Continuing with Hegel’s philosophy of history we will move into one of the most important, but often neglected, aspects of Hegel’s philosophy: the role of religion as the source of society and culture. Throughout his works, Hegel comments on religion, the power of religion, and the role of religion in society and shaping national character and spirit. … Continue reading Hegel’s Philosophy of History (2/4): The Role of Religion and Culture in History
Theology
Book News
Great news everyone, the manuscript which I was a contributor for has passed the referring with Lexington Press (U.S.). It will be published in the Fall of 2019 under the title: The College Lecture Today: An Interdisciplinary Defense for the Contemporary University. I have a chapter examining the pedagogy of the religious lecture examining the … Continue reading Book News
Johann Hamann: Poetry, Language, and Human Nature
Johann Hamann is one of the most understudied and unknown philosophers, especially in the English-speaking world. A figure of tremendous importance to history, who was called the “brightest star” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Hamann came to be an influential father of the Sturm und Drang movement in Germany, a key father figure in the litany … Continue reading Johann Hamann: Poetry, Language, and Human Nature
Terror, the Sublime, and Catholicism
“Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime, that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind … Continue reading Terror, the Sublime, and Catholicism
Aquinas on the Levels of Life and the Soul
Following up on Aquinas’ Ladder of Being, we move into a related concern that the good doctor dealt with in Quaestio Disputata de Anima (Disputed Questions of Life or the Soul).[1] In this particular disputation, Aquinas is dealing with what distinguishes souls. The question at hand, which follows from an earlier disputation in another text … Continue reading Aquinas on the Levels of Life and the Soul
Aquinas and the Ladder of Being
St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the most recognizable names in Christian history and the Christian intellectual tradition. While generally held up as the perennial philosopher in the Catholic tradition, especially among Catholic realists, he is also loved—perhaps begrudgingly—by many in the Protestant world especially the so-called Reformed scholastics. There is also a lot of … Continue reading Aquinas and the Ladder of Being
Augustine’s City of God, XIII: Finale, The “Image of the Trinity”
Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Zizek, and many other continental psychoanalysts have paid homage to the bishop of Hippo for his insight into the human psyche. Indeed, even Sigmund Freud’s triad psyche of the superego, ego, and id is owed directly to Augustine’s tripartite man: memory (superego), intellect (ego), and will (id). More recently David Brooks has … Continue reading Augustine’s City of God, XIII: Finale, The “Image of the Trinity”
Augustine’s City of God, XII: Understanding the “Saeculum”
Another one of Augustine’s great themes that rides through the City of God is the concept of the saeculum.[i] It has been brought to attention of late by scholars like R.A. Markus and historians like Peter Brown, James Wetzel, and Peter Leithart. What is the saeculum, and why is it important to Augustine’s understanding of … Continue reading Augustine’s City of God, XII: Understanding the “Saeculum”
Augustine’s City of God, XI: Understanding the Libido Dominandi
The libido domanandi is a Latin term that can be roughly translated as “lust for domination.” The lust for domination is, for Augustine, the driving impulse of fallen man and his society (the city of man). The twentieth century philosopher Eric Voegelin surmised that the libido dominandi was man’s “will to power” to borrow a phrase … Continue reading Augustine’s City of God, XI: Understanding the Libido Dominandi
Augustine’s City of God, X: Understanding Augustine’s “Dialectic”
Augustine is sometimes seen as the father of dialectical philosophy and theology in the Christian tradition. While there is already an inkling of dialectical thought throughout the Bible, and the New Testament letters—especially Paul—it is Augustine’s City of God that begins the most robust effort at understanding this so-called dialectic of light and darkness, sin … Continue reading Augustine’s City of God, X: Understanding Augustine’s “Dialectic”
