The Weekly SPI Fellows Update
by Julie Esris
Remember a couple weeks ago when psychologist and SPI Fellow┬áElizabeth Loftus spoke briefly on NPR about false memories? Now she talks about the phenomenon in a full-blown lecture at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute.┬áThis presentation will leave you with fascinating– and real– memories.
Last week we brought you the news that a Pew study┬áconfirmed that religion is declining in the United States. But what are the causes– and consequences? SPI Fellow philosopher┬áRon Lindsay weighs in on this phenomenon in a fascinating NPR interview. Listeners also call in and tell their stories.
This summer, the United States Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. The Court will surely examine how to properly interpret the Constitution in this ruling, but could they also use scientific reasoning when making their decision? Author and SPI Fellow Michael Shermer thinks so. Shermer discusses this issue and his new book, The Moral Arc, in this exciting interview on Minnesota Public Radio.
SPI Fellow┬áAymenn Al-Tamimi is an expert on ISIS, so who better to ask about the turmoil created by this group in Iraq and Syria? In this recent interview, Al-Tamimi offers some insight about the situation, including whether or not we can soon hope for ISIS’s defeat. ┬á
Even the intelligent, hard-working SPI Fellows have to have fun. And that’s just what philosopher, literary critic, writer, and┬áSPI Fellow Russell Blackford did! He saw the new movie┬áAvengers: Age of Ultron┬áand wrote an interesting and insightful review about it.