Fascinating numbers in this Harris poll on 21st-century Americans’ beliefs about ghosts, astrology, witches, and other supernatural phenomena. For example: 73% believe in miracles. 61% believe in a devil. 40% believe in ghosts. 25% believe in astrology. And so on, with interesting breakdowns of the data based on sex, political affiliation, and amount of education. […]
American and Athenian religious belief Read More »
A vigorous culture carries on its debates at many levels and via many media, all the way down to the bumper sticker. I enjoy the cleverness that goes into many stickers, as well as the ongoing one-upmanship. These “Coexist” stickers have been around for awhile now: Islam, peace, men/women, Judaism, paganism, Taoism/Confucianism, Christianity — can’t
Coexist or Uncoexist? Read More »
I am reading Gurcharan Das’s India Unbound, and it is fueling my longstanding fascination with India. Das is former CEO of Procter & Gamble India and currently a columnist for Times of India. He grew up under Nehruvian socialism and state planning and watched it become a crippling disaster, and he has seen the dramatic
At a hotel recently I was zooming up in its sleek elevator to my room when I noticed something: no 13th floor.
The 13th floor and other superstitions Read More »
My theme will be the relationship between art and liberal cultures, focusing on economically free cultures especially.
Is capitalism bad for art? Read More »
One of the books I use in my Introduction to Philosophy course is Lewis’s Mere Christianity. It’s very clear and accessible and covers a wide range of traditional religious philosophical themes. I’m reviewing it now in preparation for the new semester which begins (yikes) in two weeks. I find Lewis’s chummy, let’s-pop-round-to-the pub-for-a-quick-one writing style
Why C. S. Lewis gives me the creeps Read More »
Congratulations to Virginia Murr (Rockford College class of 2006) for her First-Prize-winning essay in the FreedomWorks entrepreneur essay contest. Virginia was in the college’s rigorous honors program and a philosophy major, and since graduating she is developing her own writing career. Even better, especially for me, is the theme of her winning essay: Dr. Stephen
FreedomWorks, Virginia Murr, and me Read More »
Virginia Murr on the philosopher of Islamist terrorism: “The Power of Ideas: Sayyid Qutb and Islamism” [pdf]. Her extended essay explores the Qutb’s connection with historical Islam and contemporary movements such as Al Quaeda. (This essay was first posted at StephenHicks.org on September 4, 2004.)