Prisons and Punishment
Gnosticism imagines that the disorder and conflicts of earthly existence can be overcome with gnosis – special knowledge; insight and learning. Ruth Gilmore Wilson, a prison abolitionist…
The Burden of Proof
The phrase “burden of proof” has to do with who it is who needs to back up his claims with evidence; the one who needs to prove…
The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good
The perfect is the enemy of the good means that aiming at perfection can mean not doing the good that can be done. When this occurs, it…
Why Don’t Nihilists Remain Silent? For mickvet
Shakespeare’s Macbeth speaks the following lines: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time;…
Tips for Parenting
Obedience Training Why worry about obedience? In some cases it is a matter of life and death. Do not run into traffic. Do not stick objects into…
Nietzsche – The Diabolical Saint of Acceptance
Friedrich Nietzsche is a strange mixture of conflicting impulses; so chronically sick that writing was a physical agony for his eyes and his stomach permanently bothered him,…
Oedipus Rex in René Girard’s Violence and the Sacred
Sigmund Freud’s concept of the Oedipus complex has entered popular consciousness. It names the tendency of boys to become romantically infatuated with their mothers, and girls with…
Descartes’ Discovery of the Subject
“Philosophy starts by doubting the reality of the perceptible world, of the world of objects and things.”[1] But this is not enough. Philosophical theory should be primarily…
God – Pictures at an Exhibition
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus…
Freedom, Evil, and the Existence of God
Several students, reading Ivan Karamazov’s account of the suffering of innocents, particularly little children, in the The Brothers Karamazov, take God to task for allowing this misery…
On Teaching
The dominant school of thought when it comes to teaching philosophy is for the professor to hide his opinions and to strive for an objective and neutral…
Nihilism in the Movies
Sometimes learning involves the introduction of new facts. At other times, it is a matter of noticing what is already in front of your nose; a change…
Quantum Mechanics and Religion Revisited
At a 1932 conference on quantum mechanics it was suggested that physicists should not worry about what quantum mechanics indicates about the nature of reality and they…
Orthodoxy and the Mob
In Matthew 22:21, Jesus is quoted as saying “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” in response to…
Two Kinds of Sacrifice: René Girard’s Analysis of Scapegoating
Mimesis and Scapegoating Humans are intensely mimetic. We learn to talk, walk, and nearly everything else by imitation. But because we also imitate each other’s desires, other…
