On 2019/02/24, Roman Catholics who attended the Mass for Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle C) heard St Paul telling the Corinthians: It is written, `The first man, Adam, became a living being,’ the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first: rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man … [Read more…]
In From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present, Jacques Barzun wrote about a gradual and long-term decay of the West. He wrote that only about 50% of French peasants in 1500 were literate but also noted that those peasants were reading novels far too complex for most (nearly all?) modern-day college professors. Quality of … [Read more…]
I have begun a new research and thinking and writing project which bears the tentative title: Through Christ: Creation. It is intended as a step or two forward rather than a step or two toward a different goal than I’ve been pursuing in recent years: the use of modern knowledge of the world to build … [Read more…]
I recently read Alvin Plantinga’s powerful book, Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism. I have little to say against what he deals with and bow to his well-organized, scholarly mind. He does a better job than any of a half-dozen or so books I’ve read which critique the metaphysical imperialism of some … [Read more…]
The title gives the news. I’m aiming to post something substantial at least once a month and hope for once every two weeks—at least occasionally. Why am I writing posts less frequently? For now the main reason for fewer posts is my various efforts to gain new knowledge and to think new thoughts in dealing … [Read more…]
Mostly. That is, decentralization creates lots of opportunities for dynamic efforts of various sorts, some of which might well be very successful. By “successful in human history”, I write of both history proper (written narratives based upon facts) and also prehistory (the reconstructed narratives of pre-literate men and even of apish ancestors of men). By … [Read more…]
Let’s consider one historically important central power: the Papacy. The history of the Papacy was actually quite complicated but we can pass over those complications for my current purposes. I choose the Papacy for several reasons. Firstly, I entered the Catholic Church as an adult and am currently an (excessively?) active Catholic parishioner. I hold … [Read more…]
In the essay, When Does Human Life Begin?, Brook Stanton makes a clear and forceful statement, with highly summarized arguments which are really—and he admits so—references to well-established facts and theories of modern biology: human life begins at conception. He doesn’t show awareness that there is some, if not total, truth in the claim that … [Read more…]
Let’s be philosophical: What is knowledge? Under my metaphysics, knowledge is a misleading way to refer to an encapsulation of being in our own being. Words like `know’ and `knowledge’ are our ways of speaking about our active responses to what lies outside of us but also our active responses to our own human being. … [Read more…]
[This essay is a lightly edited chapter from my upcoming book, The Shape of Reality, a book which should be posted on my weblog by the end of March and maybe the middle of March.] What is truth? Not so ridiculous a question as some would have it, certainly those who don’t understand how difficult … [Read more…]