Blog Stats
- 2,739,123 readers since June 2008
Recent Comments
- Pandora on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- Pandora on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- Pandora on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- xgenx on Free Will Objectivism Fail: Two Mathematicians Demonstrate that Ayn Rand’s Philosophy is Incoherent
- Naomi on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- Naomi on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- Graduate Degree Seeker on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- Graduate Degree Seeker on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- v on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- v on Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- BThis on Adam Smith and Capitalism for Beginners
- BThis on Adam Smith and Capitalism for Beginners
- Cliff Wonderalt on Bart Ehrman: Liars Wrote Parts of the Bible
- Amanda on Clit Rubbing Bonobos: A Clue to the Evolutionary Origin of Human Homosexuality?
- notabilia on Woke Fanatics? Essentialists vs. Nominalists
Top Posts
- Emily Dickinson, Lesbian?: Her Letter to Susan Gilbert, in June of 1852, Might Tell Us Less Than You Think
- What is an Etiological Narrative? And Might Confusion About Its Nature Be the Source for Fundamentalist Religion?
- What, Exactly, Is Wrong With Bestiality?
- What is a Human, Really? Thinking about Definition via Aristotle
- Who Is Stephen Greenblatt? Why Should You Care?
- Clit Rubbing Bonobos: A Clue to the Evolutionary Origin of Human Homosexuality?
- Hegel for Beginners
- Rhetoric, Critical Thinking, and Checking Your Premises
- "The Vision of Christ That Thou Dost See": William Blake on the Many Faces of Jesus
- This Hans Holbein Painting of Christ after Crucifixion Sparked Fyodor Dostoevsky's Imagination
-
Recent Posts
- Woke Fanatics? Essentialists vs. Nominalists
- A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.10: Emerson’s “Circles”
- A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.9: Imitation And Emulation With An Eye On Competition
- A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.8: Selection And Editing
- A Mini-Course In Rhetoric For Writers. Concept 2.7: Audience And Rhetorical Strategy
Recent Haiku Tweets
- AOC says it well. twitter.com/CNN/status/108… 10 months ago
- nytimes.com/interactive/20… 1 year ago
- RT @mrchan: So much has changed in America, and yet so much hasn't https://t.co/x2mthUr4Kc 1 year ago
- Perfect. twitter.com/newsundayheral… 2 years ago
- RT @goldenglobes: At tonight's #GoldenGlobes we honor Hollywood legend Meryl Streep with the prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award. https://t.… 2 years ago
Monthly Archives: October 2014
Love, Thomism, Jews, and Gay Marriage
Love is what you bring into your circle of concern. You value it for your own happiness and the happiness of the other. It’s what you’ve found a way to work with rather than wall yourself off from, marginalize, and … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged atheism, gay marriage, gays, God, homosexuality, love, philosophy, Thomas Aquinas, thomism
Leave a comment
What are Sex Organs For? Thomism vs. Evolution
We know that evolution high-jacks organs all the time to different purposes depending on context. The first tongue may have had the singular purpose of tasting, then it got used by the cat for cleaning the pelt, then by humans … Continue reading
What’s Really Essential About Us? Do Thomists Get This Right?
If we’re heterosexual, God, nature, and evolution have conspired heavy against us in terms of what our essential function is from the age of 13 forward, which is to procreate. But we don’t conform to this aspect of our essential … Continue reading
Thomas Aquinas Says We Are Children of Wrath. Is He Right?
In the fourth book of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Contra Gentiles, chapter 52, there is quite a dark vision of the world on display. At one point, for example, Aquinas, echoing the apostle Paul, speaks of all humanity as “children of wrath.” God, … Continue reading
Brute Facts and Sufficient Reasons
The most brute fact of all is learning that we will die, which we then cast about for an explanation that will sufficiently account for this fact: “As in, forever? Does someone will this death of mine?” In our searching … Continue reading
Is God A Brute Fact Or Does God Not Exist?
If God exists, why is there some Being rather than no Being? Put another way, with regard to the existence of contingent beings (“Why is there something rather than nothing?”), God presumably functions as the necessary and sufficient cause for … Continue reading
Could Gay Marriage Drive A Revolution In Thomistic Thought?
At his blog, Thomist philosopher Edward Feser quotes Michael Levin as saying: “What homosexual rights activists really want [from anti-discrimination laws] is not [merely] access to jobs but legitimation of their homosexuality.” This is a distraction. The motive of activists … Continue reading
Sexual Prohibitions Require Justification
At his blog, Thomist philosopher Edward Feser recently wrote the following: “Sexual desire is extremely powerful and the demands of sexual morality an especially irksome imposition on the will. Hence the tendency of liberalism is to try as far as … Continue reading
Does The Cosmos Have A Purpose?
I see no evidence that the cosmos has an end to which it is tending. It’s vast and old, violent and evolving. It appears to care not for us. (Auden captured this beautifully in his poem, “Musee des Beaux Arts.”) … Continue reading
If You Oppose Gay Marriage, Justify Your Position
Gay marriage is not just an abstract question. We’re talking about the lives of real gay people, their equality and dignity, and their right to flourish openly as who they are. Are you in solidarity with gay people’s assertions of … Continue reading
Gay Marriage and Thomism
At Catholic philosopher Edward Feser’s blog, a poster in the threads wrote the following: “If I start with a conclusion, then perhaps I can manufacture a theory (or modify an existing theory) to arrive at my desired conclusion, but that … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged atheism, Catholicism, edward feser, gay marriage, God, philosophy, thomism
1 Comment
Two Arguments Against Thomism
I think of metaphysics as akin to poetry. If you can’t ground arguments in empiricism and experience, you can’t really say with certainty whether what you’re claiming is in fact true or merely clever. So my first argument against metaphysical … Continue reading
Soft on Islam?
Andrew Sullivan notes an irony in the Islam debate: It’s a little amazing to me to watch some liberals who get extremely upset at religious people refusing to bake a cake for someone else’s wedding on religious grounds, suddenly seeing … Continue reading
Jeremy England on the Origin of Life
__________ More on Jeremy England here.
