Category Archives: Philosophy

“We think and dream and fuss and project entire worlds into existence”

Posted on Saturday 11 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A new NYT newsletter called Gravitational Pull; Remembering Roger Williams, an early American advocate of religious liberty; And about early American philosophers Jonathan Williams and Benjamin Franklin; And revisiting Richard Einhorn’s Voices of Light, after 30 years; it’s still beautiful. … Continue reading →

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Today’s Words of Wisdom

Posted on Friday 29 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Richard Dawkins defends being a “cultural Christian” and suggests being a cultural scientist, appreciating the grandeur of our “increasingly understood universe”; Bertrand Russell suggested that intelligent people are those who see the world as it is, not as they would … Continue reading →

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Dan Barker, CONTRADUCTION

Posted on Wednesday 13 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

(UK: Hypathia Press, 2024, 111pp, including References but no index) Dan Barker (Wikipedia) is an atheist writer who was once an evangelical Christian pastor. I read one of his earlier books, LIFE DRIVEN PURPOSE (review here), which challenged Rick Warren’s … Continue reading →

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UFOs, Consciousness, Being Savvy

Posted on Saturday 9 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Adam Frank on the new UFO data; Thoughts about being savvy, and reality-literacy, and the lack of evidence for both UFOs and God; Carlo Rovelli denies there is a “hard problem” of consciousness. – – – One more about the … Continue reading →

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The Most Dangerous Vision

Posted on Sunday 15 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A brief post today, after a long afternoon/evening watching the Oscars. (On the West Coast, what with pre-shows, it ran from mid-afternoon to nearly 8pm.) So instead of linking news or opinion items today, let me note a nascent thought … Continue reading →

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Malcolm Gladwell, THE TIPPING POINT

Posted on Tuesday 10 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” (Little, Brown, March 2000, 279pp, including 20pp endnotes, acknowledgements, and index) This was a popular and well-received book when published back in 2000, and launched Gladwell‘s book career. Most of his books … Continue reading →

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Further Evidence

Posted on Wednesday 14 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Another busy day; no time for a big think piece. Short pieces then. Every day there’s more evidence of my running themes. * ICE are the terrorists. The Telegraph, 14 Jan 2026: Moment ICE agents drag ‘disabled woman’ from car … Continue reading →

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Our Outlaw Nation

Posted on Wednesday 7 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

This popped up on Facebook, but I don’t subscribe to the magazine and can only see this much of the article. It’s about the new book by Johan Norberg, which came out in September. It’s on my TBR shelf. The … Continue reading →

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Strategies of Reality Denial

Posted on Friday 5 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s basic strategy is “deny deny deny”; Why young men turn to Nick Fuentes’ neo-Nazi movement; How Trump is dragging the White House press corps, and perhaps all modern civilization, down into his gutter; How Trump is reviving rules about … Continue reading →

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Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 5 (conclusion)

Posted on Tuesday 11 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom” With second subtitle “Why the Meaningful Life is Closer than You Think” (Basic Books, 2006, xiii + 297pp, including 54pp acknowledgements, notes, references, and index. Hardcover with no dust jacket.) (Post 1, Post … Continue reading →

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