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Category Archives: Guest Post

A wee request

April 3, 2012 – 6:54 pm

In the last six months or so, we’ve received a number of requests to publish guest posts on this blog from people who are strangers to us. At first, I assumed the messages were spam, and just ignored them. However, over the last couple of months the volume has increased considerably and it’s become clear [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Blogging, General, Site News | Tagged , , , , | Comments (19)

Defined out – guest post by Lorenzo

March 22, 2012 – 1:42 pm

[SL: Last night, I went to a debate hosted by the Edinburgh University Debates Union (sic), on the proposition 'this house supports same-sex marriage'. I was going to say that the Oxford Union it ain't, but that would be giving them too much credit. Let's just say that 'outstandingly crap' goes some way towards describing it. [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Feminism, Human/Civil rights, Law, Marriage, Religion, Sexuality | Tagged , , , , | Comments (18)

The divine law disadvantage – Guest Post by Lorenzo

March 1, 2012 – 4:01 am

[LE: Something I often wonder about when studying history is: why do certain civilisations develop in certain ways, and others (which are equally technologically advanced, if not more so) do not develop in the same way? I suppose it's one of the reasons why I enjoy speculative fiction so much: speculative fiction plays a game [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in History, Law, Middle east, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (21)

On the stupidity of (some) Central Banks – Guest post by Lorenzo

November 8, 2011 – 7:47 am

[LE: Regular commenter Lorenzo has written a post on what the role of central banks ought to be in setting financial monetary policy goals. He starts with some historical examples, and continues on to contemporary central banks. Part of the issue (as I read his post) is that people must get some idea of where [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Economics, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (63)

Why did the Middle East select for monotheism? – Guest post by Lorenzo

October 19, 2011 – 12:34 am

[SL: On September 18, I published a piece on the religious transformation currently going on in Europe, pointing out in passing that monotheism -- if one examines its geographic origins -- is almost as foreign to Europe as it is to India or China. In the post below, regular commenter Lorenzo has attempted to explain why: [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Feminism, History, Law, Middle east, Religion, Skeptics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (34)

A misbegotten Union – Guest post by Lorenzo

October 5, 2011 – 3:39 pm

[SL: it is now compulsory, in order to practice in either England or Scotland, to study European Union Law (I managed to evade it at Oxford, just), which I suspect is misconceived, at least on the part of those who rather like the European Union. It exposes the bones of an organisation so badly run [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Economics, England, scotland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (69)

Put not your faith in labels: naming in the dismal science – guest post by Lorenzo

September 12, 2011 – 12:43 am

[SL: A frequent criticism of economics is that the 'dismal science' is now too big for its boots: it makes claims in rhetorical language that would do credit to a theologian or philosopher, and often appears to step far outside its remit. This criticism is particularly acute when some large rhetorical claim turns out to [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (34)

Know them, Daughters of Men – Guest post by Adrien

August 15, 2011 – 4:27 am

[SL: This is the third of Adrien's occasional posts on matters artistic; his first -- on Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi -- is available here, with some background, while the second, on Franco-Swiss neo-classical painter Angelica Kauffmann is here. I should also point out that Adrien has been moving bloggy house again (please stop it!), and that his new [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Art, Feminism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (7)

Postmodern Conservatism – guest post by Lorenzo

August 11, 2011 – 8:01 pm

[SL: there was a time, not so long ago, when conservatives and libertarians could afford to be smug about the intellectual miasma in which left-liberals and progressives had lost themselves. It is unfortunate--and does us little credit--that when a decent number of left-liberals reacted in horror to the colonisation of their political tradition by postmodernism [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Economics, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Science, Skeptics, Terrorism, The Left, The Right | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (100)

Theology in fiction: guest post by Lorenzo

May 5, 2011 – 6:07 am

[SL: I used to think I'd read a  lot of science fiction and fantasy, and I have, but my reading depth in the two genres pales in comparison with Lorenzo's efforts, and probably with Legal Eagle's, too, if I'm to be honest. I've read enough, though, to appreciate that readers can become ghettoized, much like [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Books, Literature, Religion, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (19)