After more than 350 years, the first critical edition of Hobbes’s ‘Leviathan’

First posted October 06, 2012 Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan. Edited by Noel Malcolm. Oxford University Press; 2,355 pages WHEN Thomas Hobbes was maths tutor to the future English king, Charles II, in Paris in 1646, his young charge reportedly found Britain’s first great modern philosopher to be “the oddest fellow he ever met with”. That was one of… Read More After more than 350 years, the first critical edition of Hobbes’s ‘Leviathan’

Culture and the Death of God: Terry Eagleton

First posted February 28, 2014 In Culture and the Death of God he deploys all his formidable skills to explain how the high hopes of many generations of secular materialists collapsed along with the twin towers. Culture and the Death of God – Terry Eagletonreviewed by Jonathan Rée Atheism is in trouble, according to Terry Eagleton. Throughout the 20th century it… Read More Culture and the Death of God: Terry Eagleton

EXIT GOD, ENTER MADNESS: Nadeem Paracha on religious extremism in Pakistan (2012)

First posted July 06, 2012 As one distraught friend of mine once prayed: ‘May Allah save Islam from Pakistan.’ The self-claimed ‘bastion of Islam’ has gradually mutated into becoming a bastion of deluded messiahs and mindless, violent ranting machines to whom anything, from incoherent malangs to the reopening of Nato supply routes, are conspiracies against Islam. On… Read More EXIT GOD, ENTER MADNESS: Nadeem Paracha on religious extremism in Pakistan (2012)

Goodbye Mr Chips

NB: Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton, and published in 1934. I think it must be among the most beautiful love stories ever told. It also reminds us of the tremendous power of the human soul. My father took me… Read More Goodbye Mr Chips

Social media bosses are ‘the largest dictators’, says Nobel peace prize winner

Journalist Maria Ressa named Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk in speech at Hay literary festival in Powys Lucy Knight “Tech bros” such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are “the largest dictators”, Maria Ressa, who won the Nobel peace prize in 2021 for her defence of media freedom, has said. The American-Filipina journalist has spent a number… Read More Social media bosses are ‘the largest dictators’, says Nobel peace prize winner

The Grit That Makes the Pearl: An Interview With Paul Theroux

I am appalled by today’s sensitivities—how easily people take offense. It impels me to be offensive, or at least to ignore the shrinking violets. George Salis: Your latest book is Burma Sahib, a novel about a young Eric Blair (aka George Orwell) in India. What attracted you to this part of Blair’s life? Paul Theroux: A line in… Read More The Grit That Makes the Pearl: An Interview With Paul Theroux

Professor’s Harassment by ABVP Shows Near-Complete Takeover of Universities by RSS-BJP

NB: There’s no wonder why lacs of Indian students are migrating to campuses abroad to pursue higher studies (800,000 in 2022 alone). The Headquarters of Truth based in Nagpur have taken over most public universities. At this rate, nothing will be left for Indian teachers to do except praise whatever the RSS considers to be… Read More Professor’s Harassment by ABVP Shows Near-Complete Takeover of Universities by RSS-BJP