A science enthusiast, in light of the wonders of scientific exploration and discovery, might be tempted to adopt science as their sole mantra and belief system for understanding the world around them. One must be cautious, however, to avoid stumbling into the pitfalls and short-sightedness of scientism, which does not allow for any other systems …
If you're wondering whether mysogynyistic dominance has a foothold in your world, ask yourself this:
Why do some people think it is selfish to not want children?
There is glamour in laziness. It’s a kind of glimmering in the eye accompanied by lithe movements; like a Southern Georgia drawl, it is only possible to attain after years of indolence in the absence of worry. You cannot summon it; it must descend on you like lacy film. I feel rich in these moments, …
Humanism was an influence at the very heart of the Renaissance, and sought to restore education that was based on ancient Greek and Latin writings in an effort to renew the best aspects of the civilizations of Greece and Rome. These classical writings were meant to serve as a moral compass for how to best …
A colleague once asked me what I thought about the relationships between science and math. He was confounded by the seemingly shifting relationship between these disciplines, as he innately understood that there was a significant connection there, but could not quite make sense of it all. Why does physics seem to use so much mathematical …
I thought that I knew what racism was, and I also thought that I was a fair and unprejudiced person. I was wrong. Why is the heart of racism so difficult to discuss? How do we approach the problem of prejudice responsibly and with an eye to change? Conversations about race tend to focus on …
Continue reading What White People Don’t Know (about Racism)
Andrew Wyeth is most famous for the painting featured in this post, entitled Christina's World. Wyeth's detractors claim that the painter staged a "discovery"of hundreds of illicit, decades old paintings of his own making, featuring his muse and lover, Helga Testorf. The following is the transcript of an interview with the widow of the famous …
Thoughts on My Body: Sexuality, Feminism and Self-Concept in Generation X I wasn’t always the ugly kid in school. Petite, small-boned, with flaming red hair in curly ringlets and pale freckled skin: I hardly had a chance. I sailed through early childhood oblivious to my own rareness at first. My grandmother loved me so well …
The incarceration of Mary Mallon as a host of the infectious typhoid fever pathogen was an event which sparked much debate in the early 20th century. Several health officials spoke against her involuntary quarantine at Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island. She was even released from quarantine in 1910 due largely to the efforts of …
Continue reading Infectious Disease: Public Safety v. Personal Freedom
In Christine de Pizan’s Book of the City of Ladies, written circa 1405, the author places herself in the lead role of an allegorical tale of a philosophical journey in pursuit of truth. She confers with three daughters of God in dialogues that describe a very different sort femininity than was recognized in her time. …
Continue reading The Birth of Modern Feminism: 15th Century Europe
The Thinker 