General Articles: Articles

Leibniz and the Leaves: Beyond Identity

Angels, humans, the leaves on a tree; is each one unique or just an example of its kind? Peter Pesic explains why Leibniz thought even leaves are individuals.
[Issue 30: December 2000 / January 2001]

Necessary Illusions

Roger Caldwell on nature’s little white lies.
[Issue 30: December 2000 / January 2001]

The Yuck Factor

Charles Fethe on the Wisdom of Repugnance.
[Issue 29: October/November 2000]

Theology & Falsification: A Golden Jubilee Celebration

Can religious beliefs be disproved? If not, what does this imply? 1950 saw the first appearance of a short article which changed the way theologians look at the problem. Antony Flew describes the circumstances in which he wrote it, and we mark the anniversary by reprinting his original article.
[Issue 29: October/November 2000]

Astrophysics & the Question of Sample Size

Michael Philips on the search for cosmic laws and theories.
[Issue 29: October/November 2000]

More Praise for Idleness

Bertrand Russell argued that the time spent working by an average person should be drastically reduced, work being an overrated virtue. Paul Western believes that ‘idleness’ is still not valued highly enough.
[Issue 29: October/November 2000]

Proper Sentiment and Human Cloning

Stephen Clark on the responsibilities of those who create new kinds of life.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

Sophie’s World: The Boardgame!

Chris Bloor spends a Summer afternoon wisely with white wine, some friends and a pair of dice.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

Cross-Dressing with Jacques and Judy

Peter Benson ponders the construction and deconstruction of our traditional notions about gender.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

At the Festival of Philosophy

Over the last 150 years the commanding heights of philosophy have been captured by paid, university-based academics. A feature of this shift has been the growth of conferences – hundreds take place each year, tiny ones and vast ones, some devoted to narrow topics such as the Early Wittgenstein and others covering the whole range of human thought. Opinions are divided about conferences, with some seeing them as a substitute for actually doing philosophy and others regarding them as essential to the exchange of ideas which can spark genuinely creative work. Here we present two very different views of two very different conferences.
[Issue 28: August/September 2000]

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