While watching the 2026 World Snooker Championship, I was surprised by how often the word character was used. Commentators repeatedly praised one player or another for showing (great) character in maintaining their form and composure during particularly challenging and stressful situations. The etymology of the word, as outlined in etymonline, is fascinating: The …
Month: April 2026
Every so often, an article appears in the national press announcing the death of the university. A recent example in The Telegraph linked the possible demise of universities to the disruptive effects of AI on assessment and coursework. More broadly, the causes usually cited vary: financial instability, student debt, dependence on international recruitment, loss of …
I enjoy reading lists of virtues and was particularly interested to find that Nigel Biggar has recently published a list of virtues for academics, which he terms nine intellectual virtues. These are: temperance respect carefulness patience charity, or generosity humility docility or teachableness thoughtfulness courage Biggar is right to question whether universities can remain ‘eloquent …
Speak No Evil (Danish: Gæsterne, lit. ’The Guests’) directed by Christian Tafdrup The film centers on Bjørn and Louise, a Danish couple invited by Patrick and Karin, a Dutch couple, to their remote country house for a weekend, along with their respective children. It does not take long for the Danes to realise they have made …
In the preface (p. xi) to Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues (1999), Alasdair MacIntyre refers to a prayer by Thomas Aquinas ‘in which he asks God to grant that he may happily share with those in need what he has, while humbly asking for what he needs from those who have’. …
