Errol Morris on Peace

Errol Morris has made a series of short films on peace for the NY Times. He chose to focus upon three individuals who ostensibly had little power, influence, means or ability, but who nonetheless changed the world. The first two in particular, explicitly cite faith as crucial to their political perseverance. Morris, as always, simply asks the questions in childlike wonder at the amazing stories they tell. 

• Lemah Gbowee: The Dream - http://nyti.ms/1szfxq6
• Lech Walesa: The Shipyard - http://nyti.ms/1s5ITdL
• Bob Geldof: The Moment - http://nyti.ms/1szgDSy 

God Games

"Kit Eaton reviews Godus, the Sandbox and Godville, three free mobile games that let you control an entire world, not just a single character." - http://nyti.ms/1soP2Ue

It is an open question today whether and how video games foster religious thought. Nonetheless, I wonder if this is not rather the nexus where narcissism and atheism meet as the player displaces divinity.

The Myth of Religious Violence

“The popular belief that religion is the cause of the world’s bloodiest conflicts is central to our modern conviction that faith and politics should never mix. But the messy history of their separation suggests it was never so simple.”

Karen Armstrong, "The Myth of Religious Violence," The Guardian - http://bit.ly/1vBXP5U

Peculiar that she doesn't cite William Cavanaugh's excellent book by that title.

Theodicy? Seriously?

The Conversation, provides a forum for academic writing on issues of public concern. As the tagline for the website suggests, "academic rigour, journalistic flair." In any case, their editors are running a series on "Morality in 21st Century Australia," and I wrote a brief piece on theodicy which can be found here: http://theconversation.com/a-moral-world-in-which-bad-things-happen-to-good-people-30957

On Mental Virtues

“Fourth, there is humility, which is not letting your own desire for status get in the way of accuracy. The humble person fights against vanity and self-importance. He’s not writing those sentences people write to make themselves seem smart; he’s not thinking of himself much at all. The humble researcher doesn’t become arrogant toward his subject, assuming he has mastered it. Such a person is open to learning from anyone at any stage in life.”

"The Mental Virtues" - http://nyti.ms/1tIqUvl

On Atheist Factories

“For people born after 1960, having a college degree doesn’t cause religious disaffiliation—young, highly educated people are more likely to identify with a faith, according to a new study... There are a lot of sociological factors at work here, but all of them puncture the stereotype of perniciously secular higher education. Clearly, those God-defying philosophy professors need to work a little harder if they want to build their armies of atheist young people. ”

"It Turns Out Colleges Aren't Actually Atheist Factories" - http://theatln.tc/VUkSue

Teaching is not a Business

“While these reformers talk a lot about markets and competition, the essence of a good education — bringing together talented teachers, engaged students and a challenging curriculum — goes undiscussed... While technology can be put to good use by talented teachers, they, and not the futurists, must take the lead. The process of teaching and learning is an intimate act that neither computers nor markets can hope to replicate. Small wonder, then, that the business model hasn’t worked in reforming the schools — there is simply no substitute for the personal element.”

David L. Kirp, "Teaching is not a Business," http://nyti.ms/1m5Z4Tq

On the Term "Scientist"

“In response, Nature’s editor, Sir Richard Gregory... solicited opinions from linguists and scientific researchers about whether Nature should use ‘scientist.’ The word received more support in 1924 than it had thirty years earlier. Many researchers wrote in to say that ‘scientist’ was a normal and useful word that was now ensconced in the English lexicon, and that Nature should use it. However, many researchers still rejected ‘scientist.’ Sir D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, a zoologist, argued that ‘scientist’ was a tainted term used ‘by people who have no great respect either for science or the “scientist.”’ The eminent naturalist E. Ray Lankester protested that any ‘Barney Bunkum’ might be able to lay claim to such a vague title. ‘I think we must be content to be anatomists, zoologists, geologists, electricians, engineers, mathematicians, naturalists,’ he argued. ‘“Scientist” has acquired—perhaps unjustly—the significance of a charlatan’s device.’”

"The History of 'Scientist,'" The Renaissance Mathematicus - http://wp.me/py7Pg-Bv

On Spiritual Nones

“‘Every day I add another piece to the religion that is my own,’ Dr. Moore writes. ‘It’s built on years of meditation, chanting, theological study and the practice of therapy — to me a sacred activity.’ At the very least, we might conclude that ‘spiritual but not religious’ isn’t necessarily vague or wishy-washy. It’s not nothing, although it may risk being everything.”

"Examining the Growth of the 'Spiritual but Not Religious," - http://nyti.ms/1nFHDZn

On Heidegger's Black Notebooks

“We already knew that Heidegger’s institutional involvement with the Nazi party — in particular, his agreement to become rector of Freiburg University in 1933 — was motivated less by political enthusiasm than by a long-held ambition for university reform. The inadequacy of modern universities (which, Heidegger complained, were becoming mere polytechnics), and the squeezing of philosophy departments by efficiency reviews on the one hand and church control on the other, had worried him since the beginning of his university career. At the time of Heidegger’s rectorship, the Nazi party had not yet developed a unified education policy, and it is clear from his inaugural address and the letters surrounding his acceptance of the post that Heidegger was hoping to seize the moment to put into action the intellectual renewal he had been writing and lecturing about for a decade. That he was soon disillusioned becomes clear both in a series of disappointed letters to friends (complaining that a very differently-minded candidate had been appointed minister of education and that he, Heidegger, had not been invited to any education policy meetings at the higher level), and in his premature resignation from the rectorship in early 1934. Heidegger never dabbled in party business again.”

Judith Wolfe - "Caught in the Trap of His Own Metaphysics," Standpoint Magazine - http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/5583/full 

This is an nteresting and excellent public note on the recent publication of Heidegger's black notebooks. Wolfe was recently appointed at St. Andrews University Divinity School, and a brief interview on her recent Heidegger and Theology with Bloomsbury can also be found here: http://bit.ly/1jZuOOO. This latter book looks to be an exceptional edition based on two years of archival research at Humboldt and Freiburg Universities.