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- ARE PEOPLE LESS VIOLENT? (COMMENT). (2)
- Dick Weisfelder: My prior comment was just in the context of sports. Whether or not from Pinker, I have seen the...
- erik: It seems doubtful that human nature has changed. The most likely explanation would be that modern culture gives...
- HOW BANKS PREPARED FOR A U.S. DEFAULT. (2)
- GREECE’S ADVANTAGE IN THE CHICKEN GAME. (2)
- Nick: That makes sense. It reminds me of the stories Pater Familias would tell me about how in Boston the person with...
- Dick Weisfelder: Greece seems to me to be playing a game that Karl Deutsch called “underdog.” While one...
- FOOTBALL PLAYERS DELIBERATELY CAUSING CONCUSSIONS? (3)
- Nick: It was my understanding that boxing gloves were to protect the puncher’s hands and not the...
- Dick Weisfelder: Remember the Roman arenas? Bare knuckled boxing? Such injuries were taken as natural and accepted in...
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This isn’t about football. Or even sportsmanship. Well, it is about sportsmanship. But what...
- A 25 % CHANCE OF A EURO DEFAULT? (1)
- Nick: The fact that this has gone on for so long is pretty perplexing. The Economist is referring back to articles it...
- DECIDING WHAT KIND OF PATIENT YOU ARE. (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: One can be very open to new technology, but also risk averse. The recent debates about how to...
- THE EUROZONE—A CHICKEN GAME WHERE EVERY MEMBER CAN BLOW IT UP? (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This is not a matter of chicken. These are all turkeys.
- ARE PEOPLE LESS VIOLENT? (COMMENT). (2)
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Monthly Archives: July 2008
HOW JOHN LOCKE CREATED REASONABLE MEN.
HOW JOHN LOCKE CREATED REASONABLE MEN. Anna Wierzbicka attributes the distinctive use in English of the word “reasonable” to the influence of John Locke. Locke believed that our knowledge of most things in the world was “very short and scanty.” … Continue reading
Posted in History
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WERE THERE REASONABLE MEN IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME?
WERE THERE REASONABLE MEN IN SHAKESPEARE’S TIME? Anna Wierzbicka says no. She says that in Shakespeare’s works, the word “reasonable” was still had a close association in meaning with “reason.” The English language has changed since Shakespeare’s time. Now, she … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Shakespeare, Uncategorized
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ARE THERE REASONABLE MEN IN PLACES WHERE THEY DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH?
ARE THERE REASONABLE MEN IN PLACES WHERE THEY DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH? Anna Wierzbicka says no. She is a linguist, and she says in ENGLISH: MEANING AND CULTURE that “other European languages do not have words corresponding to the English word … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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THE CHANGING ROLE OF JURIES.
THE CHANGING ROLE OF JURIES. We are all familiar with the fact that jurors who know any witness are excluded from a jury. This reverses historical practice. Norman Cantor in THE CIVILIZATION OF THE MIDDLE AGES says about the period … Continue reading
Posted in History
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THE BUSLOAD OF BISHOPS: THE ANTICLIMAX.
THE BUSLOAD OF BISHOPS: THE ANTICLIMAX. My father’s war story ended successfully, but without drama. At that time, over 70 years ago, the sheriff and his family lived over the county jail. My father’s client was diagnosed with tuberculosis. My … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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MY FATHER AND THE BUSLOAD OF BISHOPS.
MY FATHER AND THE BUSLOAD OF BISHOPS. Just because you have a right to a jury trial if there is an issue as to the credibility of different witnesses doesn’t mean that you have a good shot at winning at … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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WHAT HAPPENED TO ISSUES THAT REASONABLE MEN COULD DIFFER ON?
WHAT HAPPENED TO ISSUES THAT REASONABLE MEN COULD DIFFER ON? The concept that reasonable men can differ about factual issues is still good doctrine in the courts, but I rarely encounter it in public discourse. Even the most complicated factual … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
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A BUSLOAD OF BISHOPS.
A BUSLOAD OF BISHOPS. I spent much of my life dealing with the distinction between issues that should be decided by a jury and issues that were properly for a judge to decide. Any issue of fact—an issue upon which … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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HOW THE FREE TRADE MOVEMENT CHANGED POLITICAL ARGUMENT.
HOW THE FREE TRADE MOVEMENT CHANGED POLITICAL ARGUMENT. In 19th century England, there was a dramatic change in the way that people looked at government and society. The language of Utilitarianism is so familiar today that we forget how radical … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History, Politics
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LOOKING BACK: NEW HAMPSHIRE AND IOWA.
LOOKING BACK: NEW HAMPSHIRE AND IOWA. At the beginning of the year, I posted a number of times, including here, about one of my hobby horses— my hope for improvements in the way that we choose our nominees for President. … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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