Articles written by Richard A. Hall

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About me - Richard A. Hall

I'm just this guy, you know?

I write for the same reason I read; because I enjoy it. I like the way words create worlds, and the way that we can express in words things that push the boundaries of what we can grasp. I love paradoxes. I'm suspicious of Aristotelianism

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Relationships & Family > Gay & Lesbian Issues Is homosexuality natural?: 1 of 33

This sensitive topic interests me as an accessible aspect of the wider question of nature versus nurture. There are two separate perspectives I wish to explore; in the following essay I will give a brief overview of the sociological case, and in its companion I will address the biological case. As a general philosophical pri...
Politics, News & Issues > Baseball News & Opinion Is Barry Bonds' 756 home run ball worth $500,000?: 1 of 9

$500,000 for a baseball? Let's get real, people. There's a few reasons why my immediate and strong reaction to the question above was a disgusted negative. I'll start with what's really a side-issue: Barry Bonds himself. I don't know the guy. He may be as sweet as candy. He seems to me like an egotist whose team contribution...
Pets & Animals > Dog Training How to help an aggressive rescue dog: 2 of 7

For many animal lovers, the decision to obtain a new family pet from an animal shelter is a no-brainer - even the President-elect is in on the act, it seems. The heartwrenching TV ads showing the forlorn and abandoned dogs sitting miserably in their cages, just waiting for somebody to give them the love they need, are a powe...
Politics, News & Issues > Political Issues What are civil liberties?: 8 of 23

When we talk of 'civil liberties', it is generally accepted that we're talking of inalienable human rights - that is, rights that we all have, simply by virtue of being human, that cannot be taken away from us. It is my contention that this is a serious misunderstanding: that the liberties are 'civil' because they are define...
Religion & Spirituality > Thoughts on God Explaining the existence of God with the absence of physical evidence: 14 of 34

Here's a statement I saw over at www.philosophersnet.com: "If, despite years of trying, no strong evidence or argument has been presented to show that there is a Loch Ness monster, it is rational to believe that such a monster does not exist." And, well, that does seem like a rational conclusion to me, so, yes. Here's anothe...
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Understanding communism: 17 of 30

"After Marx" Marx has been immensely influential on twentieth-century political philosophy. In particular, his concept of historical materialism has changed the way we view the world and ourselves. Marx's view of history as a struggle to define the mode of production in society is undeniably a beguiling one, and certainly de...
Politics, News & Issues > US Immigration Views on illegal immigration in the US: 99 of 164

A dialog... Now. As a legal immigrant, I've been watching with some interest the developing debate about illegal immigration in the US. - Let me guess. You're not a fan. Too right I'm not. I've seen the problems of unchecked immigration in the UK at first hand, and the recent example of the riots in France bear out some of m...
Pets & Animals > Animal Rights & Issues The problem with Hollywood making a dog breed popular: 13 of 21

Let's get one thing straight at the outset: life ain't like the movies. In the movies nobody ever uses the bathroom, unless they have hilarious bowel problems. Nobody ever hiccups, except under the influence of a magic spell or to set up a shock later on that cures them. Nobody forgets what they were going to say, unless the...
Entertainment > Movie Reviews Movie reviews: The Devil Wears Prada: 11 of 15

[This was originally written on July 3, 2006 by myself on my very own blog] Hi there, film fans. I am not going to salivate over A Scanner Darkly (yet); we have Independence Day (the holiday, not the movie) to get past first. But with the Fourth hoving ever closer into view (I, still the holder of a British passport, have fa...
Parenting & Pregnancy > After School Should parents raise their children without television?: 173 of 228

As a libertarian, I have to think very carefully about preventing another human being from accessing any experience. I take into account the likely consequences of that experience, and the aptitude of the individual to take something from it; but my instinct is to let them go ahead. Particularly where children are concerned,...