Tagged: social science

Analects of the Core: Tocqueville on complacent legislators

Today’s analect relates to CC203’s study of the foundation of social sciences: Propitious circumstances and good laws might succeed in drawing to the legislature of a democratic people men very superior to those who are returned by the Americans to Congress ; but nothing will ever prevent the men of slender abilities who sit there […]

CC204: Living Wage Calculator

This spring, the class of CC204 has been looking at inequality in terms of race, gender, social class and financial standing. “Poverty in America” has provided a very useful tool to investigate inequality in terms wages across the United States, the Living Wage Calculator: http://bit.ly/Ykr2NZ Simply enter your home town and find out how much money […]

Analects of the Core: Durkheim on faith and knowledge

On the relationship between religious faith and knowledge: Knowledge does not have the destructive power with which it is credited, but it is the only weapon that allows us to struggle against the dissolution from which it itself results.  It is not by gagging science that one may restore authority to vanished traditions; we shall […]

The value of happiness

Alumni of CC204 will take special interest in this piece at Huffington Post, where Leah Finnegan looks at a new study suggesting a measurable price on day-to-day happiness: Not having enough money causes emotional pain and unhappiness, the researchers found. But the happiness tipping point is about $75,000 – more money than that doesn’t make […]