There is little doubt today that the Western world is in crisis. Regardless of where one falls on the political or theological spectrum, one has the sense that our culture is collapsing. Philosophers argue about the intellectual and historical roots of this crisis (e.g. the emergence of nominalism, the enlightenment, capitalism, Marxism, the religious right, …
For us intellectuals, there is something unseemly about the very idea of unreason; confronting it face to face always brings a visceral shock. For example, I can still remember my first job interview for a pastoral position in vivid detail. Things started off well. I was excited about the church’s mission, and they seemed to …
Soon the new semester will be starting, and I am once more pondering how to motivate undergraduates to pursue a philosophical life. Motivating students is a challenge for any teacher, but it is especially problematic for philosophers working under the gaze of the neo-liberal university. Student expectations are here governed by the fact that they …