Tag Archives: Atheism
Naked Apes?
Lately I happen to have been reading two books on what Darwin – and his intellectual descendants (like Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene or Jane Goodall, In the Shadow of Man) – got wrong! The two books are philosopher … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Bible, Biblical Archeology, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, bureaucracy, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, Desire and Authenticity, dialectic, eighteenth century, erotic life, ethics, ethnicity, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, fatherhood, female power, femininity, feminism, filial piety, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, Industrial Revolution, institutional power, Jesus, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, medieval, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, Nihilism, nineteenth-century, non-violence, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, power games, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, racism, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, remembrance, Renaissance, repairing the culture, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, science, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, slave, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, Truth, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged abortion public opposition private need, abstract ideals vs lived views, ape reproductive strategies, apes and pair bonding, apes and parenting, Applied Ethics, Atheism, authenticity and sociobiology, Bible as history book, competition and courtship, Creationism, culture and theories, Darwin’s allies, Darwinian courtship, David Hume, David Stove’s Darwinian Fairy Tales, Desmond Morris’ The Naked Ape, DMA, erotic life and reductionism, etiquette for courtship, female guilt, female pliancy, groupthink, healthy relationships, herd mentality, Homo sapiens and monogamy, human brains and monkey brains, human evolution, human mating strategies, human psychology, idealism and cynicism, idealism vs real life, Jane Goodall’s In the Shadow of Man, jealousy in human beings, Jonathan Leaf’s The Primate Myth, lived philosophy, male guilt, MRI, Oedipus complex, pair bonding and human evolution, philosophical reductionism, possessiveness in human beings, power politics, prehistoric monogamy, primitivism and social style, profaning the sacred, Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, sex differences, simian reproductive strategies, social influence of theories, social result of wrong theories, sociobiology and bigotry, sociobiology and civilization, sociobiology and gender roles, sociobiology and human courtship, sociobiology and man/woman relations, sociobiology and misanthropy, sociobiology and misogyny, sociobiology and seduction, sociobiology and sincerity, sociobiology’s social influence, survival of the fittest, theology vs real life, theories and human reality, Thomas Malthus, toughness in women, unhealthy relationships, virginity and courtship, war of the sexes, who gets abortions, young men and chivalry
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Competitive Friendships
Competitive Friendships When, as a young woman, I returned from a year in Paris with an affair to conceal (because that’s what you did about that sort of thing in those days) my women friends from high school and college … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Biblical God, childhood, chivalry, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, institutional power, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, nineteenth-century, novels, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "The Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes's Secret; Spinoza's Way" by Henry M. Rosenthal; ed. Abigail L. Rosenthal, 19th century sage, academic party, Americans in Paris, assimilationism, Atheism, autobiographical story, “God is dead”, belief in God, bitch goddess, brass ring, brilliant career, broken friendship, companionship, confidants, conversion, cooling friendships, English culture, English Literature, father/daughter relationship, first love, friendship, Fulbright year, group think, Henry M. Rosenthal, inner conviction, Jewish defenses, Jewish identity, Jewish irony, life choice, Life in Culture: The Selected Letters of Lionel Trilling; ed. Adam Kirsch, Lionel Trilling, literary gifts, living at a depth, male friendship, man of God, marital sweepstakes, marriage market, missionary efforts, National Geographic films, only game in town, personal identity, personal pathway, personal transparency, philosopher, popularity, Public Intellectual, rabbinate, Ralph Waldo Emerson, rat race, secret affair, short story, social advantage, social convenience, social life, social wars, standing by your friends, Success, The Menorah Journal, the problematic of branding, theologian, Thomas Altizer, winners and losers, women friends, youthful promise
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Kosher?
Kosher? O dear. This is what you call a “vexed” topic. A couple of years back, in my temple’s Saturday Torah Study, we came to verses that spell out what you are and aren’t supposed to eat, if you’re Jewish. … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, bureaucracy, childhood, Christianity, cities, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, existentialism, exploitation, faith, femininity, freedom, friendship, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mysticism, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, politics, politics of ideas, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, self-deception, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged apostles quarrelling, Atheism, Bible study, Book of Acts, filial piety, Galatians, keeping kosher, keeping the law, kosher, kosher kitchen, mitzvot, observant Jews, real and false gods, secular gods, secular Jews, secular readers, secularism, Torah Study
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I Dreamed I Saw Grandpa
I Dreamed I Saw Grandpa Let me make this clear: my family did not go in for paranormal visitations. They lived in the same world of hard knocks and occasional fun we all share. And, though I was close to … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Bible, Biblical God, childhood, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, eternity, ethics, faith, fashion, freedom, friendship, gender balance, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, ideality, identity, immortality, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, love, masculinity, master, memoir, memory, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, motherhood, ontology, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, power, presence, psychology, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged afterlife, afterlife reunion, aimless people, ancestry, anomie, Atheism, bible as historical, co-religionists, doctorate in Judaica, dream visitations, dreams, grandfather, groundedness, Halacha, hard knocks, Hebrew, indissoluble reality, Jerusalem, Jerusalem street, Jewish law, Judaica, Marxism, Modernity, Oral Law, paranormal, paranormal visitations, partriarchal God, patriarch, personal vibrancy, philosophic lineage, Plato, proof-text, psychoanalysis, rabbinic disputation, Rav Tsair, Rechov Rav Tsair, religion shopping, resurrection, sad Jewish eyes, sense of direction, street names, Talmudists, The Covenant, validation
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Do Miracles Happen?
Do Miracles Happen? Occasionally something occurs that you or I might be tempted to call “a miracle.” But: what follows when you try to talk about a “miracle” that you think might have happened to you? Despite the Establishment Clause … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, Christianity, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, eternity, ethics, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, freedom, glitterati, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, immortality, institutional power, journalism, life and death struggle, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, mysticism, ontology, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "Freddie's lost his cool", A.J. Ayer, accepted views, altruism, Analytic philosophy, Anglophone philosophy, annihilation of consciousness, anthologies of religion, Atheism, atheist, atheist anxieties, belief system, body as mechanism, brain damage, brain death, British Humanist Association, brute features of humanity, chance as explanatory, Darwinism, definition of miracles, established religion, Establishment Clause, evolutionary biology, felt futility, First Amendment, fruitful outcome, getting nowhere, heart death, human refinement, identity theory, improbable events, laws of nature, laws of probability, life after death, life deceits, light on the meaning, logical positivism, meaning of life, meaningful events, meaninglessness, mental clatter, mind is brain, miracles, N.D.E., natural selection, near death experience, non-conformism, noticing a miracle, O.B.E., objectivity, origin of space and time, out of body experience, out of the closet, perceiving a miracle, philosophical failure, philosophical success, private experience, randomness, Rationalist Press Association, reductionism, religious doctrine, religious tolerance, role of chance, secular humanism, seeing God, selling the Brooklyn Bridge, sense data, social conformism, social dissent, social excommunication, social isolation, South Place Ethical Society, stopping to listen, stopping to look, Sunday Telegraph, supernatural event, survival drive, synchronicity, synchronous events, target of ridicule, The Big Bang, the material world, the objective world, the selfish gene, theory of evolution, US Constitution, what's a miracle?
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How Can I Tell If It’s God?
How Can I Tell If It’s God? I have Christian friends who tell me that a moment came in their experience when “everything changed.” They “met the living God.” Another friend, Jewish, who’s pretty well versed in Yoga, recently reported … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, childhood, Christianity, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, femininity, feminism, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, mortality, mysticism, nineteenth-century, ontology, oppression, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, romantic love, scientism, secular, self-deception, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, victims, violence, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", Atheism, Authenticity, becoming oneself, Bible movies, burning bush, childhood religious training, Christians, coincidence, Confessions of a Young Philosopher, entering bliss, Epistemology, finding one's identity, founder of Modern Philosophy, Freudian view, gender of God, Hegelian view, Jesus in the movies, Jewish miracle, Jewish view, King James version, Kumbhaka, life saga, losing faith, making sense, meaning what you say, meeting God, Method of Doubt, miracle, miracle or coincidence, Moses in the movies, Patajali’s Yoga Sutras, providence, providential intervention, Real Voice, Rene Descartes, self-discovery, Spinozistic view, suspension of breath, theory of doubt, theory of knowledge, turning Godward, voice of God, weekly journals, yoga meditation
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“God and Biography”
“God and Biography” When my journal entry doesn’t give me answers to the questions of my day, I sometimes ask myself: What would it have been like for me to live the same events recorded here, if there were no … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, alienation, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, childhood, Christianity, class, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, fashion, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jews, journalism, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, mind control, modernism, mortality, ontology, oppression, past and future, philosophy, political, political movements, politics, power, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, violence, war, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Atheism, Bible, biographical subjects, biography, boarding school, British prep school, British public school, bullies, cancer, Christopher Hitchens, classical historians, clerical opinion, corrupted intellect, covenant, covenantal task, crony capitalist, cutting words, Daniel Dennett, deathbed conversion, debating skill, depravity, deserved tributes, evangelical Christians, fame, fashionable dodge, fashionable opinion, friendship, God, God and Israel, God's existence, gossip, grace of spirit, History, homophobe, horizontal explanation, intellectual fashions, intelligent hope, irresponsible gossip, Islamophobe, King James version, Larry Alex Taunton, Larry Taunton's The Faith of Christopher Hitchens, literary celebrities, literary talent, love of words, Loyalty, medicine for the soul, memoir, moral analysis, moral description, moral interpretation, off the record, Ontology, political correctness, psychoanalytic explanation, public atheism, public debate, public opinion, rabbis, racist, received opinion, religious authorities, Richard Dawkins, Roman empire, Sam Harris, secular history, secular humanism, self-understanding, sexist, sinners, social taboos, spiritual implications, spirituality, spritual interpretation, Tacitus, temple newsletter, the Establishment clause, The Four Horsemen of New Atheism, The New Atheism, theism, theologians, tools of a biographer, truth, uncorrupted intellect, unmentionable questions, vertical explanation, women friends, words as weapons
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