Dr Paul Allen

The validity of a worldview , follow it to its logical conclusion . The logical conclusion of relativism is absurdity. Nonsense. A worldview that undermines its own premises. Allan Bloom wrote his famous book, The Closing of the American Mind : How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today’s Students. (There’s a subtitle for you!). Bloom wrote that “almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative. If this belief is put to the test ... they will be uncomprehending. That anyone should regard the proposition as not self-evident astonishes them, as though he were calling into question 2 + 2 = 4.” Bloom then tells the story of his students’ response to the Hindu custom known as sati: burning a widow alive on her husband’s funeral pyre . The British, of course, banned the custom, and sharply reminded the Hindu priests that the British had a different custom: hanging men who burned women alive. How did ...

This was long thought to be the only portrait of William Shakespeare that had any claim to have been painted from life, until another possible life portrait, the Cobbe portrait, was revealed in 2009. The portrait is known as the 'Chandos portrait' after a previous owner, James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. It was the first portrait to be acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1856. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To be or not to be -- that is the question." "My words go up, my thoughts remain below Words without thoughts ne'er to Heaven go." uotes and phrases of William Shakespeare, the greatest of all English writers have become part and parcel of our culture and speech, but much about the man's life and beliefs remains mysterious. Even the date of his death is not certain, although it is generally thought that he died  on this date, April 23, 1616 . This would have been almost on Shakespeare's 52nd birthday (he was baptized the 26th of Ap...