Another road
by Ed's Apprentice Everybody thinks about his or her purpose in life. I figure going into their twenties most people think that purpose is pretty significant. However, getting out of their twenties -- and I'll be there soon -- I…
Bottleneck ethics
by John Rember 1. Lately I’ve been reading Peter Singer, a bioethicist and philosopher who argues, along with a good many pet owners, that animals are sentient and therefore eligible for personhood. But once you accept animals as persons, Singer…
The agenda revisited
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. (Arthur Schopenhauer, one of my philosophical heroes) ______________________ Based on recent comments in this space, and also in…
Dispatches from Central Absurdistan
1. In yet another reason to keep those shows on the air, reality TV breeds new body ideals. 2. It'll take a lot of rats to clothe plus-size models in the latest fashion accessory. 3. Encouraging us to keep the…
A Few Rocks from the Box: A Meditation
This guest post is authored by John Rember _____________________________________ 1. In my sophomore year of college I enrolled in a course that had given generations of students a painless way to satisfy the liberal-arts science requirement. It was known as…
Surveying the Field and Charting a Course
It's all the rage to talk about a double-dip in the industrial economy. That would be an economic trend in the shape of a W. I think an M is far more likely. The assumption of never-ending growth underlies all…
Leadership in the post-carbon era
I’m getting cranky, judging from several comments on this blog and on Facebook (where my latest entries have been posted and then re-posted by contacts there). Not to pick nits, but I’m getting crankier. But, like all rationalizing animals, I…