Conservatives - A Tippling Philosopher (Page 2)

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Conservatives

A collection of 41 posts

Psychology Gone Astray: Racism and Sexism in Early Psychology

I was recently involved in another argument on facebook that concerned politics and religion and then psychology, in the context of myself and Alan Duval putting forward psychological accounts of conservatism and liberalism. One tack taken by those we were arguing against was to say that psychology was "not

Asking for... No, Demanding a Progressive Alliance

Yesterday, I wrote about the fallout from Brexit and the idea that, in a state of chaos and disarray, the ideologically possessed will take advantage and fulfill their decades' old plans. Whatever you say about the good and bad of Brexit, it will enable free marketeers and those on

consequentialism

Saudi Arabia, Human Rights and Sir Gerald Howarth's Nonsense

This is a really important topic and piece which I think needs to be understood by many, not least the politicians working on the world stage. In fact, politicians seem these days to lack in philosophical rigour and understanding. Let me show you one such example here. The topic of Saudi Arabia, its

Thoughts on motivation for voting

The general election is only just over, and I am sorry for being off my usual topics. I will return to them shortly. I would like to provoke thought on what motivates voters to vote for particular parties, briefly and rather anecdotally and theoretically.

By Adrian Pingstone (talk · contribs) (Self-photographed) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Post election blues

Pun intended. My depressed sadness has turned into anger. Today is a bad day for fairness. It is a bad day for democracy (think AV/PR). It is a bad day for the electorate who seem far less politically educated than I realised (and if my school has anything to go by, very very ill-equipped to b

My new favourite video

My new favourite video

Cassetteboy has done some great great stuff, including this: and my previous favourite:

By Adrian Pingstone (talk · contribs) (Self-photographed) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

conceptual nominalism

Scottish Independence - my thoughts

Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel and flag-waving the first action of a warmonger. yes-no2 I am British, English, and live on the south coast of the UK. That said, the coming Thursday referendum affects me as much as most people in the country. I will set out what is, for me and m

Astrology can help healthcare, says MP on science committee

Oh bloody dear. The BBC: Astrology-loving MP seeks health answers in the stars A Conservative MP has spoken of his belief in astrology and his desire to incorporate it into medicine. David Tredinnick said he had spent 20 years studying astrology and healthcare and was convinced it could work. The

PM 'should do God', Tory party survey suggests

Plenty of brain-sapping journals clutter the desks of Westminster, offering the patient reader an intellectual transfusion of information, analysis, insight and yes, just occasionally, complete guff. But until the last few weeks I had never read the Church Times.

My favourite video of the year

Bloody awesome. [H/T Zoe Flanagan] OK, this is UK-centric. But man, this fricking NAILS everything which is wrong with education at the moment. Most of that comes from those in power. Gove. Michael Gove. If I met him in a dark alley... http://youtu.be/qJ8RA3QF0EU

Scottish independence would be a political disaster for the UK, and here's for why

Soon, the Scottish people will be voting in a referendum as to whether they want an independent Scotland. Let's put aside all the issues with this, like giving the vote to 16 year olds. I for one didn't know my posterior from my elbow at that

Are Suffolk Conservative Party Members Idiots? (Er, yes)

As The BBC reports: Senior Conservative MP Tim Yeo has lost his fight against being deselected by party activists. The former environment minister demanded the secret ballot by Tory members in South Suffolk after the association's committee voted not to re-adopt him as a candidate.

Gove and Free Schools are an embarrassment. Shocker.

So I have written a number of times about Gove and his penchant for free market economics in school and his libertarian approach to education. And how it totally sucks. Well, his Free School initiative is terrible and is faltering as the days go by. Between Free Schools and Academies, he is doing a

Cause for concern: two state schools challenge Government policy on teaching evolution

This is a disgrace. This is what our schools are coming to given the government's insistence that anyone can set up schools (Free Schools). This is just an excuse for ideological indoctrination. Here is an email the British Humanist Association sent me:

Aaaarggghhh! The Republicans are properly mental!

Aaaarggghhh! The Republicans are properly mental!

So, us in the rest of the world can see that the Republican Party in the US are several sandwiches short of a picnic, holding the country and perhaps the world to ransom. Here are a couple of interesting articles: Salon.com: Christian delusions are driving the GOP insane Why

My local MP, Mark Hoban, showing his true crappy colours

My local MP, Mark Hoban, showing his true crappy colours

My local Conservative MP voted against including a clean energy target in an amendment to the Energy Bill. There's a great action and pressure internet group called 28 degrees which famously succeeded in changing the governments mind on forestry called 38 degrees. They mobilise people virtually to p