In The End of the Twentieth Century, the Hungarian-American — and Catholic — historian John Lukacs points out: [A]t the end of the twentieth century, many people respect religion as well as science, together; but the respect is faint. (This has to do with the fact that we have descended to a stage lower than … [Read more…]
Recently, I wrote still another post, prophesying into a vacuum of sorts, in which I explored some of the dangers of assuming that Christians, or any others with strong moral beliefs, can enter fully into shared medical insurance programs or even basic medical systems with those who hold differing moral beliefs. That essay, Through the … [Read more…]
In The Meaning of Truth, William James makes the claim: The pragmatist view … of the truth-relation is that it has a definite content and that everything in it is experienceable. Its whole nature can be told in positive terms. The `workableness’ which ideas must have, in order to be true means particular workings, physical … [Read more…]
I’m trying to tighten the focus of some of my own ideas in the area of religion and society, religion and government, religion and any other form of human community. There are probably many things to be said about the conflict between religion and various sorts of religious societies, and some also cover conflicts involving … [Read more…]
I’ve been reading Serious Art by the philosopher John Passmore. This book has inspired in me some thoughts about what might be called the imagination. I’m especially interested in the relationship of imagination to an allegedly different part of the human mind called reason. It’s possible I’m interested because and not despite my efforts to … [Read more…]
William James made a claim which should be very disturbing to those who hold mainstream views of the nature of truth: The truth of an idea is not a stagnant property inherent in it. Truth happens to an idea. It becomes true, is made true by events. Its verity is in fact an event, a … [Read more…]
I want to ask a simple question of the bishops of the American Catholic Church: Why is it acceptable for Federal agents to fondle the breasts of American women, probe the genital regions of American children, and publicly remove the diapers of incontinent elderly Americans but beyond the moral pale to force those violated Americans … [Read more…]
This article, One Thing Is Certain: Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle Is Not Dead, gives an interesting summary of one important aspect of what is called Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. [T]he uncertainty principle comes in two superficially similar formulations that even many practicing physicists tend to confuse. Werner Heisenberg’s own version is that in observing the world, we … [Read more…]
I have uploaded a new and relatively short book: Human Rights: An Evolutionary and Christian Perspective. This book is freely downloadable under the Creative Commons license as referenced on the copyright page. It replaces an article I published back in 2007, Natural and Inalienable Rights, which I came to consider very inadequate though not wrong … [Read more…]
I’ve uploaded an update to the collection of my weblog writings: Acts of Being: Selected Weblog Writings From 2006 to 2011. Here is the text from the Preface for this new edition: I’ve added about 70 chapters to this Second Edition. Nearly all of those chapters are reformatted essays from my writings during 2011 which … [Read more…]