Latest Articles
When Did the Academy Become Illiberal?
Volume 45,No. 3April/May 2025
Bret Stephens
Torpor, turpitude, tendentiousness: Higher education has been charged with many sins over many years. In the 1770s, Adam Smith took aim at Oxford, where “the greater part of the publick professors have, for these many years, given up altogether even the pretence of teaching.” In the 1950s, William F. Buckley Jr. made his name by …
Philosophy and Raising Good Citizens
Volume 45,No. 3April/May 2025
Stephen Law
This is an edited draft of a short talk I gave as one of the panelists at a British Academy event on “What’s the point of Philosophy?” in 2016. Here’s one reason why I believe engaging young people with philosophy, especially in the classroom, is a good idea. Two of Britain’s best-known philosophy for children …
Veganism as a Moral Imperative: The Case Proved
Volume 45,No. 3April/May 2025
Gary L. Francione
In the February/March 2024 issue of Free Inquiry, Ronald A. Lindsay said that my argument in favor of veganism in my book, Why Veganism Matters: The Moral Status of Animals, is “clear, concise, forceful, and—superficially at least—more persuasive than some of the other pro-vegan arguments on offer.”1 He concludes, however, that “the case for veganism remains …
Francione’s Misguided, Misdirected Argument
Volume 45,No. 3April/May 2025
Ronald A. Lindsay
In his forcefully argued rebuttal to my previous critique of his argument for veganism (see “Is Veganism a Moral Imperative?” in the February/March 2024 issue of Free Inquiry, pp. 34–41; hereinafter, “Veganism”), Gary L. Francione maintains that the principal reason I was not convinced by his argument is that I am one of those who …
Popular Articles
Have Christians Accepted the Scientific Conclusion That God Does Not Answer Intercessory Prayer?
Volume 39,No. 1December 2018 / January 2019
Brian Bolton
In 1982, a young cardiologist at the San Francisco General Medical Center named Randolph Byrd had a brilliant insight that would motivate several important investigations of prayer during the following two decades. He realized that the standard research paradigm known as the double-blind randomized clinical trial could be used to test the efficacy of intercessory …
Why I Am Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice
Volume 36,No. 5August / September 2016
Valerie Tarico
Why be pro-abortion? Because of all the genuine, unquestioned goods it makes possible.
The Importance of Being Blasphemous
Volume 35,No. 6October / November 2015
Stephen R. Welch
Looking back on the Satanic Verses affair from the time of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, it is clear that Western culture has hemorrhaged away its courage.
Popular Articles
Have Christians Accepted the Scientific Conclusion That God Does Not Answer Intercessory Prayer?
Volume 39,No. 1December 2018 / January 2019
Brian Bolton
In 1982, a young cardiologist at the San Francisco General Medical Center named Randolph Byrd had a brilliant insight that would motivate several important investigations of prayer during the following two decades. He realized that the standard research paradigm known as the double-blind randomized clinical trial could be used to test the efficacy of intercessory …
Why I Am Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice
Volume 36,No. 5August / September 2016
Valerie Tarico
Why be pro-abortion? Because of all the genuine, unquestioned goods it makes possible.
Looking Back
The Science of the Evolution of Morality
Volume 39,No. 2February / March 2019
Doug Mann
Since Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man, his second major book about evolution, in 1871, researchers have made many discoveries that flesh out Darwin’s little-known ideas about the evolution of morality. Recent papers in Free Inquiry by Ronald Lindsay and James Hughes have touched briefly on the evolution of morality, but there’s much more …
Pure Anguish
Volume 39,No. 2February / March 2019
Linda Kay Klein
In the 1990s, a “purity industry” emerged out of white evangelical Christian culture. Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual “stumbling blocks” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This is the “sex education” Linda …
From Darwin to Jihad: The Erosion of Turkey’s Secular Education System
Volume 39,No. 2February / March 2019
Hannah Wallace
Turkey’s secular education system is under threat. According to a 2018 Washington Post article, an education official called for all school children to be taken to local mosques for morning prayers before lessons. While it may be a seemingly incongruous demand in a country known for its secular constitution, it represents growing confidence on the …
The Science of the Evolution of Morality
Volume 39,No. 2February / March 2019
Doug Mann
Since Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man, his second major book about evolution, in 1871, researchers have made many discoveries that flesh out Darwin’s little-known ideas about the evolution of morality. Recent papers in Free Inquiry by Ronald Lindsay and James Hughes have touched briefly on the evolution of morality, but there’s much more …
Pure Anguish
Volume 39,No. 2February / March 2019
Linda Kay Klein
In the 1990s, a “purity industry” emerged out of white evangelical Christian culture. Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual “stumbling blocks” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This is the “sex education” Linda …