Critique
What Do We Mean When We Speak of Freedom?
Two rival concepts of liberty have their roots in medieval canon law and Anglo-Saxon England
God, Hayek and the Conceit of Reason
The economist knew the survival of civilisation rested on belief but couldn’t make the leap of faith
Damian McBride: A Cautionary Tale
Did Gordon Brown’s aide receive moral formation at Peterhouse, Cambridge? If not, why not?
Lessons For Librarians Of London’s Folio Fiasco
A plan to sell four Shakespeare Folios revealed a widespread underappreciation of rare books
Is Bach The Voice Of God In Music?
John Eliot Gardiner’s new portrait is the culmination of a lifetime’s devotion to the great composer
Is the Brain the Key to Understanding Religion?
The neuroscience of human nature now treats mind and body as a single integrated entity
From Kitsch to Cool: Picasso and Modern Art
Marxist art historians cherish his Cubism, but he later became a true artist, not just a modernist
Can Science Replace Religion In Our Lives?
That materialists and ministers struggle to justify morality shows there is still a place for Christianity in intellectual and public life
More Things in Heaven and Earth
In philosophical circles, it was once heresy to challenge Darwinian reductionism. That is now changing
At Home with the Letwins’ Salon
Bill and Shirley Letwin kept open house for open minds from Chicago to Cambridge and Hampstead
Will the green agenda be killed off by the pandemic?
‘Will the green agenda be killed off by the longer-term coronavirus recovery? Or might the closure of so much business, and the cleaner air that results from planes not flying and factories not working, give us extra years to gain control of our environment?’
Why T.S. Eliot still matters
His contemporaries’ reputations have diminished. But Eliot’s has grown: he is the poet who shows us what can be saved from the ruins
Music’s in the house
Rappers have found a role in lockdown: chronicling coronavirus with topical tunes. Most people, though, are rushing to the safety of the past