This is my blog. Frankly I’m amazed anybody reads it.
My ramblings will be about politics, secularism, and free thought and stuff. Oh and whatever takes my fancy.
In my day job I run my own consulting firm that focuses on evidence based consulting and business economics.
If you’d like to follow me on Twitter I’m here (but my tweets tend not to be that political).
Comment and be provocative – but try to be nice (especially to me).
Feel free to contact me on jeffpeel AT hotmail.co.uk
Hi there Jeff, your youtube interview viery effective. fyi I’m using newsnetwire and google reader now – wow what a cool way to absorb info.
Richard Dawkins indeed! I’m with you on taking religion ou of politics. It’s destroyed Ireland and done no good for religion or the state.
But what is harder to accept would be removing the underlying principles of justice and fairness that have over 100′s of years seen so many social movements driven by the techings og Jesus Christ.
I’m not with Richard on his worldview – we are a miracle and we all seek significance and purpose in life …. I’m not just a collection of atoms!
Philip, I try to demarcate personal and professional life. But, just in response to your point…I’d differ with you in terms of the origins of justice and fairness. I’d recommend the book Origins of Virtue, by Matt Ridley. Great read. Ridley explores the issues surrounding the development of human morality. The book explores how genetics can be used to explain certain traits of human behaviour, in particular morality and altruism.
Hi Jeff
Just read your article about the under achievement of Protestant working class boys. You make the claim that NI as the highest attendance at university of working class pupils. I think you may have missed the point here Jeff. Without Catholic pupils the figures are awful and there is a problem here that has to be addressed. Hopefully this report will cause a debate based on evidence and not rhetoric and myth. I went comprehensive school in Scotland, a fantastic experience that allowed me to mix with people from all walks in life. My son goes to a Protestant state school here and has no opportunity to mix with people from different backgrounds (due to the segregative, un-inclusive system that people like your self perpetuate.
PS I hope my Grammar is correct
To suggest that I as a Humanist and Atheist who has been committed to non-sectarian politics for his entire adult life wants to perpetuate segregation is utter piffle. Try reading some of the other content on this site. You start your comment by focusing on the malaise of Protestants and then go on to argue against segregation. How bizarre your logic is. Furthermore, I should point out that our state system is not sectarian – rather it attracts largely Protestants (at Primary level) precisely because the Catholic Church insists on homogeneous faith schools outside the state system.
However here’s the rub. Catholic middle class (and a lot of working class) parents see that the best route for their children to receive a superb academic focused education is through grammar schools. There are many superb Catholic grammars. But many Catholic parents choose to send their children to non-denominational Grammars. Indeed many of our best Grammar schools have mixed intake because they are located in mixed catchment areas. I attended Friends’ School, Lisburn which had mixed intake. That continues to be the case. So it is at Methodist College, RBAI, Victoria. All of these schools encourage children to apply if they achieve the required standards in the post-primary tests.
Ironically, our Grammars are likely to become even more mixed. If the Catholic Bishops stick to their promise to abolish academic selection to their grammars, parents will increasingly encourage their children to apply to schools with an academic ethos outside of the Catholic system. Ironically, our best grammars are becoming the biggest players in non-denominational, secular education (not the integrated schools).
Our challenge is to ensure that less wealthy parents encourage their children to compete for places at our very best schools. This ethos needs to pervade all areas – regardless of religion. Moreover we need to encourage parents to stop defining themselves on the basis of pet tribal definitions that Dawn Purvis and others want to perpetuate. The greatest gift a parent can bestow upon a son or daughter is a great education.