Saying sorry has never meant less

The act of saying sorry when you're not has been elevated in recent years to something of an art form. There are so many ways of issuing a non-apology apology, all of which try to square the circle of meeting a public demand for repentance with the private refusal to admit that any is necessary...

Post at the Guardian's Comment is Free

The Real Threat to Universities

More competition and specialised suppliers means a further fragmentation of the intellectual ecosystem. The damage to education we should fear is not a matter of money or competition as such, but the ways in which these tools end up being used as chainsaws to turn human understanding from an organic whole into dead, inert logs, fit only for burning.

Latest blog at the Huffington Post

Never saying never to torture

I maintain the importance of an absolute prohibition against torture, while acknowledging that even absolute prohibitions can sometimes be broken. If that is a contradiction, it is a contradiction that ethics has to embrace, or else it becomes like glass: hard, clear, but fatally inflexible.

Latest post at the Guardian's Comment is Free.

Can science silence the doubters on David Kelly?

"If you want to repudiate the group of people who claim that the death of Dr David Kelly has not satisfactorily been proven as suicide, despite last week's publication of the post-mortem report, the easiest and cheapest way to do so is simply to label them conspiracy theorists. Without addressing any of the evidence, the mere use of those two words belittles and dismisses more effectively than any forensic examination of their case ever could. But be careful. If it is a fatal flaw to see any inconsistency as a sign of a sinister conspiracy, then it is just as mistaken to see any suggestion of a conspiracy as a sign of irrational paranoia."

Latest post at the Guardian's Comment is Free

Atheists and believers can get along

"Somehow, it has become received wisdom that the most important division is between people of faith and people of none. This is not only false, it is unchristian. Time and again in the gospels, Jesus argues that it is better to be a good gentile than a bad Jew. The Samaritan is more of a friend to the Christian that the Pharisee who walks by on the other side. What matters more than having the right faith is acting in good faith."

Latest blog at the Guardian's Comment is Free

I want no moral or religious leaders

"If someone has something worthwhile to say on religion or ethics, we can and should listen. If not, leave them to go and lead less discriminating souls who seem to think that 'his holiness' is an actual description, rather than just an often misleading job title."

Latest post at the Guardian's Comment is Free (Published Thursday 16 September)

Why won’t I read your work?

"To whom it may concern: I’m sorry to address you in such an impersonal way, but I get quite a few letters and emails of the kind you sent me, and I thought I should take the time to explain at length, once and for all, why it won’t be getting the reply you hope for..."

Latest post at Talking Philosophy

Choice is rarely black and white

"You have a choice about what to believe in one very important respect. You could choose to strive to overcome distorting desires to believe what it suits you to believe, and cultivate the desire to want your beliefs to be well-grounded. The beliefs you would then come to hold would be chosen in the sense that they would be the result of choices you had made about what kinds of reasons to value and how far you were willing to question and challenge your motivations."

Latest post at the Guardian's Comment is Free

Don't complain less – do it better

"The ability of citizens to make effective complaints is basic to a just democracy and a fair society. Only in a country where that ability is taken for granted could complaints about too much complaint be given wide credence."

Latest post at Comment is Free

Belief's lowest common denominator

"Human beings are pattern seekers who tend to see purposeful agency where there is really nothing but blind nature. I'm pretty sure that is what, at root, makes so many people believe that there is something more to life than life, that there is some higher order behind, above or underneath the natural world. Like many of the most universal beliefs in human history, this reveals human flaws, not divine laws."

Latest post at the Guardian's Comment is Free Belief

If Aristotle ran the Huffington Post

Artifice is not the same as deceit. The media is full of artifice. Words are edited in print, chopped and put back together in audio and video, not to misrepresent, but simply to provide a smoother, more coherent picture of the ideas being presented. So where is the line between benign artifice and deceit?

Latest blog at Talking Philosophy

What Green victory?

"The stark facts are these. Nationally, the Green Party's share of the vote actually went down 0.1% to 1%. In terms of vote share, the BNP (1.9%) and UKIP (3.1%) both did better than the Greens. Nearly twice as many voted BNP as did Green, while three times more people backed UKIP. The BNP almost tripled its support compared to 2005, while UKIP received around half as many votes again as last time."

Latest post at the Guardian's Comment is Free

A vote for the Lib Dems could check the Tories

"The choice you have to make at any particular election has to take into account the precise conditions of the time. I've never been tribal in politics and in different elections have voted for at least six different parties, including all the main ones. Right now, the main choice is between a majority Conservative government and some other alternative. Since the first prime ministerial debate, that alternative is just not going to be a majority Labour government. If it were, it would be one crippled by a lack of legitimacy, as Labour is clearly not going to be the largest party on the popular vote. So, realistically, it's a hung parliament or a Conservative government. So what do you do?"

Latest post at Guardian Comment is Free

Why women will remain outnumbered

"Bidisha says she's fed up with being the token woman, but if you invite more women just because they're women, all you get are more token women."

Latest post at Guardian Comment is Free

The philosopher kings of UK politics

"When asked who his favourite philosopher was, George W Bush famously answered 'Jesus Christ'. At least he had one. Politicians tend to avoid philosophy like the plague. Oliver Letwin, for instance, has a PhD on the subject but when I asked him if that was a disadvantage in politics he answered, 'massive', without hesitation. 'I do my best to conceal it.' Another brainy MP, Tony Wright, once found himself quoting Mill in a parliamentary debate, 'and I just realised how odd that was, and how embarrassing it was.' So when we hear the Nick Clegg spent a lot of time reading John Locke, the news stands out."

Post at Guardian Comment is Free (21 April)

David Cameron's American dream

"Cameron's promise is built on a lie. The gross inequality in the United States shows that it is a myth that individuals and communities can create a better, fairer society without large-scale government involvement in public services and redistribution of wealth. Europe's achievement has been to show that relatively big government can create a more equitable society, while preserving what is most precious about personal freedom."

Last night's post at The Guardian's Comment is Free

Lourdes: realistic about religion

"To respect religion properly we need to appreciate how different people relate to different beliefs in different ways, and that constant, sober piety is the exception, rather than the rule. It was a local priest who once told my father, 'the problem with most people is that they take religion too seriously'."

Post yesterday at Guardian Comment is Free Belief

It's not for the state to forgive

"To prioritise the rehabilitation of violent criminals who knew what they had done and posed a danger to the public just because we thought it good to forgive them would be a terrible mistake. More than that: it would be unforgiveable."

Latest post at Comment is Free, which went up on Wednesday.

Goodies behaving badly

"The feeling of being pure is a moral contaminant. In ethical terms, the best never think that they are the best, and those that believe themselves to be on the side of the angels are often the worst devils."

Latest post at the Guardian's Comment is Free

Sir Nicholas not simply a first-class twit

Right now, I'm trying to do what at least one Tory MP believes is impossible: get some work done in the standard class carriage of a British train. According to Sir Nicholas Winterton: "If I was in standard class I would not do work because people would be looking over your shoulder the whole time, there would be noise, there would be distraction." The right honourable member for Macclesfield has been widely pilloried for his remarks, but as anyone who has been in the same position as I am right now knows, he has a point.

Latest post at the Guardian Comment is Free, published on Friday 19th