PolicyJanuary 27, 2017
What Is Philosophy's Point?, Part 3--Maybe It Should Stick to Ethics
Philosophers keep giving us moral advice in spite of their doubts about all ethical systems
Stories by John Horgan
John Horgan is a freelance journalist and a former Scientific American staff writer. He comments on science in his free online journal, Cross-Check, and he has also posted his self-published books Mind-Body Problems (2018) and My Quantum Experiment (2023) online. Horgan teaches science writing at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
PolicyJanuary 22, 2017
Dear Anti-Trump Protestors, Please Renounce Violence
Protesters who smashed windows and punched police on Inauguration Day are mirroring the violence they supposedly abhor
CultureJanuary 13, 2017
What Is Philosophy's Point?, Part 2--Maybe It's a Martial Art
Philosophers sometimes seem more concerned with winning than wisdom
CultureJanuary 5, 2017
What Is Philosophy's Point?, Part 1 (Hint: It's Not Discovering Truth)
Philosophy can still serve many purposes, even if it can’t compete with science as a method of accumulating knowledge
CultureDecember 18, 2016
Seeing the Miracle of Existence in the Darkest of Times
A winter solstice ritual helps a faithless science writer appreciate life’s infinite improbability
EvolutionDecember 14, 2016
Does Evolution Have a "Higher Purpose"?
Life might have a divinely imposed meaning, but we’re better off assuming it doesn’t
Mental HealthDecember 13, 2016
Psychiatrists Must Face Possibility That Medications Hurt More Than They Help
Mental health has declined as prescriptions for antidepressants and other drugs keep surging
The SciencesDecember 8, 2016
Astrophysicist Says Experiments Might Soon Reveal Dark Matter's "True Nature"
In a Q&A, Priyamvada Natarajan takes multiverses seriously but not cosmos-as-simulation idea
PolicyDecember 5, 2016
How Donald Trump Can Become the Greatest Leader Ever
A science writer urges the President-elect to make world peace his number-one mission.
PolicyDecember 2, 2016
Anti-Torture "Warrior Monk" Should Make a Fine Defense Chief
In a 2010 speech Gen. James Mattis, Trump's choice for defense secretary, bashed al Qaeda and Russia but urged more “pragmatic,” “nuanced” military policies
CognitionNovember 29, 2016
Noam Chomsky Is So Anti-Establishment He Disses Himself
In a 1990 interview the renowned iconoclast knocked The New York Times, evolutionary psychology, human cognitive capacities and his own talent as a linguist
CognitionNovember 28, 2016
Is Chomsky's Theory of Language Wrong? Pinker Weighs in on Debate
Critics have bashed linguist Noam Chomsky for more than 50 years, but his claim that language is innate endures
OpinionNovember 21, 2016
Thanksgiving and the Myth of Native American ‘Savages’
Prominent scientists exaggerate the violence of Native Americans, whom European invaders ravaged
PolicyNovember 18, 2016
How to Resist an Unjust Regime Nonviolently
For decades, political scientist Gene Sharp has promoted nonviolent strategies for countering oppression
CultureNovember 11, 2016
Donald Trump and the Problem of Evil
Can a psychedelic theology explain Trump’s ascendance?
PolicyNovember 10, 2016
Yes, Trump Is Scary, but Don't Lose Faith in Progress
In spite of occasional backward lurches, like Trump's election, humanity should keep getting healthier, wealthier, more peaceful and more free.
EvolutionNovember 2, 2016
The Rise of Neo-Geocentrism
Prominent scientists are propagating new versions of the old idea that reality revolves around us
ComputingOctober 28, 2016
What Would a Machine as Smart as God Want?
The field of “scientific theology” ponders the ultimate purpose of mind
CultureOctober 24, 2016
Was Philosopher Paul Feyerabend Really Science's "Worst Enemy"?
Feyerabend, who defended astrology and creationism, denied that he was antiscience
ComputingOctober 19, 2016
How Would AI Cover an AI Conference?
An artificial reporter might not take concerns about superintelligent, sentient machines very seriously
BehaviorOctober 4, 2016
What Happens When a Skeptical Science Writer Meets a Cult Leader
Was the Spiritual Leader Andrew Cohen enlightened or a “Super-egomaniac”?
EvolutionSeptember 29, 2016
War Scholar Critiques New Study of Roots of Violence
Study contradicts claim that humans prior to civilization were “plagued by war.”
EvolutionSeptember 28, 2016
Was Civilization the Cure for Primordial Human Violence?
A new study challenges the popular claim that lethal violence declined after our ancestors settled down
FitnessSeptember 19, 2016
My Doubts about Deepak Chopra and the Monetization of Meditation
Has the holistic-health mogul overstated the health benefits of meditation and other spiritual practices?