Apr 21, 20205 minThe Two FaramirsIn an earlier post I compared the character Treebeard as we meet him in The Lord of the Rings, with movie-Treebeard as we meet him in...
Apr 20, 20204 minThe Two TreebeardsFor those whose first love is Tolkien's original novel, some of the changes made in Peter Jackson's films are bound to be disappointing....
Apr 16, 20201 minWhat it is Like to do PhilosophyWhat is it like to do philosophy? Here is an image. Imagine a rock on a calm sandy beach. The waves slowly wash up, caressing the rock,...
Apr 9, 20203 minPracticing GratitudeBy the practice of gratitude I mean a lot more than observing all rules of etiquette about when and how to express gratitude to another...
Apr 7, 20204 minSheltering CourageouslyThe Scythians fight by flying. This is what Socrates tells us, anyway, in Plato’s Laches. He asks Laches himself what courage is, and...
Apr 2, 20201 minLove for God, Hope for MeDuns Scotus tells us that the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love perfect us as "wayfarers" on our way to heaven. Faith...
Nov 12, 20194 minLabor and MoneyMy main conviction about money is that it is a way of expanding the effectiveness of labor. I mean that it ought to be seen this way. I...
Jul 29, 20194 minWhy Some People Think God is Beyond Being and Why They are WrongIn an effort to get God out of the Laplacean problem of being merely a quasi-scientific hypothesis which may be accepted or rejected on...
Jul 12, 20194 minWhat Metaphysics Is and Why It MattersWhat is Metaphysics? Metaphysics is not what is represented by the esoterica on display in some bookstores. It is not the subject you...
Jun 21, 20195 minWhy Care about the Theory of Divine Ideas? Part 2 of 2Yesterday I shared some notes about why I think a theory of divine ideas is important for theology. Today I’m sharing some notes about...
Jun 20, 20193 minWhy Care about the Theory of Divine Ideas? Part 1 of 2Here is a sketch of some of the theological motivation for a theory of Divine Ideas. I also say something about what I take such a theory...
May 31, 20192 minDivine Ideas and Egyptian TheologyI just "discovered" a text which is very well-known to Egyptologists and students of Ancient Egypt. Miriam Lichtheim published it as "The...
May 15, 20191 minReligious Experience in Ancient EgyptThis week I'm reading a book about the development of monotheism in Ancient Egypt, James K. Hoffmeier's Akhenaten and the Origins of...
May 15, 20191 minDuns Scotus on Natural Law and Divine FreedomI have a new paper out today, "A Most Mitigated Friar: Scotus on Natural Law and Divine Freedom." It shows how Scotus reconciles the...
Mar 21, 20191 minScotism about Possible NaturesMy latest journal article is now published by The Philosophical Quarterly. The title is "Scotism about Possible Natures," and it develops...
Feb 25, 20192 min(I'm) Down with ImmortalityBernard Williams has a famous paper, "The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality." I've been studying the paper and...
Feb 12, 20193 minThe Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher in Defense of Civilization Mr. Jeremy Fisher is a toad with a diverse set of friends which includes Mr. Alderman Ptolemy Tortoise and Sir Isaac Newton, who is a...
Feb 7, 20193 minDivine Simplicity and the Division of BeingOn a more or less standard Christian understanding of the world, God is the creator of everything that exists, other than himself. This...
Feb 4, 20192 minWorship-Worthiness This semester's reading list has me thinking about Anselm's Proslogion back to back with Augustine's On Free Choice of the Will. Each...