the voice of reason's blog

This is a paper I wrote for school. As of 12/8/06, I've edited this post with my numerous corrections into what is my final draft--even the title changed. Other note: I left my parentheticals in, but didn’t post the works cited. If anyone's interested in the sources, however, I'm willing to share. And now, the paper, in all it’s wordy glory:  Read More »

This is part two of my post on why Michael J. Sandel’s essay “Embryo Ethics: The Moral Logic of Stem Cell Research” is flawed. It picks up right where part one left off, with Sandel’s very next argument.

Sandel’s next argument, while slightly more legitimate, branches out in a similar direction. “Viewing the embryo as a person rules out not only stem cell research, but all fertility treatments that involve the creation and discarding of excess embryos.”  Read More »

This is the title of Michael J. Sandel’s essay in his collection Public Philosophy: Essays on Morality in Politics. My purpose here is to present his main arguments, and then show why his reasoning is as flawed as he claims the reasoning of pro-life advocates is. I have divided this post into two parts for ease of reading due to its length.  Read More »

In keeping with my latest fad of examining different angles, applications, interpretations, and meanings of “progress”, I’d like to take a more… well, progressive look at poetry.

It’s become a pretty commonplace, or at least more accepted idea, that laughter is indeed “the best medicine” at times. What many people overlook are other non-traditional, soul-healing enterprises that help people. One of these is poetry, and the reason it’s overlooked is because most people don’t “get” poetry. They think it’s boring, or old, or over their heads—but most of the time, the good news is, they’re wrong.  Read More »

I’ll never forget the trip I took in elementary school with my class to a nature preserve. We stood in a small circle, and one kid was handed a ball of yarn, and told to hang on to the loose end. One of the tour guides, inside our circle, took the ball and began unraveling it, walking to the other side and getting another kid to hold onto the yarn. From there, he walked to another side of the circle, and so on, until everyone was holding a piece of the yarn, and the inside of the circle was a web of crisscrossed yarn.  Read More »

Frindle is a truly great book. Written for younger readers, true, but a highly worthwhile read for anyone—but especially idea-people.

It’s about the power of imagination, and how sometimes conflict is better than support for spurring on great ideas. It’s about friends and determination and the power of one person to make a difference. It’s about a little boy who decided one day to invent a new word—and called his pen a “frindle.”  Read More »

I’ve got some questions.

First off, how much do colleges actually look at what kind of and how much community service you’ve done when you have to fill out all those little charts (when where what why quantity) on applications?  Read More »

Here’s the dilemma.

“Progress” is usually seen as being opposite to “conservatism”. Conservatism is usually equated with religion, which in turn is related to rules and morals and strict ideas about right and wrong, whereas “progress” is seen as synonymous with being “open minded” and righteousness and, to a large extent, an oppressed minority overthrowing a unjust majority.  Read More »