Kategorie: general

Psycholinguist Steven Pinker: How a great scientist turned into an enemy of himself – and of truth

Steven Pinker’s book „The Language Instinct“ is certainly still one of the best books ever written on the rather elusive subject of language: comprehensive in its wealth of facts, intelligent in its argumentation and fascinating in the refreshing wealth of ideas. Psycholinguist Steven Pinker: How a great scientist turned into an enemy of himself – and of truth weiterlesen

Did the Nazis have a conscience?

… the existence of a universal human conscience may be demonstrated even on a more elementary level, namely in the vilification of other humans, a practice that has undergone little or no change at all since the beginnings of human history up to the present day. Did the Nazis have a conscience? weiterlesen

Hitler, Arendt, Hoffer: Or: The Genius as Proletarian

He could have been a typical representative of the proletariat, for in his life he never got beyond casual work as a harvest worker and longshoreman and, in his youth, had not even been able to attend school. Hitler, Arendt, Hoffer: Or: The Genius as Proletarian weiterlesen

Sarrazin reloaded

The best known example of a shitstorm of recent origin is, of course, the “case Sarrazin”. In his book „Deutschland schafft sich ab“ (Germany is about to abolish itself), 95% of his evidence had been drawn from relevant scientific publications, while the last 5% (particularly his comments on the relative importance of the environment versus genetic predisposition) were a matter of legitimate scientific controversy. The professional publications he used had, however, only reached the tiny audience of researchers with similar interests, that is why they had practically escaped all public attention. Sarrazin reloaded weiterlesen

From Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Pankaj Mishra – all those one-eyed judgments of history

Again and again the interpretation of history has been seduced by naive humanism, because the latter represents the voice of conscience without any ifs or buts. The castles in the air thus created are full of charm as they embody the noble ideal in the face of a reality which lacks such perfection. From Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Pankaj Mishra – all those one-eyed judgments of history weiterlesen

A globe ruled by Beijing?

How does a leading US-American expert on the Warring Empires of our time, historian Alfred McCoy, assess the future relationship of the superpowers and the relative strength of his country compared with that of rapidly ascending China? As to the ECONOMY, he is in no doubt that the Middle Kingdom will soon surpass the Unites States. A globe ruled by Beijing? weiterlesen

To which League does Mr. Christoph Steskal belong? Considerations concerning an editor of a German publishing house

We may be indulgent to German spitzes if they occasionally pee on the statues of great men, for that is the very nature of these animals, but when they bark at the moon, everyone realizes that these cute little creatures are reaching out for far too high a goal. We shake our heads shouting „stop it“. The moon is not your league! To which League does Mr. Christoph Steskal belong? Considerations concerning an editor of a German publishing house weiterlesen

Apocalypse – When?

Military competition is certainly no invention of our time, nor is war. We saw that comparatively simple but revolutionary technical innovations such as the use of horses, stirrups and combat bows were able to wreak havoc in the hands of nomads. Apocalypse – When? weiterlesen

Climate Change and Mass Migration

I am fortunate enough to live in a country where nobody is hungry, nobody is persecuted because of his or her faith, color or race and where even at night people need not fear to be ambushed or murdered by starving people, desperate thieves or political fanatics. Climate Change and Mass Migration weiterlesen

In Search of Meaning and Purpose in History

To speak of the meaning or even of a purpose of history seems strangely out of time, 19th century so to speak, when thinkers above all of German extraction got lost in the airy heights of speculation. Since then, history has hurt people badly; as actors as well as the victims of history they suffered in such a terrible way that all meaning seemed to be lost or was at least suspicious. As to a purpose of history, that does not seem to be in sight at all, unless the one that is painted on the wall by pessimists as a rather deterrent portent: ever more perfect machines in an ever more perfectly organized world threatening itself with extinction. In Search of Meaning and Purpose in History weiterlesen