bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Statehood and International Protection of Peoples in Armed Conflicts in the ‘Brave New World’: Palestine as a UN Source of Concern
Authors: de Waart Paul J.I.M.
Published: July 2009

The East-West detente has uncovered the importance of statehood for the international protection of peoples in international conflicts. The importance becomes obvious from a comparison between the legal position of the Kuwaitis with that of the Kurds and, more in particular, the Palestinians in that respect. The Gulf war urged the Security Council to enforce Iraq's compliance with the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. The Council has also taken the position that Israel should apply this convention de jure in the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories, albeit lessforcefully. This is partly due to the fact that the UN itself has caused confusion concerning the legal status of these territories. History shows that the Palestine Mandate should not be considered as indivisible in such a way that the creation of Israel automatically implied the termination of the mandate as a whole. The Palestine Mandate still exists for the area of the Arab state, defined in the General Assembly Resolution 181 (II) of November 29,1947, recommending a partition plan for Palestine. Subsequent resolutions of both the General Assembly and the Security Council imply that the Palestinian people can only claim the West Bank including East Jerusalem -hereafter referred to as the West Bank- and the Gaza Strip as its future territory. The Palestinian people appears to have resigned itself to this fact of life since its acceptance of Security Council Resolutions 242 of November 22,1947, and 338 of October 22,1973. In doing so it has stopped any further erosion of its claim to an independent state by virtue of its right to self-determination. Neither the Gulf war nor an international peace conference on the Middle East can alter the new situation one bit anymore. For the first time since 1947 the General Assembly is now in the position to keep the promise of self-determination towards the Palestinian people as well. The 1950 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the international status of South West Africa gives it a good point of departure for assuming its full responsibility for doing justice to the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. Legally speaking the role of the UN in the development of the International Peace Conference on the Middle East is crucial for the future of Israel and Palestine.
The Role of the International Law Commission in the Decade of International Law
Authors: Sucharitkul Sompong
Published: July 2009

The object of this study is, as suggested by its title: “The Role of the International Law Commission in the Decade of International Law”. In this exercise, the title role will be played by the International Law Commission in the context of the ‘Decade of International Law’ recently proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The contribution to be expected of the Commission will be viewed from the perspective of the prospect of enhancing the practice of states in the adoption of available means of their choice for the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
A Changing Attitude Towards International Adjudication in the Soviet Union
Authors: Shinkaretskaya G.
Published: July 2009

Russia (at that time still Tsarist Russia), its science and its government played a special role in the preparation of the two Hague Peace Conferences. One cannot but appreciate what Russian scientists, like Kachenovski, Nezabitovsky and others have done for the development of the idea to apply formalized, juridical methods in disputes between nations; one cannot but see that it was Kamarovsky who suggested that very scheme of building an international court of justice which is used up to now.Let us also give F.F. Martens, who took part in the preparation of the acts adopted by the Conferences, his due.
Implementing International Law - The Role of Domestic Courts: Some Reflections on the United States Experience
Authors: Falk Richard
Published: July 2009

There are, of course, a variety of arenas available for the implementation and expansion of international law. The UN Decade on International Law provides a natural occasion for assessing their relative utility at this stage of international relations. Often the emphasis is placed on procedural steps that encourage states to use judicial arenas for third-party application of international law. In this regard great attention is given to the encouragement of steps towards the formal acceptance by governments of the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, and to the insertion in treaties of compromissory clauses and dispute settlement procedures that entail a legal duty to resolve conflict through the impartial application of international law, and the related obligation to respect the outcome of such an agreed process. For major disputes between states such an app roach to the application of international law remains highly desirable, and needs to be encouraged in every possible way. Extending the domain of compulsory jurisdiction to address both disputes of regionaland inter-regional scope also tends to extend the protection of international law to weaker and more vulnerable states, especially if a stronger tradition of compliance can be established.
The Role of Domestic Courts in Effectuating International Law
Authors: Schermers Henry G.
Published: July 2009

In his article on the implementation of international law by the domestic courts in the United States, Richard Falk focuses on the possible role of domestic courts with respect to the acts of foreign policy which may be contrary to international law. In general that role is limited. This is the same in Europe. Falk mentions efforts of individuals, to change national foreign policy by means such as the Russell Tribunal, boycotts of products, blocking of tracks and the occupation of buildings. Such activities also happen in Europe but rather with the intention to attract public attention than with the purpose to litigate in court. In Europe it is generally accepted that courts should not take policy decisions of that kind.
Shareholders' Liability in International Organizations-The Settlement of the International Tin Council Case
Authors: Ebenroth Carsten Thomas
Published: July 2009

The financial collapse of the International Tin Council (ITC) in 1985 raised three fundamental legal questions. Firstly, whether the granting of legal personality to an organization under international law by means of an international agreement always carries with it the limited liability of the organization. Secondly, it must be asked whether agreements to establish an international entity based on the statutes of international law are never subject to national jurisdiction. And thirdly, consideration is needed of the precautions to be taken in the future in order to avoid this kind of financial collapse. The answers to these questions have to consider that the international organizations have changed the emphasis of their activities from the perception of sovereign duties over the economic field where they rely on trust and cooperation with private enterprises. Due to this situation a distinction must be made between acts of state and activities under civil law. There is no principle at all in international or private law according to which the granting of international personality or legal capacity involves sole liability. Also the Act of State doctrine is not suited to protect the FTC or its member states from recourse to the court by private creditors in the case of civil acts. To realise the aim of creating a new and more equitable economic order and to improve the necessary credit standing, the statutes of the internationalorganizations must also contain improved control mechanisms.
Reprisals as a Method of Enforcing International Law
Authors: Mckinnon Fiona
Published: July 2009

Reprisals originally served individuals seeking redress for an injustice suffered abroad. The concept, however, has undergone extensive development. Nowadays, reprisals are -in themselves illegal- retaliatory measures used by one state seeking redress for an illegal act committed by another. The prerequisites for legal reprisals areformulated in the Naulilaa Incident arbitration of 1928. In her examination of the recent history of the concept of reprisals, this arbitration is the author's starting point. After this examination she compares reprisals to other methods of redress. Finally, she investigates the limitation of the use of reprisals as laid down in humanitarian law treaties.
The Aerospace Plane: Collisions and Damage to a Third Party on the Surface of the Earth: Which Liability Regime will Rule?
Authors: van der Laan Lousewies S.A.L.B
Published: July 2009

The article addresses the establishment of a legal regime concerning liability questions of the aerospace plane. The existing air and space law, as laid down for example in the Chicago Convention and the Outer Space Treaty -especially the definition of the words ‘aircraft’ and ‘space object’-is used as a starting point. The applicability of the existing regimes to the aerospace plane is then evaluated. Two concrete cases, namely liability resulting from damage to third parties on the suiface of the earth and liability after collisions, are presented in depth to illustrate the legal questions that this new hybrid craft will raise. Finally some modest suggestions are made as to the resolution of the conflicts.
The EEC and the Mediterranean Area: Associations and Cooperation Agreements
Authors: Fransen C.M.
Published: July 2009

Article 238 EEC-Treaty lays down the external communal competence to conclude association agreements with a third state, a union of states or an international organisation. Before the proclamation ofthe ‘Global Mediterranean Policy’ in 1972, the Community entered in a variety of associations and trade agreements with most states bordering the Mediterranean.The agreements concluded after 1972 with the Maghreb, the Mashrak, Israel and Yugoslavia and supplemented with Turkey, Malta and Cyprus contain corresponding provisions regarding the objectives of the agreement, trade cooperation, economical, technical and financial cooperation and -if necessary- cooperation in the field of labour. They also lay down the competentions of the institutions called into existence by the agreements. From the negotiation to the implementation of the agreements, protocols and decisions, many formal and material juridical questions can be raised.
The International Court as Constitutional Court and the Blurring of the Arbitral/Judicial Processes
Authors: McWhinney Edward
Published: July 2009

The institutionalization of international conflict-resolution on a third-party basis, with the creation of a Permanent Court of Arbitration, was one of the high hopes of the political leaders at the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899. In the early phase, from creation of the Court in 1902 until the outbreak of World War I in 1914, 17 cases were initiated before the Court. There was a quite understandable gap, through the War years, until 1921; and then, in the decade until 1931,7 further cases were brought before the Court. This was followed by another awkward hiatus as to cases throughout the 1930s, apparently because of the renewed international tensions in Europe that culminated in World War II. There were no cases before the Court during the War years, the seat of the Court being under belligerent occupation for most of that time. The fact remains, however, that since World War II and, indeed, since 1931, there have been only two cases (both minor ones) brought before the Court, (or three, if we accept the Court Registry's retroactive classification, in its 1990 Annual Report, of the continuing Iran-US Claims Tribunal, which had begun its work in 1981, as one of its own cases).
Private Parties and the Permanent Court of Arbitration
Authors: Sanders Pieter
Published: July 2009

As early as 1952 I launched the idea of enhancing the use of the PCA by making its arbitration facilities accessible for arbitration between states and private parties. A few years later I was requested by the Secretary-General, at that time, Prof. Francois, to draw up draft arbitration rules for this purpose. These rules, as elaborated by the International Bureau of the PCA, became the 1962 Rules of Arbitration and Conciliation for Settlement of International Disputes between Two Parties of Which Only One is a State, hereafter referred to as the 1962 Rules.
Equity in Arbitration and in Judicial Settlement of Disputes
Authors: Lachs Judge Manfred
Published: July 2009

Much has been written on the similarities and differences between arbitration tribunals and international courts; much more could and will certainly be written in the future. The purpose of my comments is to define similarities and differences in regard to the role of equity in both. However, I hope to enter the caveat at the very outset that in this paper I will focus solely on the role of equity in cases where the decision is to be based on international law. Accordingly, I will not here discuss cases of the type I had in mind when I pointed out in a speech delivered 34 years ago to the Legal Committee of the UN General Assembly that “[t]he arbitral solution has been applied in the past to a variety of problems, some of which were not judicial in character and did not raise issues of law”. Nor will I now discuss arbitrations in which the parties have agreed that the arbitrators need not be guided by law, or where the arbitral tribunal is expressly authorized by the parties to decide ex aequo et bono and thereby to settle the matter in a liberal spirit without regard to legal requirements and technicalities. Thus, cases in which the arbitrators have been empowered to seek mutual accommodations that would give offense to neither party are outside the scope of this discussion, as are cases where arbitrators recommended action by one of the parties as an act of grace.
The Perspectives of African Countries on International Commercial Arbitration
Authors: Asante Samuel K.B.
Published: July 2009

The participation of developing countries in the international legal system poses a perennial dilemma. On the one hand the brutal facts of international economic and commercial interdependence make such participation inevitable. On the other hand, developing countries, for various reasons and with varying degrees of intensity, have articulated their reservations, or indeed experienced considerable difficulties, with respect to such participation. This article considers this dilemma with special reference to the experience of Sub-Saharan African countries in international commercial arbitration.
Enforcement of an Arbitral Award against a State: with Whom are You Dealing?
Authors: van Blankenstein A.
Published: July 2009

The effort to attract commercial arbitration to the Permanent Court of Arbitration [hereinafter PCA] in 1962 by introducing the Rules of Arbitration and Conciliation for Settlement of International Disputes between Two Parties of Which only One is a State [hereinafter the 1962 Rules], has met with little success. In other articles of this issue of the Leiden Journal of International Law the reasons for this failure are discussed. These articles also contain suggestions on how changes in the legal framework and the administration of the PCA may improve this situation.
The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development: Securing the Outcomes of UNCED?
Authors: van Buitenen Arthur
Published: July 2009

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), the intergovernmental body set up to review the implementation of Agenda 21, is in more than one way crucial for the future development of the United Nations system. The Commission is the first organisation within the United Nations system which institutionally links environment and development. In these policy areas, two integration processes can be distinguished. First, environment and development initiatives have to be taken into account in all other areas of policy and law-making, including such important fields as foreign policy and national and international security. Secondly, the interests of actors on the global stage, including states, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, are becoming more and more interrelated and convergent.
Recent Developments Concerning the Law for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
Authors: Tanja Gerard J.
Published: July 2009

On May 14, 1954 the Inter-governmental Conference on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict which convened in The Hague, managed to adopt the text of the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954 Hague Convention). Apart from the Convention as such, the Regulations for the Execution of the Convention, a Protocol directed towards the prevention of the exportation of cultural property from occupied territories during armed conflicts, and three Resolutions were adopted.
Sexual Abuse in Times of Armed Conflict
Authors: Wilbers M.T.A.
Published: July 2009

After looking into sexual abuse in some armed conflicts that occurred in the past, this article will attempt to give reasons for the sudden interest in this long ignored crime. Subsequently, it will examine the provisions relevant to the issue of sexual abuse in various international instruments. The article will then focus on the problems in implementing international humanitarian law. Not only will it describe the weak points, it will also present some possible improvements. The article will end with a look at the position of the victim in the process of prosecuting those accused of sexual abuse. In closing, it will offer some ways to ease the difficulties a woman encounters at this stage, and take a look at how the Yugoslavia Tribunal deals with this issue.
The Inaugural Manfred Lachs Memorial Lecture
Authors: McWhinney Edward
Published: July 2009

In this, the inaugural Manfred Lachs Memorial Lecture given at the seat of the International Court of Justice, we celebrate the judicial life and learning, and also the judicial wisdom of the longest-serving judge of the Court and its sometime President, who died on January 14th, 1993. Manfred Lachs came to the Court in February, 1967, having been elected in October, 1966, in the first elections following the Court's politically and, in some elements at least (judicial recusation, as example)legally controversial decision in South West Africa, Second Phase1 which had been rendered only two months before the UN Security Council and General Assembly regular triennial balloting on renewal or replacement of one third of the Court's membership.
Breaking Away Towards Peace in the Middle East
Authors: Alting von Geusau Frans A.M.
Published: July 2009

For many years after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, peace in the Middle East has been an elusive goal, despite the continuous attention given to it by the United Nations and the (mainly American)efforts to promote negotiations between the parties concerned. The affirmation by the UN Security Council “that the fulfilment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East” failed to break the threefold deadlock barring the way towards peace. The Arab states and the PLO refused to recognise Israel's right to exist as a sovereign state in the Middle East. Their goal of a ‘comprehensive peace’ was peace without Israel. Israel refused to recognise the existence of a Palestinian people as defined by the PLO, entitled to exercise its right of self-determination. Its goal was to conclude peace treaties with neighbouring states, without the creation of a Palestinian state, however. In the context of the global conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union (from 1945–1989) neither side could achieve peace on its own terms.
Some Remarks on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Authors: Brölmann Catherine M. , Zieck Marjoleine Y.A.
Published: July 2009

The history of indigenous peoples is not a fortunate one: colonization,discrimination, exploitation, dispossession, relocation, and genocide have been their lot.1Indigenous peoples seek recognition as distinct groups in order to preserve their culture and, plainly, to survive. Their wish for recognition is coupled with various demands, ranging from political participation to autonomy, self-government and independence, often subsumed under ‘the right of self-determination’. Although, throughout this century,attempts have been made to improve the plight of indigenous peoples,these have proven inadequate so far.2In 1994, after nine years of preparation,the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations (hereinafter:Working Group) finalised the draft of a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. With its adoption by the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (hereinafter:UN Sub-Commission)in August 1994, 3 the draft Declaration has commenced its course towards adoption by the General Assembly.
The Second Tuna GATT Panel Report
Authors: Weiss Friedl
Published: July 2009

Comparative advantage which motors free trade crucially depends on national differences in respect of endowment with resources – e.g. natural,human, technological – and with factors and standards of production, including standards on production processes. Yet, is it open to any GATT contracting party to unilaterally force its own standards upon others?Moreover, is it permissible for a contracting party to enforce such standards by means of ‘trade sanctions’ in the form of import prohibitions against another whose environmental standards regarding certain production processes it has judged inferior to its own? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’ from some exponents of the environmental constituency, arguing that values pertaining to global environmental welfare should prevail. Similarly, some members of the GATT constituency, particularly developing countries, emphatically reject what it they term ‘eco-imperialism’.Generally, their argument is that, in order to safeguard the welfare of world trade against disguised protectionist aberrations, governmental environmental measures must be justified under the general exceptions of GATT.
The Role of the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules
Authors: Jonkman Hans
Published: July 2009

On 28 April 1976, after a preparation period of three years, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted by consensus the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. On 15 December 1976, the General Assembly of the United Nations recommended the use of these Rules, and requested the UN Secretary-General to arrange for their widest possible distribution.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration: Recent Developments
Authors: Shifmari Bette E.
Published: July 2009

In August 1993, this Journal devoted an entire special issue to the future of international arbitration in general, andthe Permanent Court of Arbitration in particular. Its editors viewed this special issue inter alia as a contribution to the UN Decade of International Law. It is not entirely coincidental that 1999, the final year of the Decade, will also mark the centennial of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). This commemorative link is expressly acknowledged in the UN Resolution initiating the Decade.
US/UK Arbitration Concerning Heathrow Airport User Charges - Some Procedural Aspects
Authors: Haersolte-von Hof Jacomijn J. van
Published: July 2009

This arbitration arose under the Air Services Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (hereinafter: HMG) and the Government of the United States (hereinafter: USG) concluded at Bermuda, 23 July 1977, as subsequently amended. This Agreement, which is generally referred to as Bermuda 2, provides, inter alia, that airport charges should not discriminate between a state's domestic carriers and those of the other party, and that theparties should use their best efforts to ensure that charges should be based on certain principles.
Frontiers of Sovereignty: A Framework of Protection, Assistance, and Development for the Internally Displaced
Authors: Deng Francis M.
Published: July 2009

Absract

Among the major crises threatening humanity today, forcing some 20 million people to flee their countries as refugees and displacing some 30 million people within the borders of their countries, are violent internal conflicts, systematic violations of human rights, massive denials of democratic freedoms, and frustration of sustainable, environmentally sensitive development. Although mostly grounded in domestic jurisdictions, these crises often result in human rights tragedies of grave concern to the international community. In this article, the focus lies on the state's sovereignty to underscore its responsibilities and accountability to both domestic and international constituencies.
Verifying Non-Proliferation Pledges: The Evolution and Future Direction of the IAEA Safeguards System
Authors: ElBaradei Mohamed
Published: July 2009

The 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons concluded its work last May in New York and decided that, in accordance with the provisions of Article X(2) of the Treaty, the Treaty shall continue in force indefinitely.
The Limits of Free Circulation; The Torfaen Borough Council Case
Authors: van der woude Marc
Published: July 2009

The energetic implementation of the 1992 programme should not be allowed to put the contribution of the Court of Justice to the establishment of the Common Market in the shade. Its case law on the direct effect of Treaty provisions concerning the free circulation of persons, services and goods enables European workers and business-men to fight effectively against protectionism in the EEC Member States. The Court gives, moreover, a very broad interpretation to the prohibitions contained in these provisions and, reciprocally, a very restrictive interpretation to their exceptions. This approach leads to the removal of nearly every obstacle to free trade. Liberalisation has its limits however. Certain economic activities require regulation, even if it has restrictive effects.
At Last: an EEC-Regulation on the Control of Concentrations
Authors: Sevenster H.G.
Published: July 2009

After sixteen years of negotiation and numerous Commission's proposals, on December 21, 1989 the Council of Ministers of the EC finally adopted a Regulation on the Control of Concentrations Between Undertakings. The Regulation enters into force on September 21, 1990.

Although the first draft regulation had been issued by the Commission as long ago as 19732, the Council has been unable to reach consensus on the subject for some time. Several amended proposals followed the 1973 draft, but it was only recently that things became really serious, as the Council has been put under considerable pressure by the Commission and industry to finally decide. The increasing pressure has been considered due largely to the EC Court's decision in theBAT-Reynolds Caseand the rather active behaviour the EC Commission has displayed in intervening in concentrations since that judgment.
The Untidy Process of Groping for Truth
Authors: Haack Susan
Published: July 2009

In many academic circles today, Susan Haack observes, we encounter a ‘new almost-orthodoxy’ which distrusts the notions of truth, fact and evidence and rejects such ideals as honest inquiry and respect for evidence. Supporters of this ‘Higher Dismissiveness’, noting, correctly, that ‘truth’ is very often only what the powerful have managed to get accepted as such, draw the mistaken conclusion that those who still speak of knowledge and truth are guilty of naivete and ‘white male thinking’.

In this paper Haack argues that the Higher Dismissiveness is not only confused, but dangerously so.
Paradoxes 1: The Ship of Theseus
Authors: Clark Michael
Published: July 2009

In this regular series Michael Clark, editor of the philosophy journal Analysis, presents a number of the most intriguing philosophical paradoxes. We begin with The Ship of Theseus.
Deliberate wrong-doing
Authors: Montefiore Alan
Published: July 2009

In this article, Alan Montefiore asks whether anyone could deliberately do something they knew to be wrong. He suggests, interestingly, that on this question we tend to divide into two groups, groups that hold fundamentally different perspectives on wrong-doing. The two groups muddle along unaware of the rift between them. Here, Alan Montefiore draws the rift to our attention.
Miss B and Mrs Pretty
Authors: Benn Piers
Published: July 2009

Piers Benn, lecturer in medical ethics at Imperial College, London, discusses two recent medical cases involving the so-called ‘right to die’ explaining how the cases differ legally and, perhaps, ethically.
Choosing at random
Authors: Haigh John
Published: July 2009

Many seek to play the lottery by crossing boxes at random across their card. But do they really choose their numbers at random? As John Haigh here explains, probably not. And, surprisingly, that is likely to affect how much they win. If you play the lottery and want to win big, then read on…
Did you hear the One about the Philosopher Writing a Book on Humour?
Authors: Critchley Simon
Published: July 2009

Simon Critchley, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Essex, investigates humour. And tells some pretty good jokes.
What might parapsychology contribute to our view of the world?
Authors: Sprigge Timothy
Published: July 2009

Suppose that paranormal phenomena really exist. Telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis, clairvoyance, and communication with the dead actually take place. In this article, Timothy Sprigge asks to what extent this would impact on our world view. In particular, how would it affect science, philosophy and religion?
Misunderstanding Richard Dawkins
Authors: Stangroom Jeremy
Published: July 2009

Many people are upset by Richard Dawkins. Mary Midgley, in particular, has argued that Dawkins'‘crude, cheap, blurred genetics […] is the kingpin of his crude, cheap, blurred psychology. ’Dawkins is often also suspected of having sinister political motives, and of morally condoning selfish behaviour. Here, Jeremy Stangroom explains how he believes Midgley and others have systematically misunderstood Dawkins.
Why is there anything at all?
Authors: Davies Brian
Published: July 2009

The question of why there is anything at all is perhaps the deepest and most profound of all philosophical mysteries. Here, Brian Davies investigates whether it is reasonable to suppose the universe was created by God.
God and the big bang
Authors: Flew Antony
Published: July 2009

Antony Flew asks what might lie beyond the big bang, and questions the assumption that we must choose between two options: either God created it, or it popped into existence for no reason.
Swinburne's arguments from design
Authors: Norman Richard
Published: July 2009

In issue one, Richard Swinburne presented two ingenious versions of the argument from design. Here, Richard Norman questions both arguments.
Reasons for doubting design: Response to Swinburne
Authors: Bostrom Nick
Published: July 2009

Like Richard Norman, Nick Bostrom is also unconvinced by Swinburne's two arguments from design (from issue one).
Irreconcilable differences: The fundamental incompatibility of science and religion
Authors: Lett James
Published: July 2009

James Lett argues passionately that science and religion are not non-overlapping ‘magesteria’, and explains why he believes appeals to religious faith over scientific reason are highly dangerous.
Mental causation
Authors: Dretske Fred
Published: July 2009

When we explain someone's behaviour, we do so by appealing to their mental states – their beliefs, desires, and so on. But, as Fred Dretske explains below, materialists have a hard time explaining how our mental states could have any effect on our behaviour.
Thinking tools: The fallacy of affirming the consequent
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: July 2009

Thinking Tools is a regular feature that introduces pointers on thinking clearly and rigorously.
What is phenomenology?
Authors: Glendinning Simon
Published: July 2009

Simon Glendinning explains the mysteries of phenomenology.
A temple of Phalisees
Authors: Chinthapalli Vamsi Krishna
Published: July 2009

Vamsi Chinthapalli introduces some of the most common fallacies.
Keanu's Cartesian meditations
Authors: Rowlands Mark
Published: July 2009

The film The Matrix is a riproaring adventure. Its plot owes a great deal to Descartes.
How to father a child when dead
Authors: Sokol Daniel K.
Published: July 2009

Is it right for a wife to take sperm from a dying husband in order to create a child posthumously? Daniel Sokol discusses a recent case.
Tu quoque, Archbishop
Authors: Larvor Brendan
Published: July 2009

Brendan Larvor finds that the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent arguments about religious education are a curate's egg.
Paradox 7: The unexpected examination
Authors: Clark Michael
Published: July 2009

In this regular series Michael Clark, editor of the journal Analysis, presents a number of the most intriguing philosophical paradoxes. Here we examine the paradox of the unexpected examination.
Modern physics and Eastern mystics?
Authors: Schick Theodore
Published: July 2009

Ted Schick grapples with the New Age thinker Fritjof Capra. Is Capra right to suggest that the Eastern Mystics have been vindicated by the discoveries of modern science?
Bad arguments about Darwinism
Authors: Ruse Michael
Published: July 2009

In Think 7, philosopher Jenny Teichman accused the geneticist Professor Stephen Jones and other contemporary Darwinists of confusion and of overestimating Darwinism's explanatory power. Here, Micheal Ruse explains why he believes it is actually Teichman who is confused.
Thinking Tools: Seductive secrets of the shopping mall
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: July 2009

Thinking Tools is a regular feature that introduces pointers on thinking clearly and rigorously. In this installment, we focus, not on faulty reasoning per se, but on an example of how we can be led astray or manipulated without our even realizing what is going on. Our critical faculties are entirely sidestepped!
Introducing pragmatism
Authors: Horner Chris
Published: July 2009

Chris Horner opens our debate on pragmatism with this handy introduction to the subject. Those entirely new to the topic of pragmatism might also find helpful Stephen Law's article ‘Is it all relative?’ (see issue 2 of Think).
Practicing pragmatism: Understanding science
Authors: Gascoigne Neil
Published: July 2009

Neil Gascoigne explains the pragmatist attitude to science, contrasting it with both the realism of scientists like Susan Greenfield and Richard Dawkins, and the anti-realism of sociologists like Harry Collins.
What is pragmatism?
Authors: Rorty Richard , Putnam Hilary , Conant James , Helfrich Gretchen
Published: July 2009

The following is a transcript of a discussion about the question ‘What is Pragmatism?’ between Richard Rorty, Hilary Putnam, and James Conant. The discussion was part of a series of discussions on more or less philosophical subjects broadcast on Chicago Public Radio. This discussion is anchored by Gretchen Helfrich. Two listeners (Chris and Edwin) also took part.

I thank the participants for making the material available for a wider audience. I have deleted some passages in order to fit the space available for this subject (a nearly complete version appears in the next volume of The Wittgenstein Studies). I have tried to keep the character of a discussion. However, a transcript can hardly display the fine nuances of spoken words—and there are indeed some such nice nuances. However, the most important points were, of course, kept. How to think about them — that is up to the reader.

Richard Raatzsch, University of Leipzig, July 2004

Further note from Stephen Law: readers should be aware that this transcript has been edited. Some material — words, phrases, and passages — has been removed. Italicizations are my own.
Paradox 8: The paradox of the gods
Authors: Clark Michael
Published: July 2009

In this regular series Michael Clark, editor of the journal Analysis, presents a number of the most intriguing philosophical paradoxes. Here we examine the paradox of the gods.
Blaming the victim and blaming the culprit
Authors: Double Richard
Published: July 2009

Psychologists and common sense recognize blaming the victim as a cognitive error (fallacy) that many of us use to support the just-world hypothesis — the view that life is basically fair. In this article Richard Double compares a related phenomenon, blaming the culprit. When we commit the fallacy of blaming the culprit we mistakenly conclude that judging a culprit to deserve blame for an action exonerates everyone else from blame for that action. Double provides several examples of the fallacy.
The Golden Rule
Authors: Hooker Brad
Published: July 2009

Should you always do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Brad Hooker investigates a seemingly plausible-looking moral principle: the Golden Rule.
The marginal cases argument: Animals matter too
Authors: Tanner Julia
Published: July 2009

If we are going to treat other species so very differently from our own — killing, eating and experimenting on pigs and sheep, for example, but never human beings — then it seems we need to come up with some morally relevant difference between us and them that justifies this difference in treatment. Otherwise it appears we are guilty of bigotry (in just the same way that someone who discriminates on the basis of race or sex is guilty of bigotry). But what is this morally relevant difference? Julia Tanner's article examines, and rejects, some of the most popular answers to this question.
The secrets of Rennes-le-Chateau
Authors: Polidoro Massimo
Published: July 2009

I hope I'll be forgiven for including this piece about the infamous Priory of Sion, which, as, anyone who has read The Da Vinci Code can tell you, is a secret organization dedicated to keeping the secret of the Holy Grail — an organization led down the centuries by eminent scientists, thinkers and artists including Da Vinci himself. While not strictly philosophical, this article is an excellent exercise in the kind of scrupulous detective work rarely done by those who spread such myths. It also nicely illustrates how such myths are often started.
Tabloid shocker
Authors: Baggini Julian
Published: July 2009

Julian Baggini has managed to lay his hands on some newspaper articles from the future.
The tsunami: herald of a new world order?
Authors: Farrington Conor
Published: July 2009

Does our future lie in global citizenship?
Photosinthesis: How deceptive images imperil knowledge
Authors: Hetherington Stephen
Published: July 2009

An epistemological investigation into photography
Intelligent design in biology: the current situation and future prospects
Authors: Johnson Phillip E.
Published: July 2009

Phillip Johnson introduces the debate over intelligent design.
In the end it's the tail: Thomas Aquinas's fifth proof of the existence of god
Authors: Kaye Sharon , Prisco Robert
Published: July 2009

Kaye and Prisco draw our attention to one of the more obvious difficulties with all versions of the argument from design (including both the fine-tuning and intelligent design versions).
My ‘conversion’
Authors: Flew Antony
Published: July 2009

In a preceding article, Phillip E. Johnson notes that ‘famed atheist philosopher Antony Flew’ has announced that he has ‘converted to philosophical theism (though not to Christianity or any other specific religion, at least as yet), on the basis of scientific discoveries and related reasoning, which [have] convinced him that there is an intelligent designer of the natural universe’. Here, Flew sets out his position more clearly.
Biology and anti-homosexual disgust
Authors: Burley Mikel
Published: July 2009

Mikel Burley also responds to Michael Levin's article, ‘Non-Euclidean Sex’(Think 10).
Is atheism a faith position?
Authors: Benn Piers
Published: July 2009

In a recent issue of Think, Brenda Watson suggested that atheism is also a ‘faith position’. Here, Piers Benn looks more closely at this often-made suggestion.
Zapping the zombies
Authors: Kirk Robert
Published: July 2009

In the philosophy of mind, zombies often make an appearance. It seems we can conceive of zombies — beings physically exactly like ourselves but lacking conscious experience. There may not actually be any zombies, of course. But the suggestion that they could exist does at least seem to make sense. Or does it? Robert Kirk investigates.
Evolution mathematics
Authors: Navé Peter
Published: July 2009

It's often said that it's highly improbable that evolution should produce complex beings such as ourselves. But is it? Here is a welcome clarification of how to weigh up probabilities — particularly when it comes to evolution.
Fame! Money! Power!
Authors: Distin Kate
Published: July 2009

Kate Distin introduces the theory of the selfish meme – and questions whether we are all ‘meme machines’.
Perspectivism
Authors: Benson Ophelia
Published: July 2009

Is truth just a matter of perspective?
What is a philosophical problem?
Authors: Hacker P.M.S.
Published: July 2009

To what extent are philosophical questions and problems like other kinds of questions and problems, such as the those tackled by the physical sciences? Peter Hacker suggests that the problems of philosophy are conceptual, not factual, and that their solution or resolution is more a contribution to a particular form of understanding than to our knowledge of the world.
What are your chances?
Authors: Haigh John
Published: July 2009

John Haigh provides us with some mind-expanding puzzles concerning probabilities.
Dover Beach revisited
Authors: Midgley Mary
Published: July 2009

Mary Midgley asks, ‘What do we mean when we say that things are real or illusory?’
Thinking tools: The bandwagon fallacy
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: July 2009

Thinking Tools is a regular feature that introduces tips and pointers on thinking clearly and rigorously.
The implausible time machine
Authors: Milligan Tony
Published: July 2009

Are time machines philosophically possible? Is there something fundamentally illogical about the very notion of time travel? Tony Milligan introduces some of the key arguments in this amusing dialogue.
A planet by any other name: An exercise in astro-metaphysics
Authors: Marks Joel
Published: July 2009

Joel Marks discusses the philosophical aspects of a question recently in the news: is Pluto a planet, or not?
Should philosophy replace religious education? Reflections following brendan larvor's article ‘Tu Quoque, archbishop’
Authors: Watson Brenda
Published: July 2009

In Think, Issue 7, Brendan Larvor took the Archbishop of Canterbury to task for suggesting that atheism and humanism should not be taught in schools alongside the major faiths. Here, Brenda Watson defends the Archbishop's position.
Reflecting on our ‘yuk!’
Authors: Sokol Daniel K.
Published: July 2009

Is ‘Yuk’ a suitable basis for making moral decisions?
The metaphysics and epistemology of time travel
Authors: Dyke Heather
Published: July 2009

Is time travel possible? Does it even make sense? Heather Dyke explores one of the sci-fi film buff's favourite philosophical conundrums.
Paradox 9: Heraclitus' paradox
Authors: Clark Michael
Published: July 2009

In this regular series Michael Clark, editor of the journal Analysis, presents a number of he most intriguing philosophical paradoxes.
Good God, bad deeds?
Authors: Machan Tibor R.
Published: July 2009

Tibor Machan responds to James Franklin's response to the problem of evil (in Think issue 5).
Thinking tools: Weak analogy
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: July 2009

Thinking Tools is a regular feature that introduces pointers on thinking clearly and rigorously
Aquinas (and Hume) on miracles: Some thoughts
Authors: Carey Thomas
Published: July 2009

Aquinas and Hume view miracles in starkly contrasting ways, as Thomas Carey here explains.
Who designed the designer? A dialogue on Richard Dawkins's The god delusion
Authors: Groothuis Douglas
Published: July 2009

In the second of our pieces on Dawkins's The God Delusion, Douglas Groothuis defends intelligent design.
Is death a bad thing?
Authors: Burley Mikel
Published: July 2009

After examining arguments for and against the view that death is a bad thing, Mikel Burley tentatively endorses the Epicurean claim that death cannot rationally be judged bad. For moral reasons, however, this conclusion is acceptable only with regard to one's own death.
Gender, evil, and God: A dialogue
Authors: Williams Reginald
Published: July 2009

Reginald Williams offers a novel approach to the problem of evil.
Lifelong learning and the duty of self-improvement
Authors: Bassham Greg
Published: July 2009

What is ‘life-long learning’ and why should we suppose it a good thing?
The Matrix
Authors: McGinn Colin
Published: July 2009

The science-fiction film The Matrix (the first in a trilogy) generated a great deal of philosophical interest. There are already three collections of philosophical papers either published or in the pipeline devoted to the film (all are aimed at the general public, not academics). Here, Colin McGinn takes a closer look at the film and comes up with some rather surprising conclusions.
Where should we look for the mind?
Authors: Longworth Guy
Published: July 2009

Is your mind in your head? The answer, surprisingly, may be ‘no’. Guy Longworth sets out the philosophical case for accepting that our minds extend much further into the world than that.
Thinking tools: The gambler's fallacy
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: July 2009

Thinking Tools is a regular feature that introduces pointers on thinking clearly and rigorously. Here we get to grips with an everyday reasoning error: the gambler's fallacy.
What's wrong with gay sex?
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: July 2009

Mr Jarvis, a Christian, was asleep in bed, dreaming of the Last Judgement. In his dream, Jarvis found himself seated next to God in a great cloud-swept hall. God had just finished handing down judgement on the drunkards, who were slowly shuffling out of the exit to the left. Angels were now ushering a group of nervous-looking men through the entrance to the right. As the men were assembled before Him, God began to speak.
The Contemporary Relevance of Socrates' question to Euthyphro
Authors: Westacott Emrys
Published: July 2009

Emrys Westacott explains one of the most famous and ubiquitous of all philosophical dilemmas.
Photography
Authors: Teichman Jenny
Published: July 2009

In this article it is argued — contentiously — that tourist photography is not ethically neutral but bad and wrong according to the fundamental principles of all the main theories propounded in moral philosophy.
Design defended
Authors: Swinburne Richard
Published: July 2009

Richard Swinburne responds to criticisms of his arguments from design for the existence of God.
Darwinism and atheism: A Marriage made in Heaven?
Authors: Ruse Michael
Published: July 2009

Richard Dawkins argues both that Darwin's theory made a God-as-the-designer-of-species redundant, and also that the problem of evil provides overwhelming evidence against God's existence. But Michael Ruse suspects Dawkins may be too hasty…
Paradoxes 6: The Paradox of inference
Authors: Clark Michael
Published: July 2009

In this regular series Michael Clark, editor of the journal Analysis, presents a number of the most intriguing philosophical paradoxes. Here we examine the paradox of inference.
Sociobiology and the roots of normativity
Authors: Bradie Michael
Published: July 2009

Michael Bradie challenges the assumption, common among sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists, that it is to science, not philosophy, that we must look if we wish to answer the fundamental questions of ethics.
Thinking Tools: ‘Well I'm not Going to Answer a Hypothetical Question…’
Authors: Law Stephen
Published: July 2009

Thinking Tools is a regular feature that introduces pointers on thinking clearly and rigorously. Here we look at a particularly underhand way of avoiding answering a question. It is popular with politicians around the world.