Despite the cultural arc of history of the past 500 years -- the efforts toward emancipation and the relentless rise of science and technology -- humanity appears terribly, one might even say, hopelessly, stuck. The habits and predispositions of our past -- religious conflict, otherworldly... Continue

Whenever there is wealth and property, (and for the past 5,000 years when has there not been?), theft and corruption accompany it. Greek mythology prominently features Hermes' theft of Apollo's cattle, and virtually all major religions include prohibitions against theft. The Ten Commandments includes it... Continue

Generally, we divide the history of human culture between the Paleolithic and Neolithic, "Paleolithic" meaning "Old Stone Age" and "Neolithic" meaning "New Stone Age." The Old Stone Age included the use of tools, particularly wood, stone, flint and obsidian to fashion tools and weapons using... Continue

Given what's going on in the world, to simply classify people trying to cross our border as "migrants" or "illegal immigrants" is inaccurate. The reality is that many people, often entire families, are more properly refugees, desperately seeking to escape depredations of crime -- victimization,... Continue

Witnessing the construction of Sonoma is easy, just take a stroll down West Spain Street and the homes rising on previously vacant parcels give ample testimony to the process of ongoing development, a process that's been taking place more or less continuously since the building... Continue

You're the director, the camera operator and play the lead. You're the scriptwriter, too, and the costume designer, art director, gopher, finance director and critic. Everything about your movie is under your control, except the stuff that isn't, which actually is quite a lot. What's... Continue

The word "freedom" implies "no limits," the presumption that free will alone constrains human action; but of course, we all know that with freedom comes limitations. Though English philosopher Thomas Hobbes built an entire belief system on the premise of the autonomous individual, he acknowledged... Continue

I recall my high school biology teacher, Mr. Ricci, explaining the phrase "Ontology Recapitulates Phylogeny", as much because his long, snagged teeth made saying it nearly impossible for him to say, an amusing moment for us sophomores, as for the sheer poetry of its sound.... Continue

Is the 2020 presidential election coming too soon or not soon enough? Still in the midst of recovering and adjusting to the realities of Trump, we now find ourselves already in the throes of an active primary season filling with Democratic candidates and murmurings of... Continue