After nearly two years of heavy-duty entries exploring ways of updating Thomistic existentialism to account for modern empirical knowledge, I’ve started to move on in some ways, continuing this general task but trying to reach deeper. Specifically, I’m struggling to learn more of modern physics that I might better tackle metaphysical issues of being and … [Read more…]
In my reviews of Gerd Gigerenzer’s Adaptive Minds, beginning with A Review of “Adaptive Minds: Part I”, I discussed Professor Gigerenzer’s analyses of the ‘discoveries’ in the latter half of the 20th century that human beings don’t think very clearly. Beginning in the 1950s or so, Economists and psychologists and others tested the common folk … [Read more…]
John Hawks is an evolutionary thinker who seems to think clear and to speak honestly. I’d recommend his weblog, John Hawks Weblog for anyone wanting an intelligent take on evolutionary biology from the viewpoint of an anthropologist who has done highly regarded work on the genetics aspects of his field. In a recent entry about … [Read more…]
There’s a short but interesting summary of a survey about the effects of knowledge on the opinions that men and women hold about the moral legitimacy of some controversial medical/scientific procedures such as the use of various sorts of stem-cells. See Scientific Information Largely Ignored When Forming Opinions About Stem Cell Research. In a nutshell, … [Read more…]
John Michael Greer blogs as the Archdruid, The Archdruid Report. I find it interesting that his worldview is radically different from my Thomistic existentialist worldview, but my views align with his on a number of issues rather than aligning with those of the Catholic mainstream. I would argue this happens for a simple reason: like … [Read more…]
In order to move on in my work, I’m studying advanced physics and mathematics, concentrating for now on general relativity — broadly speaking since I have to take various diversions to refresh my old knowledge or to acquire new knowledge in basic physics and matrix algebra and differential geometry and so forth. One of the … [Read more…]
Modern human beings, and especially Christians, might misunderstand the work I’m doing. Some might think I’m some sort of champion of modern empirical knowledge for its own sake, a fan of physics and history perhaps. In fact, what’s at issue is respect for God’s Creation and, hence, for the Creator Himself. You respect Creation by … [Read more…]
Like most Christians, I believe that — if Christ choses me — I’ll be raised from the dead into a world that might be called ‘Heaven’ where I’ll live with Jesus Christ for time without end. I’ll take this as a typical schizophrenic Christian belief. See A Thomistic Take on Madness and Modernism for a … [Read more…]
See Astronomy study proves mathematics theorem for a case where astrophysical research helped to prove an extension to one of the most important theorems in mathematics ( The Fundamental Theorem of Algegra). The title of the article is slightly askew because the work by an astrophysicist provided the missing half to a proof, where the … [Read more…]
I’ve included the entirety of an article from the Vatican Information Service. Pope Benedict XVI has spoken publicly about an important issue he addressed in some of his earlier books: Christian philosophy must respond to modernity and theology must also respond, though he apparently believes — plausibly enough — that theology will respond first to … [Read more…]