On “The Danger of Fact-ist Politics”: You observed that many public are treating beliefs as evidence and conflating certainty with truth. Naturally, I share your exasperation with this sort of posturing and ostentatious displays of conviction that is misplaced at best and likely often altogether feigned. Moreover, I couldn’t agree more with your identification of…
Month: April 2021
Miscellany: “Science,” “citizens,” “consumers,” and other topics
Is science exclusively abstract and reductionistic in principle or could it also be integral and creative? I have treated this topic much more thoroughly in my dissertation but here are a few brief remarks. Any answer will depend on our theory of science, which is itself subject to transformation. It will also depend on which branch…
Video Lecture: Science and Religion (3) and Philosophy
Dear friends, Some readers may be interested in a lecture on the relationship between religion and science as a continuation from this lecture and this one. It was recorded for the sake of my students in a Critical Thinking course at Alaska Pacific University. I welcome any comments or thoughts on the subject. Warmly, Max
Video Lecture: Science and Religion (2) The Essence and History of the Scientific Method
Some readers may be interested in a lecture on the relationship between religion and science as a continuation from this lecture. It was recorded for the sake of my students in a Critical Thinking course at Alaska Pacific University. I welcome any comments or thoughts on the subject. Warmly, Max
Video Lecture: Science and Religion (1) Self and World
Some readers may be interested in a lecture on the relationship between religion and science as a reflection of the self-concept and world-concept. It was recorded for the sake of my students in a Critical Thinking course at Alaska Pacific University. I welcome any comments or thoughts on the subject. Warmly, Max
Miscellany: Mary and “the Gardener”, naming as invocation and not as labelling, and other topics
Why does Mary fail to recognize the risen Jesus on Easter morning and instead mistake him for “the gardener”? I was reflecting on this question a little bit yesterday and the more I think about it, the more interesting it becomes. Does it really seem plausible that a person would go to the tomb of…
Video Lecture: On the Reality of Thinking
Some readers may be interested in a lecture on the reality and essence of thinking. It was recorded for the sake of my students in a Critical Thinking course at Alaska Pacific University. I welcome any comments or thoughts on the subject. Warmly, Max
Miscellany: On the scapegoat, art, science, and authenticity
On scapegoating in relation to the Passiontide narrative as it is depicted in the Gospel accounts: I am delighted that you chose to take up this topic. It is the probably the most poignant topic and without a doubt the most dangerous one. I will offer a few comments and questions on what you wrote…
Mythos, Logos, and the Lamb of God: René Girard on the Scapegoat Mechanism
Introduction On another occasion, I employed Hesiod’s contradictory characterizations of Saturn in the Theogony and Works and Days to inquire into the seeming paradox of a filicidal tyrant simultaneously ruling over the fabled Golden Age of the world. Hesiod’s account served as a representative of the concurrent narratives of decadence and progress that often confront…
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