I. What is a Law of the Land? Thomas Hobbes thought that in a state of nature there’s “no government at all, except the government of small families, the concord whereof dependeth on natural lust,” I’m not sure the concord… Read More ›
Philosophy of Religion
SOME UNSOLICITED THEOLOGY FROM A SELF-CONFESSED ATHEIST
A being that wants for nothing wants nothing. That’s why it makes no sense to talk about the self-sufficiency of God. If there was nothing He felt was wanting He wouldn’t have bothered creating anything. But apparently He did. In… Read More ›
CHARLES DARWIN AND DAVID LEWIS
I’m not sure we needed Charles Darwin to alert us to this tautology: Things that persist over time do and things that don’t don’t. I’m not sure this explains anything, but yes, a Monarch butterfly keeps its markings over the… Read More ›
TWO ODDITIES ABOUT SUFFERING AND DEATH
I’m pretty left-brain dominant. And if you find this exhausting, imagine what it’s like for me. So for some respite, for the both of us, here’s one of my rare right-brain moments. Oddity One: I found out the other day… Read More ›
CAUSE FOR CANONIZATION – PIUS XII AND THE CURA
Let’s start with a little Hohfeldian housekeeping. Arguably there’s no such thing as a duty to defend oneself from injury. But no one, save the most bone-headed pacifist, would deny one has a right to defend himself, to defend himself… Read More ›
THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
Once upon a time – or outside of it, if we’re to have it Boethius’ way – having nothing else to do, God decided to conjure in His mind all the worlds He could bring into being were He so… Read More ›
A COMPLETE COURSE IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION IN ELEVEN MINUTES
There are as many Islams as there are Moslems. There are as many Christianities as there are Christians. And there are twice as many Judaisms as there are Jews. This is because for any one of us it’s invariably “On… Read More ›
THE NON-IDENTITY OF INDISCERNIBLES
“Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!” “Mais non, monsieur, zis eez our fly zupe, zee specialite de la maison.” How do we resolve this issue? By deferring to the intentions of the chef? But he might dissimulate, to save… Read More ›
THE SERENITY PRAYER
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. – Reinhold Neibuhr, 1892-1971 What it is to know something is the same… Read More ›
My Colleagues’ Residual Theism
WHY MY COLLEAGUES ARE IDIOTS – Rant # 169 – MY COLLEAGUES’ RESIDUAL THEISM Look! I realize it takes time to adjust. But it’s been over a century and a half since you were offered the Darwinian turn. It’s time… Read More ›
