Occasionally, I seem to think that I’ve got stuff pretty much worked out. I go through my life thinking that if I just make everybody at work happy, keep my family satisfied, advance myself somehow either in my career or educationally, if I just work hard enough or think long enough or talk with enough people that somehow I’m okay. Simon and Garfunkel had the lyric, “I am a rock. I am an island.” I...
In my last post I went through the cultural developments that led to the basis of our modern understanding of authority detailing the historical shift in religious and political viewpoints. Eventually we have come to understand in the modern context a delegated authority that tends to come from the will of the majority of individuals rather than the historical notion of a top-down delegation. Historically the factions that have understood a more top-down delegation were...
Since the twentieth century, no topic has shaped the philosophical conversations more than the question of authority. It is not that the topic wasn’t brought up previously, certainly the Reformation and the Revolutions in America and France centered on the topic, but the fervor with which the debate raged in academic circles during the twentieth century (and 21st for that matter) is unique in the course of the Great Conversation. There are probably two reasons...
Being socially conscious is hip. In the past few years social media has made advocating a particular cause convenient and, dare I say, prestigious. Need proof? Scroll through your Facebook friends and see how many of their profile pictures include the pink equals sign on a red background for marriage equality, an image with a red “X” marked on the back of the hand, or perhaps a face with red tape over the mouth. Perhaps you or...
Part of the postmodern (or post-postmodern if you’re so inclined) predicament is the amount of time we have to be neurotic and even narcissistic. I firmly believe that if I were not living in a society where I have ample time to let my thoughts wander, if I were so focused on the tasks necessary for survival, if I were given solely to my occupation and the immediate needs of every day life, somehow I...
At the time I write this, over one-hundred thirty people have been injured and at least two killed after bombings that took place in Boston following the Boston Marathon. At this time, no suspects have been identified publicly, nor have any groups stepped forward to claim responsibility. In a post-9/11 United States of America, one that has seen a decade of warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq, most people would reasonably assume that this attack was...
In my last post I talked about the reality of sinkholes, the absolutely terrifying natural phenomenon in which what was once stable ground gives way and forms gaping chasms. Reports of sinkholes swallowing people from the face of the earth have been regular fare for news coverage recently. And for me, the actuality of yet another freak natural occurrence was enough to bring me to a crisis point in my faith. By training and occupation,...
I can be the sort of person that gets a bit lost in my own thoughts. I work from home, primarily on the computer, while my wife is at work and my kids are at school. Often as I am going through the routine tasks of my work week, I’ll have CNN or NPR playing in the background so that I can familiarize myself with the events of the day. This practice can lead to...
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