We must not conflate the progress that scientific advancement offers us with the idea that debate becomes redundant in the face of an increased awareness of scientific fact.
Some the darkest deeds in modern history were justified and committed by those convinced of the rational, practical and downright progressive nature of their cause.
You might think that being an atheist is pretty straightforward – all you have to do is not believe in God (or gods) and you’re in the club. But as with theism, atheism comes in different forms where the central idea is bundled up with other essential ideas. If you dissent from these additional articles […]
The BNP is usually described in the mainstream media as a party of ‘the extreme right’, ‘the far-right or even just ‘the right’. This annoys people like Dan Hannan who point out that much of the BNP’s policy platform is demonstrably leftwing. However, the trouble with this is that if the mainstream right did succeed […]
What happens when two atheists and two agnostics meet for lunch? When the folk in question are, respectively, John Gray, Alain de Botton, Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Bryan Appleyard, the answer is a very interesting conversation. Writing for the New Statesman, Bryan Appleyard provides a flavour: "The talk is genial, friendly and then, suddenly, intense when […]