I’ve written a new piece about two philosophers – Raymond Geuss and the late Alasdair MacIntyre – for the Marginalia Review of Books. There’s no paywall. You can read it here:
https://www.marginaliareviewofbooks.com/post/two-ships-passing-at-high-noon-alasdair-macintyre-raymond-geuss
I’ve written the fourth in a series of six posts that will be coming out with the Streit Council, on the problem of economic integration without political union. There’s no paywall. You can read it here: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-on-citizenship
A few people have asked me lately–what do I think of Jordan Peterson? Peterson is a Canadian psychologist who has written a book called 12 Rules for Life. He’s become very popular on YouTube and generated something of a following. I can see why–the particular kind of philosophy he’s advocating is unfamiliar to many people and feels transgressive in a modern context. But it’s an old kind of philosophy which dates back to the 19th century and takes its inspiration from Soren Kierkegaard. It’s called “Christian Existentialism”. Here’s how it works.
Continue reading “Jordan Peterson is a Garden Variety Christian Existentialist”
Yesterday, I did some writing about the conflict between secular moral theory and theistic religious moral theory. Today, this has me thinking in greater theoretical detail about the monotheistic position specifically and what it might entail. In the course of this thinking, I have run into something of a dilemma.
Continue reading “What Kind of God Do Monotheists Believe In?”
I ran across a fascinating Pew survey today about the extent to which people in different parts of the world believe that belief in god is necessary to justify moral views. It is a rare thing to get such a comprehensive look at the philosophical and theological views of people all around the world. Even more interestingly, the Pew survey reveals important relationships between the kind of society we have and the way we think about moral philosophy.
Benjamin Studebaker 