We can make fun of hockey fans, but someone who enjoys Homer is indulging the same kind of vicarious bloodlust.

As every student in Philosophy 101 learns, nothing can force me to believe that anyone except me is conscious. This power to deny that other people have feelings is not just an academic exercise but an all-too-common vice, as we see in the long history of human cruelty.

But in most cases even the possibility that the correlations reflect shared genes is taboo.

The typical imperative from biology is not "Thou shalt... ," but "If ... then ... else.

If the cartoon were completely accurate, though, life would be a cacophany of spoinks.

We really are creatures of a violent world, biologically speaking - watching violence and learning about it is one of our cognitive drives.

One of the things that people complain about is loneliness, disconnectedness. If you live in a society where your life is rarely threatened and most of your relationships are more on an economic exchange basis, then this could leave people feeling less connected.