I am 96% sure that I have read/heard from a reputable source that murderers, especially serial killers, are an inherent reflection of Western society, and that both actual murderers and fictional portrayals are important significant elements. Part A: Is this just a half-remembered bit of dialogue from some prime-time criminal procedural, and Part B: if not, where is it from? [more inside]
posted on Mar 24, 2008 - 11 answers

What's an easy-to-read introduction to ethics? [more inside]
posted on Mar 4, 2008 - 10 answers

Help me rediscover a passage from an Ancient Roman writer. [let's go]
posted on Dec 9, 2004 - 7 answers

Context, please. This quote resurfaces from time to time, often as a back-handed commentary toward the left, but never with a source or any surrounding text: "Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms." It is attributed to Aristotle, but which work (if any)?
posted on Sep 24, 2004 - 6 answers