“The salient idea of process philosophy is that the world consists of—and must, in consequence, be understood in terms of—changes rather than fixed stabilities. But from the time of Pythagoras, various philosophers have taught that while the world’s phenomena may be ever-changing, the laws that govern the comportment of these changes are stable and fixed…
Diary
Pathology is the shadow of the incomplete: Steve McIntosh on Progress and Pathology in Cultural Evolution
“Well first of all, there is present in the structural pattern in the development of human consciousness and culture what we might describe as the dialectic of “progress and pathology”…for every new set of advances, for every new worldview stage that emerges beyond what came before, we find that there is pathology, or problems, or …
Who’s on the side of commodification now? // Timothy Morton on Speculative Realism
To speak only about human meaning is to have ceded a gigantic area of reality — let’s call it the whole universe — to whatever is the currency of the realm: neoliberalism in the case of political economy, crude reductionist materialism in the case of ontology, possibly with an overlay of cultural relativism. How’s that…
One Solution I Have Taken OFF The Table: Reflections on [Christian] Non-violence
“Thus hatred and vengeance have no place in the struggle of freedom. Indeed, hatred is a denial of freedom, a usurpation of the liberation struggle. The ethic of liberation arises out of love, for ourselves and for humanity. This is an essential ingredient of liberation without which the struggle turns into a denial of what…
Does owning a gun implicitly say you’re a vengeful person?
“Contrary to what many gun advocates argue, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data reveals that having a gun provides no statistically significant benefit to a would-be victim during a criminal confrontation.” The above quote comes from an article written for The Trace by Evan Defilippis and Devin Hughes. The two writers cite recent research…
The General Intellect Will Blow Capitalism Sky High
“In the “Fragment” Marx imagines an economy in which the main role of machines is to produce, and the main role of people is to supervise them. He was clear that, in such an economy, the main productive force would be information. The productive power of such machines as the automated cotton-spinning machine, the telegraph…
The Doctrine of Original Sin and It’s Harmful Stain
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. – 1 John 1:8 Sin. I have to be honest, I don’t think about it much anymore. I know a lot of Christians do, though. I used to be one of them. I used to think sin was…
Thoughts on Design and Design Education
“Art is like masturbation. It is selfish and introverted and done for you and you alone. Design is like sex. There is someone else involved, their needs are just as important as your own, and if everything goes right, both parties are happy in the end.” –Colin Wright I had a conversation with a friend…
How to Love Your Enemies and Still Hate On Bad Ideas: Systems Thinking, Principalities and Powers, and “Hot Button Topics”
“Nothing endures but change” –Heraclitus Throughout my life I have encountered people who think differently than me; people who have different beliefs, ideas, convictions, and ideologies than me. This is inevitable. But what I’ve found to be most problematic about engaging with someone who has a differing opinion, stance, viewpoint or idea on something is…
Clergy Who Oppose Same Sex Marriage Should No Longer Get to Be Government Agents
“People say that marriage is broken, or that marriage is up-for-grabs. Neither is true. Actually, there are two marriages in America.” –Tony Jones Earlier today, in an online conversation about the possibility of clergy being forced to marry same sex couples against their will due to the recent SCOTUS ruling legalizing same sex marriage (SSM),…