Religious Reminiscences
We usually debate weighty issues on SO, but I thought I would offer something a bit lighter. For fun I am writing a memoir (I was inspired by Bill Bryson’s Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid) of growing up in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia in the ’50’s and early 60’s. These are my … Religious Reminiscences
Naturalism and Norms (Postscript)
Philip K asks some very probing and incisive questions about ethical naturalism (EN) in his comment on my post “Naturalism and Norms.” These questions raise issues too large and too important to be addressed in the very limited space of a comment box, so I am making a new post. He puts two questions to … Naturalism and Norms (Postscript)
Naturalism and Norms
My recent exchange with Taner on ethical naturalism (EN) prompted a good bit of stimulating comment and criticism. I’ve been out of town for a couple of weeks and away from blogging, so I have not been able to reply to each comment as it arrived. Rather than attempt to do so now, I would like … Naturalism and Norms
Response to Taner
Taner, Thanks for the long post and the many insightful points and queries. Since Aristotle is the founder of naturalized ethics, it is really important that we get him right. Aristotle does not base his ethics upon “human nature,” but what he calls “the human function.” (Sorry, I don’t know the Greek) The human function … Response to Taner
Rupture, er, Rapture May 21
A little comic relief from all the heavy-duty philosophizing on this site. This is one of the more amusing of these types of stories: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-preacher-warns-end-of-the-world-is-nigh-21-may-around-6pm-to-be-precise-2254139.html You sinners have only a few days to mend your ways if you don’t want to be left behind! I enjoyed the idea that God sent the gay pride movement … Rupture, er, Rapture May 21
Understanding Our Differences (Maybe)
I hesitate to respond to Victor Reppert’s latest riposte (April 19) on his Dangerous Idea blog, since BDK and others have already hashed it out with considerable sophistication and subtlety. My aim here, however, is not to refute Victor (knockdown refutations in philosophy occupy a shadowy ontological niche somewhere between very rare and nonexistent), but … Understanding Our Differences (Maybe)
Brooks on “The Book of Mormon”
David Brooks is one of the very few conservative commentators I can read without retching. He offers dispassionate, reasoned argument unlike the screeching, foaming rants of Michelle Malkin (I think she should be tested for rabies), and he has nothing of the tinfoil-hat paranoia of Glenn Beck (Sha-na-na-na. Hey, hey, hey. Goodbye.). I like Brooks’ … Brooks on “The Book of Mormon”
The Problem with Metaphysical Naturalism (According to Victor Reppert)
Victor Reppert and I have had a long series of exchanges (thirty five years) dating back to when we were both graduate students at Emory University. I do not think that we would come to agreement even if we were granted another thirty five years to debate, but I am determined at least to get … The Problem with Metaphysical Naturalism (According to Victor Reppert)
C.S. Lewis Pontificates about Something or Other
Victor Reppert has recently posted this quote from C.S. Lewis on his Dangerous Idea blog: “The process whereby man has come to know the universe is from one point of view extremely complicated; from another it is alarmingly simple. We can observe a single one-way progression. At the outset the universe appears packed with will, … C.S. Lewis Pontificates about Something or Other
The “Inner Testimony” of the Holy Spirit
I forget whether I have posted this before. If so, pardon the redundancy. Having had on two occasions the privilege of debating Prof. William Lane Craig, I found the experiences both exhilarating and frustrating. One point of frustration was that Prof. Craig often appeals to the “inner testimony” of the Holy Spirit as trumping any … The “Inner Testimony” of the Holy Spirit