Notes and Links

* There has been quite a bit of discussion about accommodationism and anti-accommodationism the past while. For those who haven't followed it, you can find it by way of Technorati. I'll summarize it so you are all caught up. With admittedly a few notable exceptions, the argument is between one group of self-righteous atheists and another group of self-righteous atheists, both preening themselves on their rationality, fiercely debating whether religious people should be treated like lunatics and fenced off or treated like idiot children and patronized. And that's about all of it, since the rest of it consists mostly of vague generalization, handwaving and sometimes logically inconsistent arguments, and agenda-driven claims without adequate evidence: tangible barbarie della riflessione. Debates between Boors and Prigs quickly cease to be of much intellectual interest and begin to take on the appearance of farce. Eventually one begins to realize that the whole thing might be moot, anyway; if the people implementing the policy are like the people debating, it's bound to be bungled regardless of what policy is chosen.

* Thony Christie has finally buckled to that fount of wisdom, peer pressure, and started his own blog. Christie is well known from the comments threads of various blogs around the blogosphere for leaving excellent comments on the history of science; so it's great to have him discussing these matters in a single place. Very much a blog to watch.

* Bora has a good post on the concept of a biological clock.

* Michael Liccione reflects on issues with petitionary prayer.

* I had intended several weeks ago to link to DarwinCatholic's The Vatican's Rifles, but somehow never did. It's about the M1868 Pontificio, the cartridge rifle manufcatured for the army of the Papal States prior to 1900.

* Arsen Darnay on philosophy and practicality (among other things):

In ordinary life people make distinctions between the practical and the philosophical. I hear people say: "Well, let’s not get too philosophical about that." This stance puts philosophy into an airy-fairy region of reality and suggests that it has no practical bearing, thus that it isn’t real. I note here that one does not encounter this attitude uniformly across the globe. It is the product of a culture. For a while, about fifteen years ago, I had frequent dealings with a number of Russian immigrants. These were ordinary people, not intellectuals. They tended to come alive precisely when "things got philosophical"; they valued that mode of thought; it stimulated them; they could and did participate.

* Kyle Cupp had a very good post on fatherhood recently.

* I didn't really say anything about Michael Jackson. I don't think he was a musical genius, but he certainly did know how to put on a show. And I can't help but link to what I think is the best music video ever made. It helps that I really like Vincent Price; and yes, despite Ron Rosenbaum's assessment otherwise, the song itself is quite good, although considered on its own not Jackson's best. And it's difficult to think of any other pop musician who could pull this sort of thing off. (I'm also mystified by Rosenbaum's challenge to name one post-Thriller song; the obvious response is "Smooth Criminal".)

* Sherry's Hundred Hymn List continues:

#76 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
#75 Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It
#74 The Battle Hymn of the Republic
#73 Shout to the Lord

#74 is the first hymn on the list that was among my recommendations.

* Steven Hales with a quick guide to proving a negative.

* Christina Hoff Sommers responds to some of her critics. There are indeed a number of persistent myths running around feminist scholarship (this sort of thing is always a danger when philosophers deal with issues of immediate practical import); although, of course, there are criticisms of Sommers that focus on other aspects of her work besides her criticism of misused statistics.

ADDED LATER:

* In the comments Vanna gives a link to what looks like an interesting documentary on Zen Buddhism.