ethics
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On the Experience of Evil in Our Souls
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the question: do we (some of us, all of us) need to experience evil—even sin, that experience of our own moral fault—in order to discover and know the good? Drawing upon some of the works of the great tradition, a member asks the question: “to what extent is it important…
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A Reflection on Magnificence
When I thanked a donor for making a generous contribution to our Endowment Fund, he sent a simple reply—one I was not expecting. “I’m glad to help and want to thank you for guiding us towards truth and good in a world sorely lacking in both.” I’m probably not the guide the world needs (or the…
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On Reality, Realism, and the “Real World”
A Philosophical Happy Hour on what makes something “real”, what is “reality”, what is “realism”, what belongs to the “real world”, how we know “the real”, and why it is important. “Just wait until you get into the real world.” “That isn’t a real problem.” “Get a real job.” We have all heard expressions such…
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On the Mystical
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the mystical, the esoteric, the unknown—the traditions of secret learning, their dangers, their refutation, and the true good of mystical contemplation “I believe the universe is a great symphony of numerical correspondences, I believe that numbers and their symbolisms provide a path to special knowledge”, says the antagonist of Umberto…
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On Perseverance: The Virtue of Resolution
A Philosophical Happy Hour on establishing and maintaining the virtue of perseverance and carrying through our resolutions. We often begin our new years, whether explicitly or not, with an intention to better ourselves. The old year almost invariably, upon reflection, provides us evident opportunities for self-improvement. Sometimes, this intentions are not only explicit, but grand:…
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On Having a Good Time: Festivity and Contemplation
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the possibility of festivity in a darkened world, including its intimate relationship to the capacity for contemplation. Do you know how to have a good time? What does that even mean? For many people, no doubt, it entails some combination of entertainment, camaraderie, joking, laughing, imbibing, and eating. But more…
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On Pity and Resentment
A Philosophical Happy Hour on pity, resentment, mercy, justice, vengeance, and the multitude of human weaknesses. The two titular terms here present a conflict we have all doubtless encountered at one point or another: one person pitying another, and the pitied person reacting with resentment. Much could and ought to be said about resentment and…
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Do You Trust Me?
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the reasons for and nature of trust, distrust, and the consequences of breaking it. Image: Christopher Plummer as Iago and James Earl Jones as Othello (Requiescant in Pace). Trust today seems a quality lacking and, yet for which there is great desire. We do not trust our politicians and often…