinker on education, and how it might prioritize overcoming base intuitions that don’t apply in the modern world; The naturalistic fallacy and DeSantis’ and Fetterman’s objections to lab-grown meat. This month I’m working my way through the last ‘big’ … Continue reading →

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Trust in Science, Bertrand Russell, and Religious “Truth”

Posted on 7 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

An item about restoring trust in science, which doesn’t say very much except to improve education; A reading from Bertrand Russell, about religion, morals, and science; How a religious thinker thinks historians should only tell history that is “inspiring and … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Trust in Science, Bertrand Russell, and Religious “Truth”

Another Gloss on Philosophy

Posted on 6 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I think I mentioned this book before. It’s a compilation of rough summaries of twelve general topics, from American Studies to World History, with literature, music, philosophy, religion, science, and others in between, written for people who worry that their … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology, Philosophy, Religion | Comments Off on Another Gloss on Philosophy

Illiberalism, and the Wood Age

Posted on 5 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

“Illiberalism” and its history in the US; How perhaps the “Stone Age” is perhaps better described as the “Wood Age” — how science can update stale conclusions; How some “smart people” hold noxious conspiracy theories too; Kristi Noem would have … Continue reading →

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Photos from Austin

Posted on 4 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ll post these without explanation, for now.

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How Art and Education are Not about Making People Feel Comfortable

Posted on 3 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s reading is about art and education and how they’re not intended to make students feel comfortable, but rather to challenge their parochial assumptions and expand their worldviews; And a bunch of everyday items, today mostly about the right’s conspiracy … Continue reading →

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Progress and Retreat

Posted on 2 May 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A reading from Steven Pinker, about progress the MAGA folks are reacting against; Double standards about Trump and presidential immunity; J.D. Vance and protesters; DeSantis and woke banks; the National Day of Prayer; another Republican taking advantage of a bill … Continue reading →

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