Yearly Archives: 2001

Human Destiny?

Posted on November 22, 2001 by Carl Coon

It’s hard to give up the idea that humanity is proceeding towards some predetermined goal or condition, but it’s worth the effort. We are what the people who preceded us made of us, and what we do now shapes the future of our descendants. Continue reading →

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Afghan Memories

Posted on September 19, 2001 by Carl Coon

A couple of vignettes from my first trip to Afghanistan, in 1956. That is one seriously rough country! Continue reading →

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Sex, Race, and Religion

Posted on April 10, 2001 by Carl Coon

My book, “Culture Wars and the Global Village,” is based in part on this essay, originally written in 1989, which I have rescued from my files and slightly revised. It doesn’t tell you all you need to know about these subjects, but it’s a good start. Continue reading →

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Location

Posted on February 8, 2001 by Carl Coon

Random thoughts about success, natural selection, and old orchards. Even Republican architects of tax policy should note that success is only partly equatable with virtue. A lot of it, probably most of it, is where you start, and how lucky you were. Continue reading →

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On Human Intelligence

Posted on January 23, 2001 by Carl Coon

The creationists and many of the classical philosophers agree that there is something special about the human mind, that defies scientific analysis and can only be explained on some such basis as intervention by a higher power. I don’t agree, and while I cannot prove my case, I can develop a plausible theory, anchored in facts, that indicates a) we got here on our own; b) it wasn’t inevitable that we happened; on the contrary, human intelligence succeeded in evolving despite long odds against it. Continue reading →

Posted in Progressive Humanism | 2 Comments