Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. Continuing from part one on Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism, ch. 1, "Pragmatism and Religion" and 2, "Pragmatism as Romantic Polytheism." Sponsors: Apply for convenient term life insurance from Fabric by Gerber Life at meetfabric.com/PEL. Give online therapy a try at Continue Reading …
Ep. 349: Rorty’s Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism (written 1997), ch. 1-2. Should democracy be defended on absolutist grounds, e.g. by reference to God-given or natural rights, the nature of Man, or the dictates of Reason? Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at Continue Reading …
Ep. 349: Rorty’s Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part Two for Supporters)
Continuing from part one on Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism, ch. 1, "Pragmatism and Religion" and 2, "Pragmatism as Romantic Polytheism." Rorty evaluates James, Dewey, and Peirce on religion and finds Dewey's approach most fruitful toward promoting democracy. While James promoted tolerance, Dewey thought that we should regulate our actions and beliefs by Continue Reading …
Ep. 349: Rorty’s Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part One for Supporters)
On Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism (written 1997), ch. 1-2. Should democracy be defended on absolutist grounds, e.g. by reference to God-given or natural rights, the nature of Man, or the dictates of Reason? Throughout this book (adapted from a series of 1997 lectures but not published until 2021 after Rorty's death), Rorty argues that democracy, ethics, Continue Reading …
Ep. 204: The Bhagavad Gita’s Hindu Theology (Part Two)
More on this classic text from ancient India by (perhaps) Vyasa, with guest Shaan Amin. Is Krishna recommending action that acquires good karma or behavior that is "beyond good and evil?" How can everything be Krishna while Krishna is also the piece of excellence in each of us that we're supposed to pursue? How do Krishna's teachings compare with Stoicism? Plus, behold Continue Reading …
Ep. 204: The Bhagavad Gita’s Hindu Theology (Part One)
On the classic Hindu text from possibly around the third century BCE., which is a part of the Indian Epic poem Mahabharata, attributed to Vyasa, though that probably wasn't a single person. What is it to live wisely? What grounds duty? The text is a conversation on the eve of battle between the archer hero Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, who in the course of the text Continue Reading …
Ep. 204: The Bhagavad Gita’s Hindu Theology (Citizen Edition)
On the classic Hindu text from possibly around the third century BCE., which is a part of the Indian Epic poem Mahabharata, attributed to Vyasa, though that probably wasn't a single person. What is it to live wisely? What grounds duty? The text is a conversation on the eve of battle between the archer hero Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, who in the course of the text Continue Reading …
Episode 175: Blade Runner: Androids and Humanity (Part One)
On Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) and the films Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Blade Runner (1982). What makes us human? Dick's novel about androids emphasized their lack of empathy, while the movie adaptations portrayed the "replicants" as plenty capable of emotion, but unjustly treated as servants or targets. Attention: The second half of Continue Reading …
Ep. 175: Blade Runner: Androids and Humanity (Citizen Edition)
On Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1967) and the films Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Blade Runner (1982). What makes us human? Dick's story about androids emphasized their lack of empathy, while the movie adaptations portrayed the "replicants" as plenty capable of emotion, but unjustly treated as servants or targets. All of these works are about a Continue Reading …
Science, Religion, and Secularism Part IV: Ian Barbour—The Dialogue Model
In previous articles, we explored the conflict and independence models. Both take the view that science and theology need to be sharply distinguished, either such that they make incompatible claims about the same dimensions of life, or compatible claims about different ones. A third view, articulated by Ian Barbour, the founder of Science and Religion studies, is the dialogue Continue Reading …
Science, Religion, and Secularism, Part II: Ian Barbour—The Conflict Model
If one had to attach a name to the contemporary revival of interest in science and religion, the name would almost certainly be that of physicist Ian Barbour (1923–2013, pictured right). His 1966 book, Issues in Science and Religion, outlined four models for interaction between science and religion: conflict, dialogue, synthesis, and independence. These four models have Continue Reading …
Science, Religion, and Secularism, Part I: Introduction
Where did humanity, the world of life, and our universe come from? What sort of patterns do they evince, how can they be explained, and how can we affect their outcome? Science tries to answer questions like this through observation, measurement, and experiment. One of the defining characteristics of our time is the centrality of science to our society and our understanding of Continue Reading …
Ep 121/122 Aftershow on Augustine feat. James Wetzel
Haven't had enough Augustine? Host Danny Lobell and Wes Alwan reflected on our recent discussions on Augustine's Confessions, with an actual Augustine scholar, James Wetzel of Villanova University, author of such books as Augustine and the Limits of Virtue (2008), Augustine: A Guide for the Perplexed (2010), and Parting Knowledge: Essays after Augustine (2013). Also on the call Continue Reading …
Ep 121/122 Aftershow on Augustine feat. James Wetzel
Haven't had enough Augustine? Host Danny Lobell and Wes Alwan reflected on our recent discussions on Augustine's Confessions, with an actual Augustine scholar, James Wetzel of Villanova University, author of such books as Augustine and the Limits of Virtue (2008), Augustine: A Guide for the Perplexed (2010), and Parting Knowledge: Essays after Augustine (2013). Also on the call Continue Reading …
Episode 121: Augustine on Being Good
On The Confessions (400 CE), books 1–9. The question is not "What is virtue?" because knowing what virtue is isn't enough. The problem, for Aurelius Augustinus, aka St. Augustine of Hippo, is doing what you know to be right. However, we shouldn't expect our capacity to know to be operating well unless we're already oriented correctly, which for Augustine means toward God. Continue Reading …
Episode 121: Augustine on Being Good (Citizen Edition)
On The Confessions (400 CE), books 1–9. The question is not "What is virtue?" because knowing what virtue is isn't enough. The problem, for Aurelius Augustinus, aka St. Augustine of Hippo, is doing what you know to be right. However, we shouldn't expect our capacity to know to be operating well unless we're already oriented correctly, which for Augustine means toward God. Continue Reading …
Topic for #121 and #122: Augustine’s “Confessions”
On 7/16 and then 7/28, we forayed into the Middle Ages for only the second time (our first being Maimonides), hitting the first of the big-time church fathers in the philosophical tradition, Aurelius Augustinus, aka St. Augustine of Hippo, reading his most popular work (then and now), Confessions, from around 400 CE. It's known as the first autobiography, and in our first Continue Reading …
Bonus Recording: The Historical Jesus
I had the pleasure of discussing on 4/26 the 2006 Historical Jesus lectures of Stanford's Thomas Sheehan (listen on iTunes U; here's the syllabus) with PEL listeners John ludders, Terra Leigh Bell, Michael Burgess Chris Eyre, and Benjamin Feddersen. Get the recording now from the Free Stuff for Citizens page, under "Not School and Aftershow Discussions." It was a great Continue Reading …
Not School: Thomas Sheehan’s Historical Jesus Stanford Lectures
Featuring Mark Linsenmayer, Michael Burgess, Tara Leigh Bell, John Ludders, Chris Eyre, Benjamin Feddersen. Recorded April 26, 2015, 1 hr., 50 min. The conversation had three parts, covering the following questions: 1. Does Sheehan represent a legitimate academic consensus? His story is pretty damning re. the historical accuracy of the traditional Jesus story, and he Continue Reading …
Bonus Discussion: Jaspers’s “Truth & Symbol”
I was pleased to lead a Not School discussion on Karl Jaspers's Truth and Symbol (1947). Our recent episode left us a little in the dark on what Jaspers was really proposing re religion and the mystical. Well, Truth & Symbol still left a lot of questions unanswered, but gave us a lot to chew on. A lot of the book (which is actually an excerpt from a longer, untranslated Continue Reading …