In a previous post I sketched the meaning and uses of the modern idea of the self. One important source of this idea is Rene Descartes. For Descartes, the ideas of the self emerges from his application of critical, methodical doubt to his own experience. The upshot of this method is the conviction, that the fundamental, indubitable reality of each human person is the self, expressed in Descartes’ famous assertion, “I think therefore I am.”
In a previous post I discussed the importance of Rene Descartes in shaping modern philosophy and much of the modern world. This is evident from two of his most important ideas: (a) the endorsement of radical doubt and (b) the conception of the self. I have already critiqued Descartes’ endorsement of radical doubt. In this post I want to analyze the Cartesian idea of the “self” or inner ego — one of the most prevalent
In a previous post I discussed the importance of Rene Descartes in shaping modern philosophy and much of the modern world. This is evident from two of his most important ideas: (a) the endorsement of radical doubt and (b) the conception of the self. I have already critiqued Descartes’ endorsement of radical doubt. In this post I want to analyze the Cartesian idea of the “self” or inner ego — one of the most prevalent
With dioceses throughout the United States and Europe dispensing with the Sunday obligation in an attempt to help slow the spread of COVID-19, many priests have taken to livestreaming their Sunday Masses over the internet. In a recent article on Cruxnow.com, Mark Pattison reported that many of these priests say the experience feels odd. That’s understandable. When, as an educator, I first transitioned to online teaching from the live classroom environment, which I’d inhabited full-time
What should I do for Lent? Let’s start by slamming some really bad advice you’re likely to get: Instead of giving something up for Lent, do something extra! No! Don’t. Let me tell you why. To start with, the term “Lent” means exactly the opposite of “do something extra.” It means, “do less.” It comes from the Latin word, “lentare,” which means, “to stand-down, to back-off, to slow-down, or to stop.” Our English word “relent”
Guest post by Joe Grossheim I was listening to this lecture by Dr. Daniel De Haan, who is another one of Dr. Benjamin Smith’s former students, and he begins with an excellent observation: There are existential reasons for our commitments to certain philosophical principles and even scientific methods for engaging the world, and that these commitments are often the driving force behind our questions and answers about reality. This fact alone seems to explain exactly why
