Navigator, April, 2004

Editor's Desk

In This Issue

Feature Articles:

What Hath Man Wrought! by William Thomas
Charles Murray's Human Accomplishment is a study of mankind's remarkable discoveries and creations. Covering 2,750 years, from 800 B.C. to 1950, it employs anecdote and argument to awaken "a sense of wonder" at the greatest feats of human accomplishment in art and science.

An Interview with Charles Murray by David Kelley
TOC's executive director talks with the author of Human Accomplishment about his work's philosophical premises and arguments, including the objectivity of excellence and the significance of expert opinion. They discuss as well the cultural history of the modern world and what it says about the driving forces underlying creativity.

Ideas and Issues:

Honoring the Choice to Die by Michelle Marder Kamhi
What is the most humane way to treat individuals who, at the end of a long life, express a clear-minded wish to die? As a society with an increasingly aged population, we need to confront this question head-on.

Perspectives:

Review: The Silver Sceen as Philosophic Mirror by Russell La Valle
Cultures have a sense of life, just as people do, and that sense of life sets the trends and stules of the culture. With that in mind, it is illuminating to look at the films nominated in the "Best Picture" category of the Academy Awards during the last two years.

Soundings

Suggested Readings on Human Accomplishment

Logbook and Sightings