A purpose in all things is not possible to discern, but that such exists in all nature is so. The world is indeed subject to futility and as such cannot in every happening be scrutinized for import. But something as regular and universal as excretion must have some theological significance. For Milan Kundera, the writer … Continue reading Why we Poo: A Theology of Excr…utiating Delicacy
This post continues an exploration of vocation. In part I, work (or career) was distinguished from our universal vocation to personhood. Yet, personhood, our primary vocation, is not realized in abstraction. In accord with its nature, personhood exists and develops in a social context. One such context is work. Work is an arena in and … Continue reading A Word on Hope: Vocation in Light of the Baltimore Riots, Part II of III
To recognize one’s other as a self is to know a person as a person. Such knowledge goes infinitely further than tolerance or political equality. This post explores how ethical knowledge informs an experience of personhood. Personhood is ultimately a grander and more encompassing pursuit than that of tolerance or human rights alone. For Thomas Aquinas, there are two primary modes of knowledge: the theoretical and the practical. Theoretical knowledge … Continue reading An Encounter with Personhood
The great evil of the current epidemic of outrage is the threefold alienation which is its result. Continue reading “The End of Dialogue: An Examination of Outrage”
We began our reading of Plato’s Theaetetus in Arithmetic today. Like many of the ‘zetetic’ (seeking) dialogues, it focuses upon a central question: What is knowledge? And like many of these dialogues, a question of Socrates, quickly dismissed, is yet worth our attention. In passing, Socrates asks Theaetetus if wisdom is the same thing as knowledge: Knowledge … Continue reading The Pursuit of Wisdom
Is man a meaningful creature? Yes, but man is also a creature ordered unto God. The Imago Dei contextualizes the nature of human meaning. This post continues our exploration of man’s doubleness. In North America, stop signs are red octagons with the word ‘stop’ printed on them. There are variations, but, for the most part, they conform to this … Continue reading Empty Signs? Images and Originals Part VI.B
We have begun to explore how man is a double creature, a being who is natural and yet transcendent. The last post listed a number of ways in which this might be the case. This post will begin to explore numbers 2, 3, and 7. We can do this by first asking: What does ‘poetry’ … Continue reading The Poetic Creature: Images and Originals Part VI.A
“When I am empty, I am. When I am full; I am not. What am I?” — Answere: hole “I am what I am not. You cannot see me. Yet you look at me to see. What am I?” — Answer: A Mirror Have you grown weary of our journey into doubleness? I hope not, but I … Continue reading Man as Double: Images and Originals Part VI
Same & Other 