Blog
Sometimes art says it better than words
November 7, 2015
When I’ve been at a conference and gorged myself on presentations, I like to refresh my mind by getting outside, perhaps noticing the local architecture, and visiting a gallery. While attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions, I was most grateful to discover immediately north of the enormous and excellent Salt Palace Convention Center a smaller structure, UMOCA, the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, which is equally excellent. I walked in expecting to appreciate only… Read More
Suspending mind-and-brain momentum through prayer
October 31, 2015
The current tangle of planetary problems calls for many prompt readjustments of human values. From material and intellectual to spiritual levels, we need an integrated vision of truth (from scientific to spiritual), beauty (from natural and artistic to spiritual) and goodness (from material [ecological, social, economic, and political], through moral and ethical character, to divine goodness). God guides us through these perilous changes with eternal stability and divine dynamism. To stay anchored and keep pace,… Read More
My new vision after the Parliament of the World’s Religions
October 24, 2015
The visible and invisible dynamism was palpable on spiritual, intellectual, and practical levels. Spokespersons for religions largely presented themselves in terms of universal values, rather than advertising their own wonderfulness. And the overall goal was to mobilize a spirit of unity in the universal family, as we turn to cooperate in dealing with planetary ecological, social, economic, and political problems. And the special emphasis that marked this gathering was the emphasis on women. Leadership… Read More
Philosophy’s role in bridging between religion and politics
October 19, 2015
Philosophy’s role in bridging between religion and social, economic, and political issues: Example: the quest for world peace For the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 19, 2015 This presentation focuses on the quest for world peace as part of a larger question: What is philosophy’s role in in bridging between religion and social, economic, and political problems? SECTION I. WHAT SHALL WE DO ABOUT WORLD PEACE? HERE… Read More
My YouTube interview with Dan Schneider
October 11, 2015
Today I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Dan Schneider, a widely successful various arts and culture host. Here’s the link to the interview. What a cool way to meet someone! Dan is highly intelligent and efficient, well read in lots of areas of science and in the arts. He reviews films and writes poetry; I get the impression that he is involved in the practice of other arts as well. If you go… Read More
Beginnings, middles, and ends
October 10, 2015
Yesterday I submitted to Cascade Books my final manuscript of Living in Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: Values and Virtues. It will be published next summer. Thirty-four years of drafting it has come to an end. “Beginning, middle, and end,” I would tell my son Ben when he was young. My purpose was not so much to induce him to gather himself a bit before starting something as to pick up after himself when he was… Read More
Community and a Recreation and Wellness center
September 12, 2015
I’ve been working out a few times a week for years at the Kent State University’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center, and it never occurred to me until last week to bring to mind the connotations of the name of the place. Recreation should be fun, not just grinding it out; and wellness is a concept that encompasses all dimensions of the human being. As soon as the meanings hit me, good cheer flooded in. As… Read More
When philosophy stumbles
August 29, 2015
Incan brain surgery When one part of the brain is damaged, sometimes another part eventually takes over its function. I think something analogous can happen in a person’s philosophy. Here are two paragraphs that I just cut out of my book manuscript, partly because they seemed too difficult, but mostly because I went out on a limb and then decided that I was wrong. An example of the beauty of philosophical truth is less clear,… Read More
The Compassionate Life
August 22, 2015
Various people become my spiritual teachers for different lengths of time, from minutes to years. One of them recently sent me The Compassionate Life by Marc Ian Barasch. As I read, I found that the book added a strong layer of awakening to my motivation to serve. It is simply the best book I know on the golden-rule practice of empathetically putting yourself in the position of others. It brings together neuroscience, ethology, psychology, humble… Read More