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Philosophy

Believe the Right Things for the Right Reasons

One of my favorite passages in Plato’s Republic is in Book II immediately after Thrasymachus’ argument with Socrates concerning justice. Thrasymachus argues that justice is only the advantage of the stronger, and Socrates breaks down Thrasymachus’ argument. However, Glaucon, one of Socrates’ friends is unsatisfied with Socrates’ response and he says to him “Socrates, do you want to seem to have persuaded us that it is better in every way to be just than unjust or do you want to truly convince us of this?”  Socrates says, “I want truly to convince you if I can.” Glaucon then renews the argument of Thrasmymachus, not because he thinks it is true, (in fact he thinks it is untrue) but rather he wants the argument to receive the strongest response. Glaucon says, “It isn’t Socrates that I believe any of this myself. I’m perplexed, indeed, and my ears are deafened listening to Thrasymachus and countless others. But I’ve yet to hear anyone defend justice in the way I want, proving that it is better than injustice. I want to hear it praised by itself, and I think that I’m mostly likely to hear this from you.” He wants to put forward the strongest possible version of the argument so he can hear how Socrates might take it down.

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Richard Swinburne and the Society of Christian Philosophers

Something strange happened last week within the Society of Christian Philosophers. If you don’t know, the Society of Christian Philosophers is simply a formally organized group of philosophical scholars who identify as Christians. It is (as far as I know) the broadest and largest academic organized group of Christian philosophers. Like other academic groups, they come together throughout the year to present lectures, discuss ideas, and keep up with the latest news in Christian philosophical discussions. The group was founded in 1978 and some of its past presidents have included esteemed thinkers like Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, and Eleonore Stump. The current president of the SCP is Michael Rea who also teaches philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. Read More »Richard Swinburne and the Society of Christian Philosophers

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The Dark Knight and Human Nature

If you ever look up philosophical/psychological perspectives on Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, you would immediately come across arguments about whether the films are “liberal” or “conservative” particularly as they relate to the question of human nature. Questions concerning anthropology such as, “What are humans fundamentally?” “Is human nature essentially good or essentially evil?” “Is there even such a thing as an established human nature or is it malleable and constructed individually or culturally?” are important questions and undoubtedly emerge in Nolan’s three Batman films.  Some argue that the movies present a nihilistic worldview, (the rejection of any objective meaning or principle, life is ultimately void of any real purpose) as presented through the character of the Joker. Others think that the Batman trilogy puts forward a humanist worldview as it displays the greatness of the human spirit to overcome and triumph over struggles as presented through Bruce Wayne or the passengers on the ferries. Others think the story is about the battle between the humanist and the nihilist, one trying to convince the other that human beings are fundamentally evil or fundamentally good. I… Read More »The Dark Knight and Human Nature

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Interview with Brant Bosserman

Brant Bosserman earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Bangor. He wrote The Trinity and the Vindication of Christian Paradox. He is currently the pastor of Trinitas Church and teaches philosophy at Northwest University.   Faith Colloquium : A Blog about Theology, Philosophy, Church, and Culture  538 total views

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Interview with Holly Hamilton-Bleakley Part 2

SV: Given our culture’s emphasis on individualism and personal freedom, and more parents being out of the home so often, could you talk about the importance for parents spending consistent and quality time with their children (e.g. family dinners, family prayer)? HHB: Yes, we certainly do emphasize individualism in our culture, as well as a kind of personal freedom that brings with it a kind of unrealistic idea that we are independent from others, particularly our families.  That individualism, however, can be very closely tied to an isolated loneliness, especially in the teenage years (just look at the recent growth in self-harming among teenagers), if it isn’t tempered with a good dose of family connectedness. And how does a family feel connected?  Time spent together is an absolutely essential part of it.  But it doesn’t have to be ‘perfect time’.  In fact, I’m a big believer in the imperfectness of families.  One session at our family dinner table can go from laughing to fighting to complaining to scolding to edifying in about 5 minutes, and then repeat the cycle for the rest of the dinner. … Read More »Interview with Holly Hamilton-Bleakley Part 2

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Interview with Holly Hamilton-Bleakley Part 1

SV: As someone who was in graduate school, while also starting a family, could you tell us what that experience was like and any advice you might give to someone who is in school or considering going into school while also raising children? HHB: Honestly, it was really, really hard.  I’ve spoken a bit about my experience in a few of my posts, (http://philosophyforparents.com/2014/02/18/baby-induced-depression-aristotle-and-me-a-reply-to-amy-glass/;  http://philosophyforparents.com/2014/06/24/is-parenting-a-political-activity/).   Looking back on it now, I think I probably suffered from something like post-natal depression.  But I think my difficulties came, too, because I struggled with how to balance looking after a baby/toddler, and also pursuing my studies.  I felt a lot of pressure to make progress on my thesis, and then found myself feeling frustrated by the time-consuming demands of parenting, especially the parenting of small children. I would want my daughter to sleep so I could work, but she wouldn’t sleep.  Or I would put her on the floor to play while I worked, but that would only last for 15 minutes or so before she needed my attention, and so forth. Of course I knew it was… Read More »Interview with Holly Hamilton-Bleakley Part 1

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“I Don’t Know”

The philosopher Socrates was driven by a thirst for truth. He would begin his dialogues by often imploring someone if he knew what “x” (justice, love, piety, etc) meant. The person would give a ready answer hoping to solve the problem of “x” and end any further dialogue with Socrates. However, Socrates would find various problems with the man’s definition and would press him on it, until the man would finally confess (either out of frustration or sincerity) to Socrates, “I don’t know,” at which point Socrates and his friend recognizing their own ignorance, would then dialogue and think together about how to find a solution. In academic settings (like grad school), it seems every other moment is an opportunity to impress others with your knowledge. We want for people to think of us as intelligent, and not just generally knowledgeable, but uniquely intelligent. It is frustrating though, when you want an answer from someone and instead of simply saying, “I don’t know” they’ll respond with a lengthy twenty minute exposition full of technical jargon, but afterwards you’re left thinking, “You still haven’t answered my… Read More »“I Don’t Know”

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Christianity and Postmodernism. Friends or Enemies?

What is Post-modernism? To some Christians, it’s a scary, terrible movement destroying the culture, while other Christians embrace it as a breath of fresh air. Gary Aylesworth is right in pointing out that defining postmodernism is a very difficult, (maybe nearly impossible) task. Because it’s such a huge and somewhat ambiguous topic with each person having their own take on it, it’s difficult to talk about what it actually is (that in and of itself captures part of the mood of postmodernism). A helpful way to understand postmodernism is in this way: postmodernism is that which stands over and against modernism. The term “postmodernism” gets the name because it means after modernism. So, postmodernism is a certain philosophical practice/method/lens which stands in contrast to modernism and also critiques modernism. So, then we have to ask the question, “what is modernity?” In the history of philosophy, modernism is that period which contains thinkers like David Hume, Descartes, Immanuel Kant, John Locke. Modernity has been characterized as having a very analytical and rational (I mean using reason and thinking, I don’t mean rational as opposed to empirical)… Read More »Christianity and Postmodernism. Friends or Enemies?

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Why I Won’t Let My Kids Play Video Games

Growing up, my brother and I never played video games because we didn’t have any. Our parents never got us any consoles or games, so we just never had them in the house. Of course, we’d go to friends’ houses and they would have video games, and we would sometimes play with them, but other than that I pretty much grew up without video games…and I think I turned out fine. In fact, I’m really grateful that my parents didn’t get me any video games as a child because it helped me learn a lot of different things, and ultimately shaped me into the person that I am today. My wife and I both strongly believe that we don’t want our kids playing video games either. Here are 8 reasons for why I won’t let my children have video games. 1. They’re expensive. Simple as that. This is the essential reason my parents didn’t get me video games as a kid; they just thought it was a waste of money. And I think that’s true! Not only are the video game consoles expensive, but the… Read More »Why I Won’t Let My Kids Play Video Games

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Why I Hate Horror Films (And Think You Should Too)

I believe in objective goodness. I believe in objective truth. I also believe in objective beauty …and horror films are not beautiful. They are (objectively) ugly.  Strangely, many Christians have no problem believing in the objectivity of goodness and the objectivity of truth, but many of them don’t consider beauty to be objective. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” right? No, of course not. Just like truth and goodness isn’t up to me to decide, neither is beauty. When we see a mighty waterfall pouring down a cliff, it moves us (as something independent of us)  not just to feel like the waterfall is beautiful to me, but to say, “That is beautiful!” When we hear an amazing symphony by someone like Mozart or Beethoven, we say, “It is beautiful.” Similarly, if we saw rats eating and defecating on another, the response we would have is something like, “Eeeww! That is gross. That is disgusting,” not just “I’m having feelings of grossness.” Or what if someone looked at heinous sin, and found it beautiful, would they be (objectively) wrong? Or what if someone… Read More »Why I Hate Horror Films (And Think You Should Too)

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Why I Am A Dualist

Contemporary defenders of dualism include great thinkers like Richard Swinburne, Alvin Plantinga, and J.P. Moreland. And yet it seems increasingly popular these days among some Christian scholars to deny the existence of an immaterial soul. “The idea of an immaterial, everlasting soul, is a not a Jewish idea. It is a Platonic idea,” some will say. I was shocked when I first came across this idea in college, and I found myself starting to believe that perhaps there really isn’t such a thing called a soul. However, more recently I’ve come to think that surely that can’t be the case. And I want to offer some reasons for why I think so.   But before I do that, let me be clear that I think the physically body is very important, and I think many Christians do have a tendency to overemphasize and prioritize the soul or the spiritual above the physical as though the two were competing with each other and I don’t think that’s quite right. Christians absolutely should recognize the importance of physical reality. After all, we believe in the physical, bodily resurrection… Read More »Why I Am A Dualist

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