Continuing with Horkheimer and Adorno “snippets” from Dialectic of Enlightenment, the authors make an interesting and somewhat unexpected connection between the structure of Kantian philosophy and the culture industry. According to Kant, the transcendental subject constitutes objects of experience. This means that the laws of nature are those that we have put into nature. In [...]

Ben Myers, our favorite Australian theologian at Faith and Theology, has kindly asked me to write a “guest post” on Jean-Luc Marion. If you are interested, take a look and while you are there spend some time lingering on Ben’s прекрасный blog.

It is interesting to compare and contrast Aristotle’s account of how philosophy arises in history with Plato’s account and methodology. Aristotle takes a more systematic approach, whereas Plato’s style is more mythical.  In his work, Timaeus, Plato considers what the conditions would have to be for the cosmos to come about, and presents us with [...]

Horkheimer and Adorno in their book, Dialectic of Enlightenment, argue that enlightenment emerges from myth, yet can (and does) return back to myth. “Myth” here means something like what we think of with Homeric myth. As they explain, “False clarity is only another name for myth; and myth has always been obscure and enlightening at [...]

Tim Enloe at Societas Christiana has recently posted a very interesting series on hermeneutics and modernity many of which come from his reading and reflections from, Hermeneutics: Ancient and Modern (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1992. The posts are as follows:
1. “What’s All That White Space Around the Text?” 2. [...]

Below are selected passages (with minimal commentary here and there) from Peter Enns’ article, “Apostolic Hermeneutics and an Evangelical Doctrine of Scripture: Moving beyond a Modernist Impasse.” (The article originally appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of the Westminster Theological Journal).
Personally, I found the article extremely helpful and would recommend it, as well as Enns’ [...]

I’ve recently finished my penultimate draft of my MA (philosophy) thesis, Either/Or: Either Rationality in Submission to and Defined by the Other or (Ir)rationality as Autonomous and Self-Defined, and have placed my outline and bibliography on my website. As soon as my second reader reviews the draft (probably in July) and I make the necessary [...]

The following analogies constitute “sketchy” and “nascent” thoughts regarding our embracing rather than eschewing the human element in Scripture, while simultaneously not allowing the human aspect to swallow up the divine and not simply giving “lip service” to the biblical notion of God as Lord over all (including history and the entire process of revelation).
Beginning [...]

What is postmodernism? This is no doubt not an easy question. On the one hand, given its name, we might say that post-modernism is a reaction to modernity. The term “post-modern,” however, was not originally coined in philosophy, but was first used in architecture in the 1950’s by Charles Jenks in his, The Language of [...]

In the final chapter, “Applied Radical Orthodoxy: A Proposal for the Emerging Church,” Smith reflects upon the connections between tradition and postmodernism by way of a closer look at Radical Orthodoxy. Instead of abandoning particular, determinate confessional identities, Smith argues that a “persistent postmodernism” will issue in embracing and proclaiming “thick” confessional identities and distinctives [...]

I consider myself neither a Thomist nor a Scotist; however, I do find many of Thomas’ arguments compelling. Because most of my philosophical study of the medievals thus far has been under Thomists, I would be interested in hearing from some Scotists. As I said in a previous post, my course work next Fall will [...]

by Marty Smith, Portland, OR

Forwarded by Alastair Sutherland (kaidan@ix.netcom.com)from Free Agent March 1987 (a Portland Oregon alternative newspaper)
Republished in the Utne Reader Nov./Dec. 1993

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We have been lucky to discover several previously lost diaries of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre stuck in between the cushions of our office sofa. These diaries reveal a young Sartre [...]

Arguably Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) has been one of the most influential publications in the 20th century in regard to the philosophy of science, with of course far-reaching implications in many other realms. In fact, one might say that Kuhn’s work paved the way for science’s taking serious the findings of [...]

In chapter four, “Power/Knowledge/Discipline: Foucault and the Possibilities of a Postmodern Church,” of his book, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church, James K.A. Smith engages what has become a Foucaultian slogan, “power is knowledge”—again de-mythologizing many of the popular (evangelical) mis-understandings leveled against Foucault. As Smith explains, “for Foucault, at [...]

From time to time, I suppose it’s a good idea to post a non-philosophical thing or two. So here’s another music-sharing post. Since the recording quality on the jazz tunes from a previous post was so poor, I had to “redeem” myself with three additional tunes. These are from my folk/blues/Green “Eric Clapton” stratocaster days.
1. [...]

Jean-François Lyotard was one of the first to attempt a “definition” of postmodernity as “incredulity toward metanarratives [grand reçits, big stories].” Of course Christianity claims to be the metanarrative par excellence. This being the case, it is often asked, “How can postmodernity and Christianity possibly be harmonized?” According to James K.A. Smith in his provocative [...]

The paragraphs below are a brief introduction to certain aspects of Cornelius Van Til’s teaching on God’s revelation of Himself in special revelation (written or verbal) and natural or general revelation of God via the created order [1]. Though Van Til distinguishes between special and general revelation, he is, however, careful to qualify this distinction, [...]

A couple of noteworthy passages spoken through Soren Kierkegaard’s persona, Johannes Climacus.
“But if the God and man are absolutely different, this cannot be accounted for on the basis of what man derives from the God, for in so far they are akin. Their unlikeness must therefore be explained by what man derives from himself, or [...]

In St. Thomas, the notion of being is analogical. Consequently, Thomas rules out univocal predication between God and creatures. Scotus, on the other hand, claims that we can univocally predicate of God and humans. Thus, for Scotus, God is understood as the “Supreme Being” (infinite Being) whereas human beings are finite beings. According to St. [...]

It is often said that St. Thomas is simply a “baptized Aristotle.” Such a statement is both an overstatement and is highly problematic when one engages St. Thomas’ writings. No doubt Thomas follows Aristotle in significant ways, but he also purposely departs from the Philosopher on numerous points because of his [Thomas’] commitment to Christian [...]