Morality
Bristling with meaning: the language of hair in 19th-century America
Beards, moustaches, whiskers, free-flowing curls or cropped coifs – all were signifiers of morality, trustworthiness or political ideology
Outlandish epic: Lies and Sorcery, by Elsa Morante, reviewed
Spanning three generations of Sicilian women, this family saga of honour, deception and class politics is also a study in morality and the petty ways in which it is eroded
Qatargate and the dubious moral authority of NGOs
The Qatargate scandal haunting the European Union is not merely about corrupt politicians and officials. The deplorable role of a non-governmental organisation is at the heart…
High life
Gstaad Who was it who said good manners had gone the way of black and white TV? Actually it was…
Did Christianity make the western mind — or was it the other way round?
Nobody can accuse Tom Holland of shying away from big subjects. Dominion is nothing less than a history of Christianity…
The wisdom of pitchfork-wielding crowds
In a way the headline to my fellow columnist Dominic Lawson’s Sunday Times commentary on 12 April said it all.…
How Seneca got to sleep
As if we did not have enough to cause us sleepless nights, the Royal Society for Public Health has demanded…
Hayek was right: you can’t understand society without evolution
In December the controversial satellite TV channel ReallyTV launches its Christmas season with a flagship reality show called From Homs to…
Beyond the call of duty: the kindness of strangers is a pleasing mystery
When I applied to medical school, an experienced doctor offered me some advice: ‘Don’t give them reason to think you’re…
Caught on the net
Going online does not make you invisible – as the adulterers who used the hacked site Ashley Madison are discovering
Web of sin
Why don’t more people object to online promotion of adultery?
The cult of mindfulness
Separating meditation from faith might not be as harmless as it seems
Ethics for atheists
Can human life be sacred in a post-Christian world?
Socrates on Maria Miller
Our former culture secretary, Maria Miller, is still apparently baffled at the fuss created by her fighting to the last…
The morality gap
The world can now be divided between post- and pre-enlightened countries
