Humanity is a strange thing. It cannot decide whether it is part of nature or apart from nature. Mankind’s identity crisis has emerged from the clashing of naturalist and theistic philosophies, with political, religious, and philosophical fallout on how we treat ourselves. The Scope of Scientific Inquiry No matter how good the science is, itContinue reading “Are Humans Natural?: The Contradictory Ideas of How We Think About Our Species”
Author Archives: Christian Poole
New Year’s Resolution for 2022: Resolve To Keep Your Resolve
What does it mean to resolve? According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the type of resolve relevant to our New Year’s lists means “to make a definite and serious decision to do something”. Contrast that definition to the common trope and truth of the New Year’s resolution: something everyone makes big promises about in the firstContinue reading “New Year’s Resolution for 2022: Resolve To Keep Your Resolve”
The 12 Book Classical Education
A true classical education is a lifelong pursuit of wisdom and understanding with no demonstrable end. The end of the classical education is played out in real time, in parallel to its pursuit in everyday life. When confronting a claim, one might turn to principles put forth by Aristotle or Bacon to find their veracity;Continue reading “The 12 Book Classical Education”
How I Read the Bible Cover to Cover
A week ago I finished a two year journey of reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelations. The Bible is a long and difficult book; yet, it is the most widely printed book in history. As any book publisher would know, “long and difficult” is rarely a promising description of a book that will receiveContinue reading “How I Read the Bible Cover to Cover”
The Virtualization of Man
The 2020 show Upload describes a fictional world where, when near to death, one can choose to have one’s mind uploaded into a digital universe, where it enables immortality with the added bonus of continual interaction with people in the real world. The upload is man’s great panacea for its long-standing enemy called Death. MankindContinue reading “The Virtualization of Man”
How Good and Evil Ignore Tribal Lines
Every hero story, every epic fantasy tale ultimately distills into a force of good coming against a force of evil, and it’s the struggle between the two that drives an interesting plot, because it alludes to the battle between good and evil in our own world. In the polarized world, traditional morality has been thrownContinue reading “How Good and Evil Ignore Tribal Lines”
Confessions of a Bibliophile
Less than two years ago I became a bibliophile when researching what kind of education would be best for my kids and reading Susan Wise Bauer’s A Well Educated Mind. Reading that one book instilled an infectious desire to read the greatest books of the world, and hence I began to love books despite myContinue reading “Confessions of a Bibliophile”
What is a Classic Book?
There’s no single answer for what a “classic” book is. For anyone who ventures an answer, many others will disagree and propose their own definitions, such as the 14 various definitions offered in a New York Review article – none of which I agree with. I found most of these “definitions” to be tongue-in-cheek andContinue reading “What is a Classic Book?”
Insights from the Lord of Montaigne on Education
Who better to inquire about education than a famed 16th century nobleman who inscribed excerpts of wisdom on the wooden beams of his library? Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (often called simply “Montaigne”) authored the heavily influential Essays, an outpouring of his natural philosophies, and had much to say on education. The first thing he tellsContinue reading “Insights from the Lord of Montaigne on Education”
Learning History, The Right Way
The typical history class goes like this: “The Peloponnesian War was fought by the Delian league, led by Athens, against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta, during the years spanning 341 to 404 BC. The Delian League leveraged the sea might of Athens, while the Spartans assaulted primarily by land. Ultimately the war was wonContinue reading “Learning History, The Right Way”