This the article just published at www.PhilosophyOfReligion.org What can philosophy of religion offer to the modern university? Quick answer: Teach an experiential philosophy of living in truth, beauty, and goodness. A new opportunity on the horizon builds upon one of philosophy’s classical functions, interdisciplinary reflection. Philosophy of religion courses that include units on science and religion, … Read more
Hope occupies a place on the spectrum of confidence ranging from despair to radiant assurance. Despair implies that hope has vanished. Radiant assurance is beyond hope, which implies a degree of uncertainty.[1] This reflection on our attitudes toward the future begins with a look at our consciousness of the past. Edmund Husserl distinguished (1) explicit … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
A majority of philosophers today criticize “essentialism” in gender theory as an error that uses traditional cultural stereotypes to define men and women in ways that are needlessly narrow and harmful in their application. I believe that there are many examples of gender stereotypes that merit the critique. I have a new theory of gender, … Read more
I just realized a new rapprochement with Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path. That might seem surprising, since this philosophy of living—this way of living—has a spiritual core of faith that leads to the realization of the indwelling presence of the spirit of God, friendship with God, and prayer and worship. Here’s how it … Read more
A quiet, humble, and bright student with whom I once had the pleasure to work would ask questions about facts that were not in dispute. Not just one question; sometimes three or four. Feeling initially confident about my grasp of the fact, then finding myself unable to answer the questions, I was delighted to discover … Read more
The headline says it all. But how can such sharing find a place in a weblog dedicated to the emerging philosophy of living—a philosophy which is to remain accessible to persons of every faith? Such a blogpost fits here if it is accompanied by an interpretation accessible to my Jewish brothers, Muslim sisters, Buddhist friends–indeed … Read more