A Most Passionate Inwardness: Reading Soren Kierkegaard with William James

Introduction  This series of essays is dedicated to reading Soren Kierkegaard through the radical empiricism of William James. The purpose is to use James’ thinking as an interpretative instrument through which several of Kierkegaard’s central categories: truth, subjectivity, selfhood, repetition, anxiety, and ethical existence—can be clarified … Continue reading A Most Passionate Inwardness: Reading Soren Kierkegaard with William James

A Terminal Beach: Francis Fukuyama, William James, and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy

This essay examines the inadequacies of liberalism as a political framework, particularly its failure to create coherent political identities. By utilizing William James’s concept of the self, it argues liberalism fell short in aligning material, social, and moral dimensions, leading to a crisis of the liberal subject and instability in contemporary political systems.

The Canvas of Historical Life: C.S. Peirce and the Semiotics of Ideology

This essay explores Perry Anderson’s essay on the impact of ideas on history and ideology, integrating C.S. Peirce’s semiotics. It discusses the dual role of ideologies as both abstract beliefs and systems that shape social habits. Emphasizing Peirce’s belief as habit, the work argues for a new direction in Leftist thought amid neoliberal dominance, advocating for flexible, inquiry-based ideologies.

Let the Markets Eat the Rich!: Three Essays on Left Market Anarchism

The content presents three essays examining left-libertarian perspectives on capitalism, individualism, and decentralized legal systems. It critiques classical liberal myths, arguing capitalism thrives on state violence rather than voluntary cooperation. The author advocates for market anarchism, emphasizing the potential of decentralized systems in promoting fairness, efficiency, and genuine freedom within society.

The Last Speck of Dust: Considerations on the Chrisian as a Poet within a Sacramental Cosmos

This essay explores how Christians can cultivate a poetic sensibility to find meaning and purpose in life. By examining the effects of materialism and science on spirituality, it highlights insights from various philosophers and invites an artistic engagement with Creation, emphasizing relationality, creativity, and the transformative power of love in human experience.

Here’s to Swimmin’ with Bowlegged Women: An Appraisal of Jaws

Jaws (1975) transcends its blockbuster status through improvisational production and aesthetic innovation amid constraints. The film’s editing, cinematography, and score converge, crafting a heightened sense of suspense and atmosphere. It explores themes of masculinity, authority, and existential dread, revealing a complex interplay among characters against an unseen, incomprehensible threat.

All at Once and in a Moment: Time, God, and Creation in St. Basil the Great and A.N. Whitehead

This essay synthesizes the Patristic cosmology of St. Basil the Great and Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy, focusing on their views of time, divine nature, and creation. Both thinkers present layered, meaningful models of temporality shaped by divine intention, emphasizing the relational and participatory aspects of time in connection with God’s activity and redemption.

A Most Capacious Workshop: Reading St. Maximos’ Ambiguum 41 through Hans Jonas and Maurice Merleau-Ponty

This essay examines Ambiguum 41 by St. Maximos the Confessor through the perspectives of Hans Jonas and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It argues that humans, as mediators between the divine and the cosmos, engage in a participatory role in creation. Both thinkers emphasize the significance of relational being, freedom, and the potential for transformation through understanding and love.

The Art of Being Right: Arthur Schopenhauer and the Anticipation of Quantum Mechanics

Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and physicist Erwin Schrodinger share an intellectual connection centered on the concept of ontological oneness. Schopenhauer anticipated themes present in quantum mechanics, emphasizing a unified reality beyond time and space. Both thinkers challenge conventional distinctions between observer and observed, highlighting the interplay of will and representation.