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The principle of human equality

I continue to disagree with Wesley J. Smith ( here and here ) that the near universal assent to a norm of human equality is likely to help much in making the case for all the positions that Smith and I agree in supporting. As I said in my previous post, when people invoke a principle of equality, . . . . Continue Reading »

Psychology, fame, and death

There’s a good article in this morning’s New York Times , about the desire for fame as driven by an existential need for meaning in the face of death, and by the need for acceptance by others. Thanks, psychology! For catching up, that is . . . . . . . Continue Reading »

Human equality and rights

I am not sure why Robert T. Miller is so determined to focus on the empty half of the partially filled glass, rather than acknowledge the portion that contains fluid. I have acknowledged that society’s general belief in equality is not game, set, and match, but rather that the philosophy of . . . . Continue Reading »

“The Guardian,” British Muslims

In a recent posting on this site , Ross Douthat alerted us to an editorial in one of England’s most liberal papers, The Guardian, and pointed to a dangerous logic in part of its argument. The editorial decried the use of torture by Pakistani counterterrorism police. If reports are accurate, . . . . Continue Reading »

Material continuity in the resurrection

In their response to me , Robert George and Patrick Lee argue that some form of material continuity, indeed, a partial identity with respect to the material aspect of the human person, is part of what it means to believe in the resurrection. As I understand them, what they mean by "partial . . . . Continue Reading »

Internet child pornography

Buried in the course of Sunday’s New York Times front page story about pedophilia and the Internet , there was an unexpected kernel of good news. There are “a shrinking number of Internet locations for sexual images of minors.” A pedophile who goes by the screen name Heartfallen . . . . Continue Reading »

American democracy and rights

Although I have tried mightily, I cannot find much merit in the idea that there is a "party of death" at work in American politics. It seems to me that this formulation states the problem wrongly. Indeed, our biotechnological enthusiasts are nothing if not partisans of life, infinitely . . . . Continue Reading »

W.B. Yeats: Protestant

In my blog on Bobby Kennedy , I know I made one mistake, and at least two readers have written the editors (not me) to allege that I made another one, "a terrible error." The mistake I know I made was to give the wrong name to the great little journal of the Methodist Church, edited by . . . . Continue Reading »

Principle of Equal Importance

I would like to concur with Wesley J. Smith’s hope that talk about equality will be a saving grace in our public discourse by providing a basis on which virtually everyone can agree, but I think that there is little basis for this hope. The reason that virtually everyone agrees on a principle . . . . Continue Reading »

Material continuity in the resurrection

(This post was written by Robert P. George and Patrick Lee) We are grateful to Stephen Barr for his comments on our recent posting in which we say that the "reassembly" conception of the Jewish and Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body is most probable. We described that . . . . Continue Reading »

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