How do you know? Part II

This post addresses the false idea of pure objectivity. I want to also share a terrific article I read the other day on a popular contemporary philosophy called materialism which uses so much information from science that its adherents actually think it’s science. The next post will advance the idea that people don’t primarily think and choose beliefs […]

How do you know? Part I

What does it mean to “know” something? Unfortunately, that’s a really complicated question with a lot of possible answers. Popular sentiment is that scientific knowledge is the highest form there is. If you can test it and “prove” it, you know it more certainly than anything else. Which begs several questions: is scientific knowledge really […]

They’re all gonna laugh at you!

I want to talk a bit about what motivates us to think, believe, and act in the ways we do. We have discussed some of the emotional and cultural factors that can influence us, but we haven’t looked at why or how we initially form our patterns of thought and behavior. The first thing to […]

Echoes of your own voice

I want to ask you to focus your powers of observation on yourself to the best of your abilities (it’d be a good idea to seek the input of trusted friends, too; they often see us for who we are better than we do). We’ve discussed anger and lust as two emotions which commonly cloud […]

…the will chooses and the mind justifies

After three straight posts dealing mostly with anger, I think we should begin to more fully integrate anger as a matter of the heart briefly touched upon in the post, “What the heart desires…” I’ve elaborated on what I perceive to be the often primary position of anger as a veil across our minds, but it […]

Angry people

Ahhhh….take a deep breath and inhale the aroma of our culture: “Don’t touch my rights!!!!! How DARE you… “…take away my guns!!!…” “…not let me marry who I want!!!…” “…take prayer out of schools!!!…” “…kill old ladies and the poor!!!…” “What do you think you’re DOING??? How could you… “…vote for that communist??!!…” “…vote for […]

Angry Americans

It’s safe to say that dealing with anger – both acknowledged and repressed – is not something that’s unique to me. I think it’s a common underlying issue for many Americans. By no means is it something that only plagues Americans, but we seem to have a particular flavor that is interesting. Let’s take a broader view of American […]