A talk Given at New College Franklin, Prospective Weekend, Spring 2018 Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the great Western text on virtue, concludes in a very strange way. After all his work discussing virtue, Aristotle unexpectedly relegates it to second rank. But if I am to make clear the remarkable nature of this move, I first need … Continue reading Virtue and its Limits: from Prudence to Contemplation
Image from The Three Sillies by Margot Zemach There is a folk tale about a farmer who scoffs at his wife and the work she does. He decides to switch with her for a day and show her how easy her tasks are in comparison to his own. In the course of the day, he spills … Continue reading The Farmer and his Wife
Is man fundamentally a contemplative being or one whose fulfillment is found in work? Perhaps the answer lies in how we understand the term ‘work’. A long standing argument in Christian and philosophic circles grapples with anthropology, the goodness of work, and the nature of happiness in general. In some sense, this issue touches even … Continue reading Work or Rest?
freely adapted from a class in Moral Philosophy at New College Franklin
Adapted from a talk given for Perspective Student Weekend at New College Franklin, Spring 2017 There are times when a song is in my head, or more precisely, part of a song–a refrain which I repeat over and over. No matter how lovely or stirring such a refrain may be, it is imperfect apart from the whole, and … Continue reading Greek is Regular; Greek is Fun: Memory, Science, and the Face of God
There was a gardener who filled his garden with plants of all kinds that he might have good food to eat throughout the long year. In that garden were fruits and vegetables, nuts, herbs, spices, and vines. He hedged his garden about with strong walls to protect it, and to each plant he gave water … Continue reading Two Fruit Trees
As I return to sameandother after a brief hiatus, I return with uncertainty, but also with a new hope (no Star Wars pun intended). My goal has always been to write a weekly post, but in the last few months, it was impossible to deliver on this. I wasn’t even able to fill the interval with jokes … Continue reading In the Fullness of Time
When I look out upon the work which I have set before me, the studies, the parenting, the goals and desires which I have ratified either by myself or with God, I perceive a task of infinite value. For in this production, that is, in the realization of these goals and projections, I perceive the … Continue reading On the Anxiety of Production
Social conditioning in A Brave New World (coupled with genetic and pharmacological engineering) succeeds in eliminating nearly all conflict, but it also undermines certain fundamental elements of a truly human polis. Ironically, in this highly uniform society, it is unity which is undermined most of all. This is because social unity, understood as a communion of persons, cannot be achieved merely … Continue reading Unity vs. Uniformity (The Second of Three Meditations on A Brave New World)
Being perspective weekend, you will hear much about New College Franklin, about the excellence of our program and community. For this reason, I want to talk about education from a different perspective. I want to conclude some recent meditations on learning by exploring the experience of the educator. Oddly enough, I am going to … Continue reading The Poetics of Faith and Learning, Part 5 (fin)
Same & Other 