The philosophical popularizer of the last century, Mortimer Adler, wrote a massive two-volume work entitled The Great Ideas – A Syntopicon I (Angel To Love) and The Great Ideas – A Syntopicon II (Man To World)
Monthly Archives: April 2025
Pessimistic Hope Revisited
In the past, I’ve outlined a concept of hope that I believe is both intellectually honest and that sustains me against many critics of hope. I’ve also used that concept of hope as a primary response to the failure of intellectual analysis to demonstrate that life is now or is becoming fully meaningful. Thus, I was delighted to discover two new philosophical books that defend a concept of hope almost exactly like my own. Continue reading Pessimistic Hope Revisited
We Live and Die in a World We Don’t Fully Understand
The owl of Athena, a symbol of knowledge in the Western world
In my essay “The Ascent of Meaning” in Lewis Vaughn’s The Moral Life, I wrote, Continue reading We Live and Die in a World We Don’t Fully Understand
How Does Life Feel Different At 70
I turned 70 years old a few days ago. While I don’t feel old, take no prescription medications, eat a plant-based diet, work out at the gym, and walk 6 to 8 miles almost daily… there is still something about turning 70 that freaks me out. I feel like I’m about 40 on the inside, but that’s not what my birth certificate shows. It is just hard to believe that you were a kid or teenager and then, seemingly in an instant, are a senior citizen.
Continue reading How Does Life Feel Different At 70