POSTED ON by Christopher Horner (Reprinted with Permisssion.)
Insist on your self; never imitate. —Emerson
How can a man of consciousness have the slightest respect for himself? —Dostoevsky
The key promise of the modern world was the freedom of the individual. It was the motivating cry of the great revolutions of the modern age, meaning two things, at least: Continue reading The Absent Self
The Reformation: Where Lies the Authority for Faith? – Christianity dominated the social, political, and religious life of Europe for more than a 1000 years, from the fall of Rome till at least the 17th century. The first major division of Christianity occurred with the schism of 1054 when the Eastern Orthodox Church broke from the western Catholic Church. But four successive cultural movements slowly unraveled the hegemony of the Catholic Church in Europe: the Renaissance, the Reformation, the 17th century scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment. Continue reading Modern Philosophers on Human Nature
Who Are We? We may think we know the answer to this question, but there are possibilities we haven’t considered. For example, we may think that our we are inside our bodies, but perhaps that’s wrong. Why do we end where our bodies do? Continue reading Who Are We?
(Today is my 60th birthday.)
Who am I? This is surely one of the most fascinating questions we can ask. Am I an immaterial soul trapped inside a body, or am I just matter, or am I a “no self” as the Buddhists say? Continue reading Who Am I?
One of my first encounters with philosophy came when I was about 15 years old and was watching a PBS video featuring Alan Watts Continue reading Alan Watts: Who Am I?
