Tony Hatfield's Retired Ramblings

Is Dr Pangloss really dead?

François-Marie Arouet-Voltaire Voltaire wrote this letter shortly after the Lisbon earthquake. This “Act of God” killed an estimated 70,000 out of a population of 185,000, many of whom were attending the mass. It occurred on All Saints Day 1755. Les... Read more →

Thought for the Day-13th November 2009

'Apart from logical cogency, there is to me something a little odd about the ethical valuations of those who think that an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent Deity, after preparing the ground by many millions of years of lifeless nebulae, would... Read more →

Intelligent Design Zoo

Nothing to stop you from putting one of these in your garage! Read more →

The Root of all Evil

I've just finished watching the second part of Richard Dawkins' two parter on Channel 4 The Root of All Evil". I came across Dan Jones' magisterial critique if the first part here He promises to complete his dissection of Part... Read more →

The Ticking time-bomb.

For those members of Opus Dei who aren’t brave enough to tie the piece of barbed wire to their thighs can I suggest the Moral Maze as a suitable alternative to corporal mortification ? This week the issue was torture.... Read more →

Torture- The philospher's view

I’ve posted here a few times about the legalities of torture. I’ve mentioned nothing about about the philosophical issues torture raises- perhaps that only refllects thirty odd years as a lawyer. Last month The Philosphers’ Magazine website contained a piece... Read more →