With the growing popularity of Zen Buddhism in the West, virtually everyone knows, or thinks they know, what a koan is: a brief and baffling question or statement that cannot be solved by the logical mind and which, after sustained concentration, can lead to sudden enlightenment. But the truth about koans is both simpler—and more […]
Opening a Mountain by Steven Heine Read More »
Are you looking for a Christmas present in the form of a book? Here is one that almost anyone could enjoy – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It’s January 1946. London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Read More »
The power of Darwin’s theory of natural selection is beyond doubt, explaining how useful adaptations are preserved over generations. But the biggest mystery about evolution eluded him: how those adaptations arise in the first place. Can random mutations over a mere 3.8 billion years solely be responsible for wings, eyeballs, knees, photosynthesis, and the rest
The Arrival of the Fittest by Andreas Wagner Read More »
Elly Griffiths (http://www.ellygriffiths.co.uk/) was born in London. The inpsiration for her books about forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway came from her husband who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist. Elly Griffiths lives near Brighton but draws inspiration from the wild Norfolk coast. The summary of her latest detective story is as follows. It’s Brighton in 1950.
Here is a really meaty read in moral philosophy. It asks what are virtue and vice, and how do they relate to other moral properties such as goodness and rightness? Thomas Hurka, Professor of Philosophy at Toronto, (http://thomashurka.com/) defends a distinctive ‘perfectionist’ (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/perfectionism-moral/) view according to which the virtues are higher-level intrinsic goods, ones that involve morally
Virtue, Vice and Value by Thomas Hurka Read More »
Patricia Cornwell (http://www.patriciacornwell.com/) has legions of fans having sold more than 100 million copies of her fiction. Readers relish and appreciate the authenticity of detail in her tales of ‘misbehaviour’. Medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta is her most celebrated creation and she’s been busy again, this being her 22nd mystery. The summary of her latest sleuthing is as
We tend to divide people pretty crudely into good and bad in our moral estimation. How much, though, do background factors play in moral behaviour? Genetics, parenting, economic conditions, quality of schooling, peer group association, and a whole host of other factors have influence. The individual has had no choice or control over any of these.
Hard Luck by Neil Levy Read More »
Let’s face it. A great deal of science writing is impenetrable to the non professional. Not only is modern science so deep, broad and complex, it is full of its own jargon. Richard Dawkins has put together an anthology of some of the finest science writing of recent times. It proves that science can be
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing Read More »
Hugely popular John Grisham (http://www.johngrisham.co.uk/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Grisham) has used his professional experience in law and politics to great effect in his fiction. Many of his works including The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client and A Painted House have made it onto film and television. In this novel from October 2014 Grisham offers a new hero
