by Jeff Worthy What is the meaning of life? Have you ever been asked that question, or perhaps asked it yourself? My current answer for that question is that there is no meaning assigned to life in general by some cosmic overseer; it is up to the person living an individual life to bring meaning to it. Some find purpose in their religious faiths, believing that God has a purpose for them, for all of humankind, and for the universe. We... Read more
by DT Strain WHAT IS THE DARK SIDE? In some works of fiction, evil is often presented as a distinct phenomenon, even having a magical or supernatural dimension. But as naturalists we, of course, approach evil from a cultural and psychological perspective. What is called ‘evil’ has causes that such caricatures can obscure, or even create emotional barriers to true understanding. We can also look at evil as a class of actions. But focusing on outward actions often breaks down under scrutiny. The... Read more
by Daniel Shkolnik Imagine that all the objects around you—that painting, that plant, that bowl—are little doors with handles. And if you were to turn the handle and open them, like in a children’s pop-up book, what you’d find on the other side is the astounding and dazzling river of existence. We may think some things are sacred and others profane. Some things are more holy or spiritual than others. And certainly, when we cross the threshold of a certain... Read more
by James Jarrett “You want it to be one way, but it’s the other way.” — Marlo Stanfield, The Wire (HBO 2002-2008). Have you felt that tension? I have. What way do you want it to be? Do you want to live in a world where the good guys always win; where the bad guys always get what is coming to them; and everything works out well for you in the end? Growing up in the American Christian cultural context, I used to... Read more
by Thomas Schenk In common usage, the words religion and spirituality are often treated as synonyms. Yet many people today say they are drawn to spirituality, but not to religion. For such people, and I am one of them, the words religion and spirituality refer to things that have important differences. In a podcast published on this site on March 7, 2018, Danial Strain, Leigh Anderson, and I discussed our understanding of these two words and the distinctions we brought to... Read more
by Eric Steinhart 4. Giving Thanks to Evolution Evolution finely tunes living things to exchange gifts with each other. It likewise finely tunes them to give thanks to each other. This fine tuning involves no intelligent foresight. Nevertheless, it is arguable that evolution designs things. It designs organs, organisms, and ecosystems. Design need not involve intelligent foresight. Design proceeds by blind variation and selective retention. It can be done in a mind or it can be done by a mindless computer. Natural selection is... Read more
by Thomas Schenk Detail of Raphael’s The School of Athens. A few weeks ago, Jeff Worthy posted an article here titled “Hall of Virtue” (1). His article got me thinking about virtue and below I’ve jotted some of these thoughts. My Catholic upbringing had made the word “virtue” somewhat distasteful to me when I was younger. I got interested in the topic again, however, when I read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Virtue, in the Catholic catechism I was raised on, is about... Read more
by Jeff Worthy “Happy Birthday! Now blow out your candle and make a wish.” I had just turned 54. There was just one candle on the cake, as 54 of them would constitute something of a fire hazard. I started to contemplate what I might wish for, and here is what took shape inside my head… As I reflect on our modern culture, it seems that we have a number of establishments created to honor, and economically capitalize on, our human... Read more
by Eric Steinhart The Gazebo People have been making simulated worlds for a long time. With the advent of the computer in the 1970s, we started making simulated worlds on computers. The earliest digital worlds were text-based, but graphics soon followed. Primitive video games built worlds you could explore and interact with. The game SimCity, which appeared in 1989, let you design and build your own simulated city, with simulated humans. As these games evolved, they started running on sophisticated... Read more
by Eric Steinhart 1. Giving Thanks among Humans People often give each other gifts. If somebody gives you a gift, then they usually intend for you to have the gift. Their action is purposive. It is directed to a goal, which is your possession of the gift. Thus gifting contrasts with unintended transfers. You aren’t gifting your car to the thief who steals it. You don’t gift things by throwing them away or by losing them. If you win the lottery, your... Read more
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