Last week, I wrote about the problem of understanding what the social sciences provide. My intention was to theorize the thinking involved in social science research and reflect on what this means for its outputs. While somewhat critical, my overall position is not that the social sciences are vapid but merely misunderstood – people misinterpretContinue reading “Social Statistics & Moral Inferences”
Tag Archives: reflection
Social Sciences: Misapprehensions and Misapplications
Now and again, one comes across people who are dismissive of what have frequently been termed the ‘soft sciences’: sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, and (for some, though there is more debate on this) economics. The main problem in these fields is that their findings are typically subject to human responses performed in whatever mannerContinue reading “Social Sciences: Misapprehensions and Misapplications”
On Laughing Less
An essay of the living English philosopher, Colin McGinn, recently caught my interest: “Against Laughter.” He argues that laughter should be banned – whether by explicit policy or merely social custom he leaves somewhat ambiguous. He evidently recognizes that his argument is fighting an uphill battle, as most people will want to preserve their rightContinue reading “On Laughing Less”
Morality & Joking: Considerations with C. S. Lewis
A topic which I believe has become progressively more difficult to navigate during my short lifetime has been that of humour. As certain topics or issues emerge in the cultural “dialogue” (though this may be a generous term here) of mass media, social media, and daily social interaction, there is often a debate around howContinue reading “Morality & Joking: Considerations with C. S. Lewis”
Before
Diaphragm contracts, vision swift to blur;mind racing from its proper time and place.What pulls the heart to this violent stiralways hides from mine its shadowy face. Triggr’red, mem’ry makes this body a corpse,an evolution now so far removedfrom a life once lived; unforeseen change warpsour expectations thought already proved. Yet this time-trav’lling, near resurrectedidea isContinue reading “Before”
The Incoherence of the “West”
A new concern emerged during the twentieth century that was more common among ‘conservatives’ (of a certain sort), and there has been something of a countercurrent from those more critical of present affairs: I am referring to the defense or attack of what many have called “Western Civilization” (or, more simply, the “West”). To pointContinue reading “The Incoherence of the “West””
On the Problem of Abstractions
A prominent public intellectual, who happens to be a fellow countryman, has pursued a line of reasoning that I find – truthfully – rather problematic. Jordan B. Peterson has often defended various works of both mythology and fiction on the grounds that they (when “great”) reveal truths that are more ‘real’ than ‘life’ itself. AnContinue reading “On the Problem of Abstractions”
A Late Review of Life After God
Writing a book review for a rather obscure little book that was published thirty years ago may seem an odd pursuit, but such might be justified when circumstances give rise to fresh relevance in a given work. In the case of Douglas Coupland’s Life After God, published in 1994, I think this is a bookContinue reading “A Late Review of Life After God“
R. G. Collingwood on ‘Duty’
A peculiar detail about me, that is of an unknown origin to myself, is that I have a seemingly innate disposition to act out of a sense of duty. In some ways, this may come from my family; my parents and extended relatives tend toward a fierce (almost tribal) sense of familial loyalty – evenContinue reading “R. G. Collingwood on ‘Duty’”
A Note of Self-Reflection
At the wise suggestion of my wonderful wife, I intend to take a summer break from this blog each year. Though I thoroughly enjoy writing these posts and truly attempt to do so for its own sake, there are weeks in which I have written posts merely to maintain my self-imposed goal of a postContinue reading “A Note of Self-Reflection”
Hoping for Clarity 