Talk:Michael Novak

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[edit] The Rumsfeld Quote

I'd venture to guess that Novak taught Rumsfeld no such thing. I think that's a joke. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.30.19.26 (talk) 03:08, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Templeton Prize edit

I've edited the entry to mention the Templeton Prize. Winning the "Nobel prize for religion" is no small thing! I didn't put in anything about the numerous other awards he has received.

I also added a link to his website and removed some outdated links, one of which had a false and hostile POV description. Chris Chittleborough 07:48, 12 September 2005 (UTC)


I have added the following link to give a more balanced view on Novak

That's an out-and-out attack on Novak, full of silly mistakes. WP:EL forbids links like that. CWC 11:43, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Strange quotations

Even if I contributed a little.... I should say that this page is a real mess! Full of strange quotations instead of clear definitions or simple "voices": it's actually dreadful. Henry Cassini 21:21, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

There's an awful lot of quotes in here with no discussion. Why are these important quotes? I've read many other philosophers' pages and never seen so many long quotes before. Also, there are a lot of loaded words in here, like "his greatest accomplishment," and a bunch in the section on Harvard. Vandymorgan 14:40, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

I've tried to clean up the overall structure of the entry by adding a new subsection bringing the chronological account of his life up to his present position, and then by changing the subheading "Quotes" to read "Controversial Claims." The quotes do seem to have been selected to appear controversial.131.212.34.6 23:44, 2 June 2007 (UTC)Thomas J. Farrell, University of Minnesota Duluth.

Thanks for that, Prof Farrell. (Please consider registering a username here. It's only one extra password to remember, and we can use all the good editors we can get.)
I agree that the quotations are out of place, and I plan to delete some. I see no reason to quote from a novel (The Tiber Was Silver) here, and the last quote (from A Free Society Reader) seems far too theological for this general encyclopedia. The quote from The Experience of Nothingness needs a lot more context to be useful to 99% of our readers.
What do other contributors think? Which quotes should stay and which should go? Cheers, CWC 11:43, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

I do not understand the comment "seems far too theological for this general encyclopedia." Do theological quotes violate some Wikipedia Rule? --Gclausen 07:18, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Err, that was just my polite way of saying full of weird jargon (if "jargon" is the right word). But I've kept that quote for the time being, while deleting the other two I mentioned. CWC 17:56, 13 July 2007 (UTC)