Disenchantment, Actually

by Doug Sikkema

Modern disenchantment may be a myth, but it is still the water in which we swim.

Till Tomorrow

by Adam Roberts

Three recent books go a long way toward humanizing the abstract “time” of physicists.

Whose Motivation? Which Good?

by James K. A. Smith

Social science’s big flaw isn’t relativism or the idea that social situations shape human action. The real arguments are over competing visions of the Good — and how the pursuit of the Good shapes our motivations.

The Use and Abuse of ‘Information’ in Biology

by Murillo Pagnotta

The concept of information has become central to modern biology, especially to the field of genetics, where DNA is often taken to be simply an organism’s instruction manual. But, Murillo Pagnotta argues, much “info-talk” is faulty or oversimplified — a failing with implications for how we think about nature, nurture, growth, and evolution.

Evolution and the Purposes of Life

by Stephen L. Talbott

Modern biology has tried to abolish purpose from living things — even as biologists implicitly attribute purposes and goals to molecules, genes, and the evolutionary process of natural selection. Stephen L. Talbott exposes the hidden assumptions behind the view that purpose in nature is just an illusion, and shows why purpose cannot be ignored or explained away.

The Political Path to GPS

by Anthony Paletta

How war and peace forged the universal map

Wokeness and Myth on Campus

by Alan Jacobs

The standard critique of college protests cries “free exchange of ideas!” But the students are motivated by social needs more fundamental than the ones affirmed by liberal norms.

The Moral Case for High-Tech Weapons

by Merav Ceren

Do drones and pinpoint strikes make war more just, or merely more efficient? Israeli innovation provides a test case.