


The Metaphysics of Evolution
I was about fifteen when I began to think about evolution. I was then just discovering the sciences systematically, and took them as what they offered themselves to be, a realm of reason and dispassionate regard for truth. There was a hard-edged clarity to them that I liked. You got real answers. Since evolution depended on such sciences as chemistry, Read More ›

What Have Butterflies Got to Do with Darwin?
Review of Bernard d’Abrera, The Concise Atlas of Butterflies of the World (London: Hill House, 2001), 353 pages. Bernard d’Abrera’s concise atlas of the world’s butterflies is a beautifully produced book with the most stunning photographs of butterflies that I’ve ever seen. Though not intended as a coffee-table book, it could eminently serve that purpose. D’Abrera himself is a world-renowned butterfly Read More ›