About Rafe Champion: http://www.the-rathouse.com/aboutRafe.html

The Philosophy Site of Rafe Champion - The Rat House

http://www.the-rathouse.com/index.html

Five pillars of peace freedom and prosperity

https://rafechampion.substack.com/p/five-pillars-of-peace-freedom-and?utm_source=publication-search

1. Critical rationalism as articulated by Karl Popper
2. The principles of classical or non-collectivist liberalism in politics
3. In economics, the importance Free trade, entrepreneurialism and a market underpinned by the rule of law
4. A moral framework founded on honesty, compassion, civility, personal responsibility, community service, and enterprise.
5. Energy - abundant, reliable, and cheap energy.

I, Pencil

About I, Pencil: https://fee.org/ebooks/i-pencil/

Read I, Pencil here:

https://dn790006.ca.archive.org/0/items/i-pencil-pdf-2019/I%2C%20Pencil%20%28PDF%202019%29.pdf

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

https://open.spotify.com/album/3ELfX4GIPcYOTJBl8PdoKi?si=I8bz8nhaTyK3Qq4E5-ZtXg

Juliet Moses is spokesperson for the New Zealand Jewish Council and is a trust lawyer.

This podcast features a discussion between Ani O'Brien (women's rights advocate, political commentator, Free Speech Union council member, and self-described TERF), and Juliet Moses (spokesperson for the New Zealand Jewish Council and trust lawyer), exploring how grand narratives -overarching moral stories that define heroes/villains, good/evil, and acceptable discourse - powerfully shape public conversations, media framing, policy, and perceptions, often inverting reality and sidelining facts through emotional appeals, institutional capture, and social pressure.

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016 https://open.spotify.com/album/3ELfX4GIPcYOTJBl8PdoKi?si=I8bz8nhaTyK3Qq4E5-ZtXg

Nigel Biggar CBE is Emeritus Regius Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Oxford and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Pusey House, Oxford. He holds a B.A. in Modern History from Oxford and a Ph.D. in Christian Theology & Ethics from the University of Chicago. He was appointed C.B.E. “for services to Higher Education” in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

The Treaty of Waitangi

https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/treaty-waitangi/treaty-close/full-text-te-tiriti-o

Chris Hipkins: How shared values can unite Aotearoa and not divide

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/chris-hipkins-how-shared-values-can-unite-aotearoa-and-not-divide/74ZQEKGFARAWZN7W5OHN27KY3A/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

David Seymour: Treaty should mean equal rights, not race-based policy

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/david-seymour-treaty-should-mean-equal-rights-not-race-based-policy/UBZ5PT56HNCJDCZZEJN6S4PHEU/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

https://open.spotify.com/album/3ELfX4GIPcYOTJBl8PdoKi?si=I8bz8nhaTyK3Qq4E5-ZtXg

Michaela School is renowned for its high standards of behaviour and academic achievement, knowledge curriculum and teaching of kindness and gratitude. In 2017, Ofsted graded the school as ‘Outstanding’ in every category. In 2022, almost 75% of all GCSEs were graded 9 to 7 (A* to A). 98% of pupils achieved a 4+ (C or above) in both English and Maths, with 99% of all pupils achieving grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) in at least 5 subjects.

Katharine read Philosophy and Modern Languages at the University of Oxford and has always taught in inner London. She has made numerous appearances on television and radio and has written for several UK publications. Katharine has written 2 books and edited 2 more, including The Power of Culture (published in June 2020). Katharine was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours by the Queen.

https://michaela.education/

When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life

https://stevenpinker.com/publications/when-everyone-knows-everyone-knows-common-knowledge-and-mysteries-money-power-and

Tickets: An Evening with Steven Pinker

https://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/event/2400635CC1573F86

Antisemitic protest outside the Sydney Opera House chanting "Gas the Jews"

https://youtube.com/shorts/cQcoLR4y1P8?si=ajGQYmsC_lPzylHN

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

https://open.spotify.com/album/3ELfX4GIPcYOTJBl8PdoKi?si=I8bz8nhaTyK3Qq4E5-ZtXg

About Brett Hall - https://www.bretthall.org/about.html

Josh Frydenberg urges PM Anthony Albanese to take tougher action after Bondi massacre

https://youtu.be/PPVkyzg5x9M?si=o2_DKw5ymqJHih0u

Music: Bach B Minor Mass Performed by

John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

https://open.spotify.com/album/3ELfX4GIPcYOTJBl8PdoKi?si=I8bz8nhaTyK3Qq4E5-ZtXg

Vaishnavi Sundar discusses the narcissistic transgressions of trans ideology and its negative impact on women and girls.

https://vaishnavisundar.com/

https://vaishnavisundar.com/about/

Behind The Looking Glass - FIRST EVER Documentary about the Wives & Children of Trans-Identified Men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frffv2sB8zE&t=6s

https://limesodafilms.com/btlg/

https://limesodafilms.com/

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by

The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque SoloistsJohn Eliot Gardiner

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

Helen Joyce, campaigner for women's rights from Sex Matters, talks about our ancient common knowledge of the difference between men and a women, and the three recent seismic events pushing back against trans-ideology and its harm to women's rights and children - 

The UK Cass Report in April 2024

The United States President’s EXECUTIVE ORDER 14168 - Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government - January 2025

The For Women Scotland UK Supreme Court ruling in April 2025

Helen Joyce 

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/p/about-me

Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality - 

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0861540492?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_au

Music: Bach B Minor Mass 

Performed by

The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque SoloistsJohn Eliot Gardiner

 https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

Helen Pluckrose is a British liberal humanist writer and social commentator. She is the co-author with James Lindsay of Cynical Theories, Social (In)justice, as well as her own book, The Counterweight Handbook, about Principled Strategies for Surviving and Defeating Critical Social Justice at Work, in Schools, and Beyond. 

At university, Helen studied late medieval women's religious writing. Her work now focuses on critiques of postmodernist philosophies, Critical Social Justice scholarship and activism and their negative effects on the humanities and the political left. With James Lindsay and Peter Boghossian, Helen was instrumental in the now famous "Grievance Studies Affair" which exposed the dubious scholarship in academic fields captured by Postmodernism, critical theory and identity politics. They succeeded in publishing a number of fake, hoax papers in academic journals. The project was inspired by Alan Sokal's 1996 hoax paper he published in the academic journal, Social Text.

From 2018 to 2021, Helen was the editor-in-chief of Areo, an online magazine focusing on politics, culture, science and art. You can read her current writings on her Substack called The Overflowings of a Liberal Brain - https://substack.com/@helenpluckrose

Helen's books - https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08GSPKP4M

Helen's Quillette articles - https://quillette.com/author/helen-pluckrose/

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by

The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque SoloistsJohn Eliot Gardiner

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

David Deutsch is a renowned University of Oxford physicist, philosopher, and the "father" of quantum computation. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and his work includes fundamental issues in physics, particularly the quantum theory of computation and information, and the new field of constructor theory. In 1985, he proposed a universal quantum computer and went on to make some of the most significant advances in the field, including the discovery of the first quantum algorithms.

He is renowned for his theoretical advances, including the theory of quantum logic gates and quantum computational networks, as well as several fundamental quantum universality results. His work set the agenda for subsequent international research efforts in quantum computation.

David was awarded the Paul Dirac Prize and Medal by the Institute of Physics in 1998 and he won the Edge of Computation Science Prize in 2005.

His books are highly influential. The Fabric of Reality explores the synthesis of ideas uniting Quantum Theory, and the theories of Computation, Knowledge and Evolution. The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavour. 

He has published many articles and research papers and has presented three TED talks.

The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/0143121359?ref_=mr_referred_us_au_au

The Fabric of Reality: Towards a Theory of Everything

https://www.amazon.com.au/Fabric-Reality-Towards-Everything-Penguin-ebook/dp/B004YB9HVY?ref_=ast_author_dp

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by

The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque SoloistsJohn Eliot Gardiner

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

He completed his PhD in Psychology at the university, with a thesis titled "Multiple-schedule performance in closed economies," and joined the academic staff in 1992 to help establish the Psychology programme at the Tāmaki campus.

Elliffe's research specialises in the experimental analysis of behaviour, focusing on learning and choice in animals and humans, with a particular interest in reconceptualising reinforcement as a signal guiding future behaviour rather than merely strengthening past actions.

He has authored over 84 publications, garnering more than 2,000 citations.

Throughout his career, he has held key leadership roles, including Head of the School of Psychology from 2010 to 2013 and Deputy Dean of Science since 2016.

In 2021, Elliffe co-authored the now-famous Listener Letter, "In Defence of Science", which argued that Māori indigenous knowledge, while valuable, is not equivalent to science. Professor Elliffe decided to resign from the acting dean position amid the backlash within his department to the "In Defence of Science" letter.

Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins

https://www.richarddawkins.com/books/book/climbing-mount-improbable-

https://the-shape-of-dialogue.captivate.fm

Thanks to Guy Quartermain for the videography - https://www.keyframe.co.nz/

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by

The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque SoloistsJohn Eliot Gardiner

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

https://www.thesignalproductions.com/about

Uncomfortable Truths:  The Reality of Gender Identity Ideology

https://www.thesignalproductions.com/

The Woke Reformation is a documentary series that chronicles the origins of Woke ideology, helps people understand it and gives advice on how to push back. 

https://www.wokereformation.com/

What Killed Michael Brown?

https://whatkilledmichaelbrown.com/

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/whatkilledmichaelbrown?utm_medium=vod&utm_source=hp

Reconciling Results on Racial Differences in Police Shootings By Roland G. Fryer, Jr

https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/fryer_police_aer.pdf

Surprising New Evidence Shows Bias in Police Use of Force but Not in Shootings

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/upshot/surprising-new-evidence-shows-bias-in-police-use-of-force-but-not-in-shootings.html

10,429 people have been shot and killed by police from 2015 to 2024

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/

Number of people shot to death by the police in the United States from 2017 to 2024, by race

https://www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/

About Dr. James Lindsay

An American-born author, mathematician, and professional troublemaker, Dr. James Lindsay has written six books spanning a range of subjects including religion, the philosophy of science and postmodern theory. He is a leading expert on Critical Race Theory, which leads him to reject it completely. He is the founder of New Discourses and is currently promoting his new book "Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody", currently being translated into more than fifteen languages.

https://newdiscourses.com/author/jameslindsay/

Music: Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B Minor

Performed by The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque Soloists John Eliot Gardiner

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

https://elizabethrata.com/bio/

https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/e-rata

https://the-shape-of-dialogue.captivate.fm

Thanks to Guy Quartermain for cinematography and editing this podcast - https://www.keyframe.co.nz/

Music: Bach B Minor Mass

Performed by

The Monteverdi ChoirThe English Baroque SoloistsJohn Eliot Gardiner

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/k-clements

Mātauranga Māori 

Mātauranga Māori with Charles Royal - The Shape of Dialogue Podcast #15

For more on Science & Mātauranga Māori see the following playlist

Science & Mātauranga Māori Playlist

https://linktr.ee/peterboghossian

Bruce Gilley - https://www.nas.org/authors/bruce_gilley

https://profiles.waikato.ac.nz/melissa.derby

Before founding the Women's Rights Party, Jill Ovens was co-leader of the Alliance Party.

In 2006, she resigned from the Alliance party. After being elected the northern secretary of the Service & Food Workers Union, she joined the Labour Party. She was a former Auckland/Northland regional representative on the Labour Party's Council.

In 2023, Ovens resigned from the Labour Party as women's rights and voices were being subjugated by trans ideology activists within the Labour Party's leadership. In response, she founded the Women's Rights Party to highlight the loss of women's rights due to men claiming to be women trumping the hard-won civil rights of women.

https://womensrightsparty.nz

https://x.com/WRP_NZ

A review of the protections in the Human Rights Act 1993 for people who are transgender, people who are non-binary and people with innate variations of sex characteristics

https://www.lawcom.govt.nz/our-work/ia-tangata/

Do women have rights? with Sall Grover - The Shape of Dialogue #316

https://youtu.be/o6TBckVgZLI?si=IQqbe6eR0W1FjfzS

James holds a BA in Classics from Oxford, an MA in Ancient History from the University of London, an MA in Political Science from Stanford, and a PhD in Classics from Stanford.

He is also the co-host (with Michael Johnston) of Free Kiwis!, a podcast dedicated to free speech in a New Zealand context.

X at @Kleisthenes2.

https://www.youtube.com/@Cleisthenes2/videos

Sall's X handle - @salltweets

A male named Roxy Tickle, who identifies as a woman, has brought a human rights claim against Sall Grover for not permitting him to use her female-only networking app, Giggle. He initially filed the complaint last year, but withdrew, due to funding reasons. He has now filed again, way out of time and is claiming that by excluding him, Sall is discriminating against him on the basis of his gender identity, which is a protected attribute under the Sex Discrimination Act.

However, Sall actually hasn’t discriminated against him on the basis of gender identity at all, but on the basis of his sex which is also a protected attribute under the Act and in relation to which differential treatment between men and women is not discriminatory where this is necessary to protect or achieve equality for women.

Indeed the Sex Discrimination Act was enacted in 1984 primarily to give effect to the international Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW), by addressing discrimination and inequality women faced on the basis of sex, for example in relation to biological and reproductive capacities like pregnancy and family responsibilities, in employment, education, facilities and services, and so on.

But then, Julia Gillard’s government made amendments to the Act in 2013, making it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of gender identity. The new amendments also removed the biological definitions of man and woman, and so woman can now include a biological male who has a female gender identity. Sex, and women’s rights and protections on the basis of sex, therefore become meaningless, as does the original intention of the Act. This has left us with a clear conflict between the sex-based rights of women and the rights of those claiming a gender identity.

Not only will this case be the first opportunity we’ve had to resolve this conflict and to test whether sex is still a protected attribute in Australia, but because the Sex Discrimination Act was created pursuant to constitutional powers to legislate regarding international laws, and there is arguably no basis for gender identity protections under international law and certainly not under the Convention the Act was originally meant to give effect to, there is an argument to be made that the current gender identity protections are unconstitutional.

This is huge, because if laws that undermine sex-based rights, such as gender identity protections, are found to be unconstitutional or otherwise unlawful, this could render invalid laws in every state giving effect to protections for gender identity, as these are subsidiary to federal laws. As a result, the sex-based protections for women and girls would be re-instated when it comes to their rights to female-only spaces, services, sports and so on.

Summary

It is all a bit complicated, but essentially, there has been a conflict between anti-discrimination protections for sex and gender identity since the Sex Discrimination Act was amended in 2013. This case is the first opportunity we’ve had to resolve this conflict and to test whether sex is still a protected attribute in Australia. Parliament has arguably acted outside its constitutional powers in legislating gender identity as a protected characteristic in the Sex Discrimination Act which was designed to protect against sex discrimination, as protections for gender identity have no basis in CEDAW or other international instruments.

Details of first hearing

Tickle asked for an extension of time to bring his case against Sall. Sall’s team have asked Tickle to prove that he has the funds to bring his case (competency issue).

Tickle asked for a cost capping order, so that if he loses, there will be a cap on legal costs that he’ll be ordered to cover.

First two issues will be dealt at next hearing on 28 April. Sall’s team have asked that the cost capping be dealt with separately. The reason for this is that her team will be challenging the constitutional validity of gender identity as a protected characteristic under the Sex Discrimination Act, which means all the Attorney Generals of Australia will need to be notified of the proceedings and be given the opportunity to make submissions and possibly even attend the hearing and give evidence. In other words, this case has the potential to be monumental in terms of size and significance.

Judgement from Hearing: April 28 2023

Justice Bromwich has granted leave for Tickle to to bring his case against Sall personally and Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd. Cost capping has been awarded in the sum of $50,000, details of which will be posted soon. The trial date has now been set for April 9, 2024.

Importance of female-only spaces

The importance of single-sex spaces is universally recognised. The fact that we even have them acknowledges the biological sex differences between men and women, women’s inherent physical vulnerability relative to men, and the need to protect women’s rights, safety and privacy. Allowing men to self-identify as women and access women-only spaces, services and activities, has resulted in countless stories of harm all around the world, including in Australia. This ranges from women being excluded from their own sports, to women being sexually attacked in female-only spaces like prisons, refuges and hospital wards, to women being subjected to abuse, loss of employment and legal action for refusing to accept men can be women.

Women and girls have a right to feel safe and to be safe in services, facilities and activities that are intentionally dedicated to them.

Girls should be able to use intimate spaces like bathrooms in school without having to share these with male peers. Women who are detained in a vulnerable environments like a prison should not be locked up with male rapists, like is currently happening in Victoria. Women who are victims of male violence should be able to access a women’s refuge service without having to share these with men claiming to be women. Women and girls of all ages and ability should be able to fairly and safely participate in female-only sport. All organisations need to be legally allowed to say “no” to any male trying to access a part of society set aside for women and girls without the threat of legal action.

Women fought long and for sex-based rights and protections and these must not be displaced by men self-declaring a gender identity, which will then allow them to enter women’s spaces and services that they would have previously been excluded from on the basis of sex.

http://www.tobyyoung.co.uk

https://www.spectator.co.uk/writer/toby-young/

https://x.com/toadmeister

https://freespeechunion.org

https://dailysceptic.org

Doc Edge & The UnRedacted with Alex Lee - The Shape of Dialogue Podcast #18

https://youtu.be/uC0IYi5oYaM

Music - Bach Mass in B Minor conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

https://open.spotify.com/album/3HdmIB3Wzcd7bFDdsgaIbp?si=dRMNyRieTLCTHMJfSBZ7mA

https://linktr.ee/peterboghossian

Philosopher

Dr. Peter Boghossian's main focus is bringing the tools of professional philosophers to people in a wide variety of contexts. Peter has a teaching pedigree spanning more than 25 years and 30 thousand students - in prisons, hospitals, public and private schools, seminaries, universities, Fortune 100 companies, and small businesses. His fundamental objective is to teach people how to think through what often seem to be intractable problems.

Peter's primary research areas are critical thinking and moral reasoning. His doctoral research studies, funded by the State of Oregon and supported by the Oregon Department of Corrections, consisted of using the Socratic method to help prison inmates to increase their critical thinking and moral reasoning abilities and to increase their desistance to criminal behavior.

Author

Peter's publications can be found in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Areo, The American Mind, The Clearing House, Corrections Today, CounterPunch, Education Policy Analysis, Educational Philosophy and Theory, Essays in Philosophy, Federal Probation Journal, Free Inquiry, Informal Logic, Inside Higher Ed, Journal of Correctional Education, Journal of Philosophy of Education, The Los Angeles Times, Motherboard, Quillette, New Discourses, National Review, New Statesman, Offender Programs Report, The Philosophers’ Magazine, Philosophy's Future, The Radical Academy, Radical Pedagogy, Scientific American, Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, The Spectator, Teaching Philosophy, Truthout, and USA Today.

Professional

Peter is currently a Founding Faculty Fellow at the University of Austin and the Director of National Progress Alliance. He was a Councilman for the State of Oregon (LSTA), the Chairperson of the Prison Advisory Committee for Columbia River Correctional Institution, wrote national philosophy curricula for the University of Phoenix, a research fellow for the National Center for Teaching and Learning, a full-time faculty member in the department of philosophy at Portland State University, an Affiliate Research Assistant Professor at Oregon Health Sciences University in the Department of General Internal Medicine, an advisor for Counterweight, a Senior Fellow at Hungary’s Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a national speaker for the Center for Inquiry and an international speaker for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

Music - Bach Mass in B Minor conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

https://open.spotify.com/album/3HdmIB3Wzcd7bFDdsgaIbp?si=dRMNyRieTLCTHMJfSBZ7mA

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/about-us/our-people/dr-michael-johnston/

Jonathan Ayling

https://www.fsu.nz/meet_the_team

The role of Universities in supporting freedom of speech

The discussion on the role of universities in supporting freedom of speech held at Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington in May 2024. Watch the full event here.

https://youtu.be/T3rZQ7PxuUI?si=Afw28b_dBJU77UTr

Jonathan Ayling is Chief Executive of theFree Speech Union. Jonathan has worked in Wellington, the New Zealand capital, for 8 years across roles as a Beehive staffer, senior political advisor, and in the NGO sector. In addition to leading the work at the Free Speech Union, he and his wife own a vineyard in the Wairarapa.

Jonathan Rauch was brought to New Zealand by the Free Speech Union for a speaking tour in May 2025. See here for more information about the Free Speech Union - https://www.fsu.nz

Jonathan Rauch is a highly acclaimed American journalist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. He has written eight books, including the renowned Kindly Inquisitors, which defends free speech and robust criticism, even when it's racist, sexist and highly offensive. Jonathan writes for many of the world's leading publications, including the New York Times, The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal, with articles on public policy, culture, and government. He has received many awards for his writing, including the National Magazine Award, the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

Jonathan Rauch's books

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth - https://a.co/d/0Gi0pYI

Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought - https://a.co/d/2uZ25eM

All of his books

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jonathan-Rauch/author/B001HOP3SC?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Helen's first book, "Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality," was published by OneWorld in July 2021. It was reissued in 2023 under the new title "Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women's Rights."

"Trans" was an immediate bestseller and was named by the Times, Spectator and Observer as one of their books of 2021.

Helen now campaigns for women's rights and works with the start-up human-rights organisation Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about the two sexes, male and female, in law and in life.

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/

https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/trans-news-and-reviews/

https://www.amazon.com.au/TRANS-When-Ideology-Meets-Reality/dp/0861540492

https://sex-matters.org/

Music - Bach Mass in B Minor conducted by John Eliot Gardiner

https://open.spotify.com/album/3HdmIB3Wzcd7bFDdsgaIbp?si=dRMNyRieTLCTHMJfSBZ7mA

In February 2023, Richard Dawkins asked me to host his New Zealand speaking tour. Today's podcast is the Auckland event, in which Richard discusses the scientific method, his recent book Flights of Fancy, and the debate surrounding the inclusion of non-scientific Māori mythological concepts in the New Zealand school science curriculum.

Richard needs no introduction, but if anyone has been hiding under a rock for the last 50 years, here's a brief description of his contribution to the world.

Richard Dawkins is a world-famous Oxford University evolutionary biologist. He has led an illustrious career as an influential scientist, author, public intellectual and, importantly, an ardent advocate for science. It's no exaggeration to say Richard is one of the greatest minds of our time, and through his many books and public engagement, has positively changed millions of lives.

Richard is a prolific and highly influential author and one of the greatest writers of his generation. He has written 20 books, including The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, and the magic of reality.

Throughout his career, Richard has been a strong critic of religion and views the existence of God as a falsifiable hypothesis. In The Blind Watchmaker, he debunks creationist claims that life is far too complicated not to have had an omniscient designer.

Background

In July 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter to the editor in the New Zealand Listener, titled In Defence of Science.

The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.

Their letter stated that:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

Links…

NCEA Education - What is Science about?

https://ncea.education.govt.nz/science/science?view=learning

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue ..... for.....

“In Defence of Science” - Letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/save-our-schools-solutions-for-new-zealands-education-crisis/document/797

Dr Michael Johnston is a Senior Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative. He leads the workstream on education.

Prior to his time at the Initiative, Dr Johnston held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington from 2011-2022. From 2020 until 2022 he was the Associate Dean (Academic) in the University’s Faculty of Education.

Prior to his time at Victoria, Dr Johnston was the Senior Statistician at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, a position he held for 6 years. Before that, he was a lecturer in psychology at the University Melbourne and a Research Fellow at Latrobe University.

Dr Johnston holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne.

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/about-us/our-people/dr-michael-johnston/

https://www.allstaticandnoise.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/jewherilham

Jewher Ilham: A Uyghur's Fight to Free Her Father (Broken Silence)

https://www.amazon.com/Jewher-Ilham-Uyghurs-Father-Silence/dp/1608011054

Ilham Tohti : http://www.ilhamtohti.com/

Uyghur Forced Labor Checker

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/uyghur-forced-labor-check/ejodaepockllkcloibcchpjnfoopincp

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

China: UN experts deeply concerned by alleged detention, forced labour of Uyghurs

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/china-un-experts-deeply-concerned-alleged-detention-forced-labour-uyghurs

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour 

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/

www.allstaticandnoise.com

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088787521406

https://www.instagram.com/allstaticandnoise/

https://twitter.com/allstatic_noise

https://www.odessafilms.com/our-films.html

https://www.odessafilms.com/david-novack.html

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/03/china-un-experts-deeply-concerned-alleged-detention-forced-labour-uyghurs

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/forced-labor/UFLPA

https://www.workersrights.org/

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/

Tickets for Auckland screening - 26 April 2023, 6.30 PM, Sky City Theatre

https://docedge.nz/festival/films/the-unredacted-2023/

Please help Meg to get her film shown by donating here..........

gofundme.com/f/the-unredacted-jihad-rehab

https://jihadrehab.com/

Sam Harris Podcast - A Tale of Cancellation: A Conversation with Meg Smaker - https://youtu.be/rec9wVWa1IA

Twitter: @Meighon

Prof Berridge received a James Cook Fellowship in the health sciences in 2003 and was awarded the Health Research Council Liley Medal for outstanding research on cellular metabolism in 2016. In the same year he was a semi-finalist in the KiwiBank New Zealander of the Year Awards.

Prof Berridge’s current research interests include cancer cell energy metabolism and mitochondrial gene transfer between cells in human disease. As a science communicator, he recently published “The Edge of Life” (2015), and “Sugar, Rum and Tobacco: Taxes and Public Health in New Zealand” with Lisa Marriott in 2017.

In 2023 Mike received a Doctor of Science from Victoria University of Wellington for his lifetime achievements in science.

https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/news/2022/09/professor-michael-berridge

https://www.malaghan.org.nz/our-expertise/our-people/science-leadership/professor-mike-berridge/

https://www.malaghan.org.nz/news-and-reports/news/professor-mike-berridge-a-journey-through-the-frontiers-of-the-biological-sciences/

https://stevenpinker.com/

Works mentioned in the podcast

Metaphors we live by - George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3637992.html

The Architecture of Complexity — Herbert Simon on Watchmaking, Hierarchies, and Decomposable Systems

https://athenarium.com/the-architecture-of-complexity-herbert-simon/

Alexander Luria

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Luria#Main_areas_of_research

Music - Bach: Mass in B Minor

Monteverdi Choir & John Eliot Gardiner

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/j-s-bach-mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232/1053521016

In 2021, 7 University of Auckland professors penned a letter to the editor in the Listener, titled In Defence of Science.

The professors' were responding to a Government education report (link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' were concerned by "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state encourages a mistrust of science, in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Islanders.

Their letter stated:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive, see links

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

The Royal Society announced a breach of conduct enquiry into 3 of the letters authors, professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper, all fellows of the society. The Society launched the enquiry having publicly criticised the professors. Furthermore, the Society initially included 2 panellists who had signed the Hendy/Wiles letter, and all 5 complainants who sparked the enquiry were anonymous. The Society's role is to "advance and promote research and scholarly activity, the pursuit of knowledge". However, it was blind to their lack of impartiality and due process and to the irony of prosecuting preeminent scholars for academic expression well within the limits of their professional, legal and ethical obligations. 

Eventually, the Society dropped the investigation into the "errant" professors. It issued the following mea culpa statement - https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/news/he-panui-statem

Links…

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

“In Defence of Science” - Letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

School of Biological Sciences

University of Auckland

https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/appo310

Professor Poole’s Articles

Japan’s path to becoming a leader in Western science: an Asian perspective on science and other forms of knowledge (short version)

Japan’s path to becoming leaders in ‘Western’ science: an Asian perspective on science and other forms of knowledge (long version)

Ministry of Education’s curriculum article 

What is Chemistry and Biology about?

In July 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter to the editor in the New Zealand Listener, titled "In Defence of Science".

The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.

Their letter stated that:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

Sadly, professor Corballis is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in October. The same month the Royal Society announced a breach of conduct inquisition into professor Corballis and two of his co-authors, professors Nola and Cooper, all fellows of the august institution. The Society launched the inquisition having publicly criticised the professors for their letter. Furthermore, the Society initially included two inquisition panellists who had previously signed the Hendy/Wiles open letter against the professors, and all five complainants who sparked the inquisition were anonymous. The Royal Society's stated role is to "advance and promote research and scholarly activity, the pursuit of knowledge". However, the Society was blind to their lack of impartiality and due process and to the irony of prosecuting some of New Zealand's most preeminent scholars for academic expression well within the limits of their professional, legal and ethical obligations. The inquisition was eventually abandoned. 

Commendably, in May 2022, the Royal Society of New Zealand issued a mea culpa statement - https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/news/he-panui-statement/

Links…

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

“In Defence of Science” - Letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

In July 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter to the editor in the New Zealand Listener, titled "In Defence of Science".

The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.

Their letter stated that:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

Sadly, professor Corballis is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in October. The same month the Royal Society announced a breach of conduct inquisition into professor Corballis and two of his co-authors, professors Nola and Cooper, all fellows of the august institution. The Society launched the inquisition having publicly criticised the professors for their letter. Furthermore, the Society initially included two inquisition panellists who had previously signed the Hendy/Wiles open letter against the professors, and all five complainants who sparked the inquisition were anonymous. The Royal Society's stated role is to "advance and promote research and scholarly activity, the pursuit of knowledge". However, the Society was blind to their lack of impartiality and due process and to the irony of prosecuting some of New Zealand's most preeminent scholars for academic expression well within the limits of their professional, legal and ethical obligations. The inquisition was eventually abandoned. 

Commendably, in May 2022, the Royal Society of New Zealand issued a mea culpa statement - https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/news/he-panui-statement/

Links…

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

“In Defence of Science” - Letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

In July 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter to the editor in the New Zealand Listener, titled In Defence of Science.

The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.

Their letter stated that:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

Sadly, professor Corballis is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in October. The same month the Royal Society announced a breach of conduct inquisition into professor Corballis and two of his co-authors, professors Nola and Cooper, all fellows of the august institution. The Society launched the inquisition having publicly criticised the professors for their letter. Furthermore, the Society initially included two inquisition panellists who had previously signed the Hendy/Wiles open letter against the professors, and all five complainants who sparked the inquisition were anonymous. The Royal Society's stated role is to "advance and promote research and scholarly activity, the pursuit of knowledge". However, the Society seems blind to their lack of impartiality and due process and to the irony of prosecuting some of New Zealand's most preeminent scholars for academic expression well within the limits of their professional, legal and ethical obligations. The inquisition is still pending. However, only professors Nola and Cooper are now being investigated. Professor Corballis can no longer clear his name from the inquisition's claims. For professors Nola and Cooper, it seems that the inquisition may well be the punishment itself.

Links…

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

“In Defence of Science” - Letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

“More In Defence of Science” - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Listener, July 2021

Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue

Professor Johnjoe McFadden - https://johnjoemcfadden.co.uk/about/

https://johnjoemcfadden.co.uk/books/life-is-simple-how-occams-razor-set-science-free-and-unlocked-the-universe/

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

About Dr Daniel Hikuroa - www.maramatanga.co.nz/person/dr-daniel-hikuroa

Context to this conversation......

A New Zealand Government education report (see link below) is recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori [traditional Māori knowledge] in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states, "Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)." 

The report also states, "Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies." 

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

Jerry’s Why Evolution Is True blog - “Ways of knowing” - https://tinyurl.com/3tmmx59d

Email Royal Society of New Zealand chief executive paul.atkins@royalsociety.org.nz

Context

In July 2021, seven University of Auckland professors published a letter to the editor in the New Zealand Listener, titled In Defence of Science. The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states: 

”Our goal is to ensure parity for Mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)." 

The report also states: 

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies." 

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state “encourages a mistrust of science”. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students. 

Their letter stated: 

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science". 

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles… 

Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s 

University academics' claim Mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja 

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc 

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, An open response to In defence of science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn 

Sadly, professor Corballis is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in October when the Royal Society announced a breach of conduct inquisition into professor Corballis and two of his co-authors, professors Nola and Cooper, all fellows of the august institution. The Society launched the inquisition having publicly criticised the professors for their letter. Furthermore, the Society initially included two inquisition panellists who had previously signed the Hendy/Wiles open letter against the professors, and all five complainants who sparked the inquisition were anonymous. The Royal Society's stated role is to "advance and promote research and scholarly activity, the pursuit of knowledge". However, the Society seems blind to their lack of impartiality and due process and to the irony of prosecuting some of New Zealand's most preeminent scholars for academic expression well within the limits of their professional, legal and ethical obligations. The inquisition is still pending. However, only professors Nola and Cooper are now being investigated. Professor Corballis can no longer clear his name from the inquisition's claims. For professors Nola and Cooper, it seems that the inquisition may well be the punishment itself.

Links… 

Education report https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h 

In Defence of Science

More In Defence of Science - Supplementary Note to In Defence of Science

Briefing doc - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society 

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue

Mātauranga Māori definition - https://tinyurl.com/4w3rcfut

Hitchens - Free Speech - https://tinyurl.com/uh9t6hrz

University of Chicago Freedom of Expression

https://tinyurl.com/2s392498

Kalvin Report on Political and Social Action

https://tinyurl.com/2p8nnw5b

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The professors' were responding to a Government education report (see link below), recommending parity for Mātauranga Māori in the secondary school curriculum, and in particular, in the science classroom.

The report states:

”Our goal is to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)."

The report also states:

"Philosophy and History of Science is a unique strand in Pūtaiao [Māori word for Science], with no equivalent in the New Zealand Curriculum. It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples. Pūtaiao allows opportunities to incorporate Māori perspectives and knowledge about the natural world into the classroom. In this regard, it decentres Western epistemologies and methodologies."

The professors' letter arose from their concern for "the disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding", which they state is encourages a mistrust of science. Their concern is in the context of the decline in maths and science achievements in New Zealand schools, particularly by Māori and Pacific Island students.

Their letter stated that:

"Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world's scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science".

The reaction to the "In Defence of Science" by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi, the Tertiary Education Union, and the New Zealand Association of Scientists was not positive and can be viewed in the following articles…

NZ Herald - Scientists rubbish Auckland University professors' letter claiming Māori knowledge is not science

https://tinyurl.com/2p8v2h9s

RNZ - University academics' claim mātauranga Māori 'not science' sparks controversy

https://tinyurl.com/2ybvk3ja

Research Professional News - Public letter from academics sparks Māori science row

https://tinyurl.com/3juc66yc

An open letter in response to the professors' letter by professors Hendy and Wiles, "An open response to In defence of science" was co-signed by 2000 people.

https://tinyurl.com/2p8m65xn

Sadly, professor Corballis is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with lymphoma in October. The same month the Royal Society announced a breach of conduct inquisition into professor Corballis and two of his co-authors, professors Nola and Cooper, all fellows of the august institution. The Society launched the inquisition having publicly criticised the professors for their letter. Furthermore, the Society initially included two inquisition panellists who had previously signed the Hendy/Wiles open letter against the professors, and all five complainants who sparked the inquisition were anonymous. The Royal Society's stated role is to "advance and promote research and scholarly activity, the pursuit of knowledge". However, the Society seems blind to their lack of impartiality and due process and to the irony of prosecuting some of New Zealand's most preeminent scholars for academic expression well within the limits of their professional, legal and ethical obligations. The inquisition is still pending. However, only professors Nola and Cooper are now being investigated. Professor Corballis can no longer clear his name from the inquisition's claims. For professors Nola and Cooper, it seems that the inquisition may well be the punishment itself.

Links…

The Government education report

https://tinyurl.com/3yfry76h

“In Defence of Science” letter to the editor

“More In Defence of Science” - supplementary notes to the letter to the editor

Briefing document - professors Corballis, Nola and Cooper and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

The Shape of Dialogue Steven Pinker podcast “What is science?” transcription.

https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue

Steven Pinker

https://twitter.com/sapinker

https://stevenpinker.com/

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

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Links.......

Book

A Critique of Anti-racism in Rhetoric and Composition: The Semblance of Empowerment 

Twitter: @Rhetors_of_York 

www.freeblackthought.com

Audio and video

A Critique of Anti-Racism in Rhetoric and Composition

A Rhetoric of Common Values

Counterweight Connects with Erec Smith

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The professor's letter went on to say that science is universal, it emerged from various parts of the globe and is distinct from indigenous ways of knowing. It stated that "indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture in local practices in place key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself".

The aftermath of the publication of the professor's letter resulted in one of the letter's authors resigning as Dean of the University's School of Psychology. The University's Vice-Chancellor stated the letter caused "considerable hurt and dismay" among staff and students. While the academics are free to express their views, I want to make it clear that they do not represent the views of the University of Auckland."

Also, an open letter, with 1100 signatories, repudiating the Listener letter stated they "categorically" disagreed with the views expressed in the professor's Listener letter. It went on to say, "Indigenous knowledges - in this case, mātauranga - are not lesser to other knowledge systems. Indeed, indigenous ways of knowing, including mātauranga, have always included methodologies that overlap with 'Western' understandings of the scientific method. However, mātauranga is far more than just equivalent to or equal to 'Western' science. It offers ways of viewing the world that are unique and complementary to other knowledge systems." Red it here....

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRwHTSKURHaalXZSNo2oluN9OjuDxK6UDG4gb6t7NhAPO3Zg/viewform

In this podcast, Dr Kyle Gibson investigates the veracity of these claims and what constitutes science and how this disagreement can be resolved.

Dr Kyle Gibson holds a PhD in philosophy, a Graduate Diploma in secondary teaching, a Bachelor of Arts with honours in philosophy, a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science, and a Bachelor of Science in geography and philosophy, all from the University of Canterbury. Dr Gibson works as a tutor in the University of Canterbury's philosophy department. He began his teaching career in 2013 as a history teacher at Unity High School in Khartoum in Sudan before returning to New Zealand in 2014, where he taught a wide array of subjects at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery in Christchurch. Dr Gibson is passionate about promoting philosophy in primary and secondary education, arguing that doing so is crucial to improving political and intellectual discourse in the public sphere. Kyle recently wrote an opinion piece "Science can't be Pākehā or Māori, it's just science" published in stuff.co.nz. Read it here.....

https://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/125940471/science-cant-be-pkeh-or-mori-its-just-science

The Listener "letter to the editor".... https://medium.com/@shapeofdialogue/in-defence-of-science-e8da054219cc

IN DEFENCE OF SCIENCE

A recent report from a government NCEA working group on proposed changes to the Māori school curriculum aims “to ensure parity for mātauranga Māori with the other bodies of knowledge credentialed by NCEA (particularly Western/Pākehā epistemologies)”. It includes the following description as part of a new course: 

“It promotes discussion and analysis of the ways in which science has been used to support the dominance of Eurocentric views (among which, its use as a rationale for colonisation of Māori and the suppression of Māori knowledge); and the notion that science is a Western European invention and itself evidence of European dominance over Māori and other indigenous peoples.”

This perpetuates disturbing misunderstandings of science emerging at all levels of education and in science funding. These encourage mistrust of science. Science is universal, not especially Western European. It has origins in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, ancient Greece, and later India, with significant contributions in mathematics, astronomy and physics from mediaeval Islam, before developing in Europe and later the United States with a strong presence across Asia. Science itself does not colonise. It has been used to aid colonisation, as have literature and art. However, science also provides immense good, as well as greatly enhanced understanding of the world. Science is helping us battle worldwide crises such as CoVid, global warming, carbon pollution, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. Such science is informed by the united efforts of many nations and cultures. We increasingly depend on science, perhaps for our very survival. The future of our world, and our species, cannot afford mistrust of science.

Indigenous knowledge is critical for the preservation and perpetuation of culture and local practices, and plays key roles in management and policy. However, in the discovery of empirical, universal truths, it falls far short of what we can define as science itself. To accept it as the equivalent of science is to patronise and fail indigenous populations; better to ensure that everyone participates in the world’s scientific enterprises. Indigenous knowledge may indeed help advance scientific knowledge in some ways, but it is not science.

Kendall Clements, Professor, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland

Garth Cooper, FRSNZ, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland

Michael Corballis, FRSNZ, Emeritus Professor, School of Psychology, University of Auckland

Douglas Elliffe, Professor, School of Psychology, University of Auckland

Robert Nola, FRSNZ, Emeritus Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Auckland

Elizabeth Rata Professor, Critical Studies in Education, University of Auckland 

John Werry, Emeritus Professor, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland

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https://www.youtube.com/c/AnthonyMagnabosco210

https://anthonymagnabosco.com/

https://twitter.com/magnabosco

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_Ikilei

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

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Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016

Music: Kyrie from Bach B Minor Mass conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Buy it here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/mass-in-b-minor-bwv-232-cum-sancto-spiritu/1053521016