Coined about sixty-five years ago by American economist Thomas Schelling, the phrase “collateral damage” entered the US military’s official language during the Vietnam War to concisely describe any incidental and undesired death, injury or other damage inflicted, especially on civilians, as a result of military activity. Critics of the phrase claim it is a euphemism that dehumanises non-combatants killed or…

I used to walk frequently in the Braes of Glenlivet, a valley at the foot of the Cairngorms, enclosed by the Ladder Hills, less than an hour’s drive from Elgin. I loved its sense of remoteness and wilderness, with its green floor and heather-covered high slopes, populated only by cattle, sheep and wildlife. However, quite surprisingly, there were two rather…

“I love you!” You hear these words, and you instinctively know what they mean. The specifics depend on the context: who’s said them and in what circumstances. You may consider why it was said and what motivated the use of the phrase, but what you certainly wouldn’t ponder is your body’s internal physiological and biological reactions: which hormones have been…

“Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”