In our last articles, we explored Charles Taylor's A Secular Age. Although there's much more that could be said about this important and influential book, I have to plead exhaustion. Taylor is not always the easiest author to understand, and we've spent a lot of time on him already. For the rest of the series, I'd like to explore some of the authors and ideas that have Continue Reading …
Our New Citizen Feed, August Not School Doings, and a New Mayor of Not School
[Editor's Note: Thanks very much to everyone who's become a PEL Citizen. Your support has made our ongoing ambitions to produce this podcast viable, now with more frequent episodes, with a live show coming up in Pittsburgh in September, and we were able last week to send Seth to a big podcasting conference last week (we were nominated for but did not win an award). We've also Continue Reading …
Why Substance Matters
Samuel Johnson's refutation of Bishop Berkeley's immaterialism, which says that matter does not exist, is one of those slightly famous moments in the history of philosophy. As the story goes, Johnson and his friends stood outside a church and complained about "Bishop Berkeley's ingenious sophistry to prove the non-existence of matter." They did not believe the idea but did not Continue Reading …