Sir, – We thank Prof William Reville (August 12th) for devoting serious thought and space in response to our letter August 11th). While we still challenge his views on the political implications of the imperfections of man and the nature of altruism, perhaps Prof Reville would enjoy an opportunity to critically engage these topics on campus this autumn?
While we differ in stance, the correspondence and online reaction to this article demonstrate the larger point that there is an unmet need in Ireland for serious thinking about how complex ideas such as human nature (and the nature of humans) speak to the limits to liberalism, determinism and our understanding of altruism. – Yours, etc,
Dr A JAMIE SARIS,
Prof BERNARD MAHON,
Departments
of Anthropology
and Biology,
Maynooth University.