ChatGPT is an AI language model that has the potential to revolutionize the way we communicate and access information. However, it also has negative impacts on society that need to be considered. In this essay, we will explore some of the most significant negative impacts of ChatGPT on society. One of the most significant negativeContinue reading “The Dark Side of ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence”
Author Archives: Christian Poole
Great Books of Christianity: The Medieval Period
Christianity is no stranger to the great books of the West and stands out among the great books as the inspiration for many of the foundational works of philosophy, literature, and science. Thus, there are a subset of great books in the West that aim to study Christianity itself. The Medieval period (~600 AD –Continue reading “Great Books of Christianity: The Medieval Period”
The Expansion of Group Identities: From the Village to the Globe
For most of history, the far away problems occupied relatively small spaces in the minds of the average person. The challenges facing the village, city-state, or empire hundreds of miles away had little impact on our ancestor’s tight-knit community that faced challenges of its own: drought, crime, disputes with neighboring communities, a poor crop yield,Continue reading “The Expansion of Group Identities: From the Village to the Globe”
ThinkingWest on YouTube: 12 Great Books of Western History
In this episode, I highlight a dozen of the most influential works of history, spanning from the Ancient Greeks to the 20th century. While many more works could be included, particularly from the authors of antiquity, I attempted to draw from authors across diverse time periods and to cover a breadth of history. For example,Continue reading “ThinkingWest on YouTube: 12 Great Books of Western History”
Pertinax and Politics: One Good Leader Cannot Save a Nation
Election season is well underway in the United States with the midterm elections ending just days away. The United States has always been a country of sweeping emotions, whether of the brave spirits of the pilgrims, or of the freedom-loving cowboys of the West, or of college football fandom, or of the citizen entering theContinue reading “Pertinax and Politics: One Good Leader Cannot Save a Nation”
12 Great Books of Western History
Much of what we know of the past three thousand years relies largely on the great historians of the millennia. Through excellent scholarship, tedious compilation, clear prose, and entertaining color commentary (sometime at the expense of accuracy), these historians and their famous works have shaped the western world’s ideas about its development. Though the bulkContinue reading “12 Great Books of Western History”
Is Freedom Doomed in Populated Nations?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the famous Enlightenment philosopher of the 1700s, wrote in The Social Contract that “the larger the State, the less the liberty”. As a freedom-loving American, I fear the potential that Earth’s population could doom the freedoms of future generations. But, in the first place, is a populous world doomed to ever fewer freedoms?Continue reading “Is Freedom Doomed in Populated Nations?”
Christianity in The Lord of the Rings: (Part IV): World Elements
Middle Earth is full of characters exhibiting Christian symbolism through their words, actions, and relationships, as covered in Parts I, II, and III of this series on Christianity in The Lord of the Rings. However, the Christian symbolism extends beyond characters to include objects and places. Already, the Ring was covered in Part III dueContinue reading “Christianity in The Lord of the Rings: (Part IV): World Elements”
Christianity in The Lord of the Rings: (Part III) Evil in Middle Earth
The Lord of the Rings is full of Christian symbolism, ranging from the Threefold Office of priest, prophet, and king represented by Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn (respectively) as covered in Part I to the slew of “good guys” representing various Christian aspects and relationships as covered in Part II of this series. This Part III covers the darker aspects of Middle Earth and their connections to Christian concepts of evil.
Christianity in The Lord of the Rings (Part II): The Good in Middle Earth
The Lord of the Rings has many characters with aspects reflecting a Christian worldview. In this Part II of Christianity in The Lord of the Rings, we’ll be exploring various allies of the Threefold Office (Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo) covered in Part I. Some bear similarities to prominent Christian figures, while most demonstrate the qualitiesContinue reading “Christianity in The Lord of the Rings (Part II): The Good in Middle Earth”