Blog
How to begin a project in artistic living
January 31, 2015
Receiving and giving To construct a philosophy of living project, we first identify some area of our lives that we would like to work on, some growth frontier. It is important to be realistic, not take on too much, but the greatest growth usually comes from focusing on our front-burner issue, the problem that would most leverage our growth if we could turn it around. We do not obsess over our weakness, but state the… Read More
Art, morality, and Auguste Rodin
January 29, 2015
Over the years, the sculptor who moved me most was Auguste Rodin, whose Burgers of Calais continues to symbolize for me the heights of human greatness. The work commemorates the men of the French city of Calais, who in 1347 responded to the offer of the victorious English king who had besieged their city but promised not to destroy it if there were six volunteers who would come forth to die on behalf of their… Read More
Marcus Borg and a new way to look at the religion of Jesus
January 26, 2015
A leader in liberal theology, Marcus Borg died last Wednesday, January 21. I remember using his 1993 book, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith. In that best-seller he told of his traditional Christian upbringing, his questioning, the collapse of his childhood faith, the beginning of his career as a New Testament scholar, and then, in his thirties, a number of religious experiences of seeing the… Read More
C. S. Lewis, Peter Kreeft, and the sequence: truth, goodness, and beauty
January 22, 2015
Peter Kreeft Scrambling at the last minute to get all the data required to submit a book proposal to an editor. They all want to know how your book compares with similar books on the market. You think you know the “competition,” but just to see if anything has appeared recently, go to amazon. Type in “truth, beauty, goodness.” Discover C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty (2008). C. S. Lewis is known… Read More
A proposal for peace between Jews, Christians, and Muslims: Difficulties and responses
January 19, 2015
When I think of the hard problems we are dealing with on this planet, I ask how the divine light that shines through the clouds is going to work its way into the eventual triumph of the way of truth and love. I am convinced that we have a historic opportunity to learn to know and love our Jewish, Christian, and Muslim neighbors—of course: all our neighbors, but I have a particular nest of… Read More
Is learning a community affair?
January 15, 2015
Reggio Emilia preschool piazza (common space) It’s generally a good idea to get to know and learn from people you want to teach before you try to teach them anything. Here’s something huge that I just learned from Howard Gardner, who has probably reached more people with a message about the importance of truth, beauty, and goodness than anyone else alive today. He’s a psychologist (among other things), and I’m a philosopher (among other things),… Read More
Is learning a community affair?
January 15, 2015
Reggio Emilia preschool piazza (common space) It’s generally a good idea to get to know and learn from people you want to teach before you try to teach them anything. Here’s something huge that I just learned from Howard Gardner, who has probably reached more people with a message about the importance of truth, beauty, and goodness than anyone else alive today. He’s a psychologist (among other things), and I’m a philosopher (among other things),… Read More
Dying, Bach’s B minor Mass, and Dr. Perry’s answered prayer
January 12, 2015
Dr. Perry On December 22 when I posted the moving story of Taitetsu Unno’s ministry to the woman in the hospital, I did not know that he had died a few days earlier. Mark Unno, his equally brilliant and accomplished son, also a philosopher and Shin Buddhist priest, told me that during his last hours Ty was alert, pain-free, calm, and, when he could no longer speak, expressing appreciation and gratitude to those present… Read More
Dying, Bach’s B minor Mass, and Dr. Perry’s answered prayer
January 12, 2015
Dr. Perry On December 22 when I posted the moving story of Taitetsu Unno’s ministry to the woman in the hospital, I did not know that he had died a few days earlier. Mark Unno, his equally brilliant and accomplished son, also a philosopher and Shin Buddhist priest, told me that during his last hours Ty was alert, pain-free, calm, and, when he could no longer speak, expressing appreciation and gratitude to those present… Read More