---
title: "Eternal life, poetry and the rational mind, and the question of sovereignty"
date: "2016-07-06T11:18:16+01:00"
modified: "2016-07-06T11:18:16+01:00"
url: "https://rationalists.org.uk/2016/07/06/eternal-life-poetry-and-the-rational-mind-and-the-question-of-sovereignty/"
post_id: 6544
categories: ["Uncategorised"]
---

# Eternal life, poetry and the rational mind, and the question of sovereignty

1\. [The question of sovereignty](/articles/5049/the-question-of-sovereignty)

Debates over “national sovereignty” loom large over the EU referendum – but, as David Nowell Smith explains, defining the concept is trickier than it seems.

2\. [Who wants to live forever?](/articles/5054/who-wants-to-live-forever)

Once the preserve of eccentrics and cranks, cryonics is entering the mainstream. Is eternal life possible – or even desirable? Cal Flyn investigates in the cover story of our Summer 2016 issue.

3\. [The ancient roots of humanism](/articles/5047/the-ancient-roots-of-humanism)

Andrew Copson discusses a new book, which challenges the idea that modern science gave birth to unbelief, tracing it back to the Greeks and Romans.

4\. [Why poetry is good for the rational mind](/articles/5052/why-poetry-is-good-for-the-rational-mind)

Poetry shows us that the world is more varied and unpredictable than we might otherwise imagine, writes Fiona Sampson.

5\. [Does civility in politics matter?](/articles/5048/does-civility-in-politics-matter)

Universities are the centre of some of the fiercest political and cultural battles of our times, says Keith Kahn-Harris in this discussion of a book by controversial academic Steven Salaita.

*[May’s top long-reads](/articles/5041/from-fundamentalism-to-atheism-learning-forgiveness-and-the-comedy-of-awkwardness)*

*[More on our Summer issue – out now](/articles/5039/the-summer-2016-new-humanist-is-out-now)*