philosophy
-
On Falsehood, Lies, and Deception
A Philosophical Happy Hour on the distinctions between falsehood, lies, and deception, and the morality of their use “Is lying always wrong? Is lying always lying?” There are two ways, I believe, that we can approach this question. The first evaluates manuals of moral theology or commentaries on ethics, looking for foundational reasons why for…
-
Total (Moral/Human) Annihilation
The following is excerpted from Lewis Mumford’s 1961: The City in History, c.18, “The Myth of Megalopolis”, an important source in our upcoming Difficulties of Technology seminar. Here we explore the themes of “total human annihilation”—particularly in its moral dimension. Naïve Functionaries of Annihilation Much of the thought about the prospective development of cities today…
-
Lying and Truth as Accomplishments
The following is excerpted from a presentation given by John Deely on 1 March 2014 at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Maritain Association. What Makes Possible both Lying and Truth as Human Accomplishments Comment “Listening to Maritain on the subject of sign as treated by Poinsot…” We should, in fact, listen to John…
-
Self-Sufficiency of Happiness in the Nicomachean Ethics
Our Colloquium series for the year 2024 continues with a thoughtful interpretation of a perennial difficulty in interpreting Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, presented by Joseph M. Cherny, PhD Candidate at the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX. Mr. Cherny asks: how is happiness self-sufficient? Does it find fulfillment in…
-
On Consumers and Consumerism
A Philosophical Happy Hour on our having become consumers and how we might escape consumerism. I am uncomfortable in nearly all shopping environments (used bookstores being the primary exception). I do not know when this began—but it became very noticeable to me while in graduate school; perhaps because I was rather poor in those years. …
-
Building the Future of Education
Announcing the Lyceum Institute‘s plan for building its future and the future model of education. Dear friends, supporters of the Lyceum, and believers in the importance of genuine human education: I am thrilled, though not without a little trepidation, to announce the next major step in the development of the Lyceum Institute: the establishment of…
-
Felicitates de Quodlibet
A Philosophical Happy Hour on… whatever! In the Scholastic university, renowned thinkers would regularly engage in open debate on questions posed by other scholars or students at the institution. Most often, these questions would concern a specific, pre-determined topic. From this we derive works such as Thomas Aquinas’ Quaestiones disputatae de Veritate and Quaestiones disputatae…
-
Affiliates – Fall Term 2024
Our friends at the Catherine Project have announced their Fall term offerings for 2024, including a new “Life of the Mind” seminar that provides an initial foundation for study of the great books! The Catherine Project is fully free, though they have limited enrollment so apply today. You can also view their larger Fall catalog…