The Narthex
A Pitch for Practical Reason
Ensuring that good is done and evil is avoided
By James Hanink | October 26th 2018 3:13 PMLet’s list a few words: smart, clever, bright, ingenious. They’re all familiar. No one needs to make a pitch for aspiring to being smart, clever, bright, or ingenious. With “practical reason” we’re in a different territory. The term isn’t so familiar. It’s easy to confuse with “practicality.” And we can’t…
READ FULL BLOG POSTGoing for the Knockout
'Savage' is a compliment these days
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | October 8th 2018 4:10 PMPandemonium broke loose last Saturday night as the highly anticipated UFC 229 battle between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov spilled out of the octagon and a virtual riot ensued. This is not the first time something like this has happened, although when even Mike Tyson calls a “fight riot” crazy it…
READ FULL BLOG POSTDouble-cheese Danger
Abstemious monks follow divine dietary plan
By Richard DellOrfano | October 8th 2018 3:39 PM"When we see news clips of a shark swimming near a beach, it scares us into not going near that beach," says Liz Weinandy, a registered dietitian at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. But "what we should be scared of is double cheeseburgers, french fries and large amounts of…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Defense of Inequality
Where do true dignity and excellence reside?
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | October 5th 2018 6:21 PMWhen Alexis de Tocqueville came to America in the 1830s he was struck by just how faithful Americans were to their “self-evident” credo that “all men are created equal.” He was overwhelmed by the preponderance of what he called the “equality of conditions.” Americans loved equality, so much so that…
READ FULL BLOG POST