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Apologia interview
I am interviewed at some length in the Spring 2016 issue of The Dartmouth Apologia on the subjects of Aristotelian-Thomistic metaphysics, classical theism, and related matters. You can read the...
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Islamophilia and falsification
Not too long ago I discussed the relationship between liberalism and Islam. More recently I discussed the logic of falsification. Let’s now combine the themes. Former federal terrorism prosecutor...
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Review of Taylor
My review of Charles Taylor’s new book The Language Animal: The Full Shape of the Human Linguistic Capacityappears in the May 23 issue of National Review.
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Aristotle, Searle, and computation in Nova et Vetera
My article “From Aristotle to John Searle and Back Again: Formal Causes, Teleology, and Computation in Nature” appears in the Spring 2016 issue (Vol. 14, No. 2) of Nova et Vetera. There is also a...
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Putnam and analytical Thomism, Part I
Hilary Putnam, who died a couple of months ago, had some interest in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition, even if in part it was a critical interest. One area where this interest manifested itself is...
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Putnam and analytical Thomism, Part II
In a previous post I examined the late Hilary Putnam’s engagement with the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition on a topic in the philosophy of mind. Let’s now look at what Putnam had to say about...
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Self-defeating claims and the tu quoque fallacy
Some philosophical claims are, or at least seem to be, self-defeating. For example, an eliminative materialist who asserts that there is no such thing as meaning or semantic content is implying...
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Linking for thinking
Busy week and a half coming up, but I’d never leave you without something to read.Nautilus recounts the debate between Bergson and Einstein about the nature of time.Preach it. At Aeon, psychologist...
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Four Causes and Five Ways
Noting parallels and correlations can be philosophically illuminating and pedagogically useful. For example, students of Aristotelian-Thomistic (A-T) philosophy are familiar with how soul is to body...
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Adventures in the Old Atheism, Part I: Nietzsche
Atheism, like theism, raises both theoretical and practical questions. Why should we think it true? And what would be the consequences if it were true? When criticizing New Atheist writers, I have...
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Nagel v Nietzsche: Dawn of Consciousness
While we’re on the subject of Nietzsche: The Will to Power, which is a collection of passages on a variety of subjects from Nietzsche’s notebooks, contains some interesting remarks on consciousness,...
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Aquinas on capital punishment
Audio versions of many of the talks from the recent workshop in Newburgh, New York on the theme Aquinas on Politicsare available online. My talk was on the subject of Aquinas on the death penalty...
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Prior on the Unmoved Mover
William J. Prior’s Ancient Philosophy has just been published, as part of Oneworld’s Beginner’s Guides series (of which my books Aquinasand Philosophy of Mind are also parts). It’s a good book, and...
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I am overworked, therefore I link
Physicist Lee Smolin and philosopher Roberto Unger think that physics has gotten something really important really wrong. NPR reports.The relationship between Aristotelian hylemorphism and quantum...
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Bad lovin’
To love, on the Aristotelian-Thomistic analysis, is essentially to will the good of another. Of course, there’s more to be said. Aquinas elaborates as follows:As the Philosopher says (Rhet. ii, 4),...
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Capital punishment at Catholic World Report
Over at Catholic World Report today you’ll find “Why the Church Cannot Reverse Past Teaching on Capital Punishment,” the first installment of a two-part article I have co-authored with Joseph M....
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The Last Superstition in Brazil
My book The Last Superstition, having appeared a few years back in a German translation, will soon be available in Brazilian Portuguese. The publisher is Edições Cristo Rei, and the book is being...
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Liberalism and the five natural inclinations
By “liberalism” I don’t mean merely what goes under that label in the context of contemporary U.S. politics. I mean the long political tradition, tracing back to Hobbes and Locke, from which modern...
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Shinkel on Neo-Scholastic Essays
At The University Bookman, Ryan Shinkel reviews my book Neo-Scholastic Essays. Titling his review “Last Scholastic Standing,” Shinkel writes:Early modern philosophers such as René Descartes and...
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Review of Harris on Hume
Just back from a very enjoyable week at the Thomistic seminar in Princeton. Regular blogging will resume shortly.In the meantime, my review of Hume: An Intellectual Biography by James A. Harris...
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