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Postmodern Pythagoras

Can the divide between the Liberal Arts and the Sciences be bridged by beauty?
It is no simple matter to care for aging parents. But in the face of an uncertain future, concrete steps can be taken to make an unusual option more attractive.
Principled reasons and practical considerations suggest that proposals to legalize casino gambling misunderstand what is good for cities and states, and ultimately for people as well.
Sugar, spice, and everything nice or snaps, snails, and puppy-dog tails? A controversy over a South African runner makes us ask what boys and girls are made of.
The real health-care debate isn’t whether we should have reform, but which type of reform to pursue: good reform versus bad reform. A senior economist explains how we can make high quality health-care available to all.
The focus of social conservatives on family and human dignity is as necessary today as ever. Even if today's hot-button issues fade, social conservatism will still be a force in our political life
Popular music shapes us and our culture, but not only through its lyrics.
If we take seriously what is said by Plato and Aristotle, then we must also pay attention to what is being said by the likes of Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
If citizens and politicians believe that victory is to the loudest, or to the most dramatic, then loud and dramatic they will be. The process of public discourse, by contrast, is often deliberative, difficult, and slow. Its participants must, on occasion, “dare to be boring.”
Though there is no hope of having a morally neutral definition of marriage, it is possible to have one based on human nature and supported by sound reasoning.
Yves Simon's fierce moral intelligence highlights the sad decay of our public deliberation, but his example also gives cause for hope.
Opposition to the CIA interrogations of terror suspects is not a reason to distort important Constitutional principles.
Pragmatic and moral considerations should not be allowed to distort science, nor should they distract philosophy from its pursuit of truth.
Religious freedom is a universal human right. The plight of Haitian immigrants shows that religion can also be a vitally important means of integrating some of society’s most vulnerable members.
Economists and other social scientists should take into account the integral flourishing of human beings and not just material utility. After doing so, defense of free trade becomes more—not less—important.
Free trade brings with it financial benefits and human rewards. However, it sometimes must be limited if communities and people are to flourish.
Many Muslims have been either silenced or ignored when it comes to their views of their own faith. As we grapple with the legacy of 9/11, we need to listen to these voices if we are to understand the religion they practice.
If conservatives wish to defend culture, they must support the arts. Their support for the arts, however, should be motivated by a love of beauty rather than any political program.
Those who favor providing health care to all shouldn’t necessarily oppose the “public option,” but they will be unable to support a bill if it endorses and entrenches the taking of innocent human life through abortion.
Debates over health care reform have focused almost exclusively on policy. Few have considered whether Congress even has the constitutional authority to enact its proposed reforms. Fundamental constitutional issues—such as the scope of the commerce power, the right of individuals to religious liberty, and the different natures of federal and state authority—must be recalled in order to have a more fruitful debate.
Free trade is not only good economic policy, it is a human right that should not be restricted lightly.
The urgency of protecting the sanctity of life, the dignity of the human person, and the institution of marriage goes hand-in-hand with cultivation of the arts
Pragmatic concerns (and angry accusations) have dominated the health care debate to date. But what are the principles that should guide efforts for reform?
Those who see the movement for same-sex marriage as today’s civil-rights struggle are abusing historical reason and our national institutions.