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Tag Archives: religion
The Rise of the Novel
[While writing the conclusion for the Mansfield Park essay (which I am about to post) I realised that it relies on an assumption that may not be widely shared--that the rise of the realistic novel in the 18th century was a significant factor in the development of modern thought--so I will discuss it here first.]
The [...]
Posted in literary history Also tagged Defoe, Enlightenment, ethics, Ian Watt, Jane Austen, journalism, literary history, philosophy, printing, rationalism, Romanticism, Rousseau Leave a comment
Preface to Mansfield Park
This post is the first part of an essay on Mansfield Park, being posted in instalments.
Mansfield Park
Preface
Introduction
Method
Critiques
The Moral Law Within
Fanny and Edmund
The Crawfords
Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram
Mrs Norris
The Quiet Thing
Enlightenment
Kantian Deontology
King Lear
Romanticism
The Satirical Inheritance
Conclusion
Epilogue: Diminutive Greatness & Fanny Price
Preface
Philosophy is hard. In the Buddhist tradition meditation practitioners are warned that they must engage in study [...]
Posted in Mansfield Park Also tagged Buddhism, Christianity, Enlightenment, ethics, Jane Austen, Kant, Mansfield Park, modernity, philosophy, rationalism, Romanticism, sentimentalism Leave a comment
The Growth Illusion
Although I have gone to some effort to try and get folks to address the wider picture of the Levitt & Dubner attack on efforts to curb carbon emissions, I have only just received the first comment on it or any of the follow-up posts. Thanks to NelC for engaging–it is supposed to be the [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged climate change, conservatism, Enlightenment, ethics, global warming, liberalism, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Sandel, modernity, philosophy, rationalism, Romanticism, Rousseau, Rowan Williams, secularism, virtue ethics 2 Comments
Losing Our Minds
Reading Antti Kauppinen’s ideas on moral philosophy (long version & encapsulation) and Marilyn Butler’s conclusion for Mansfield Park in Jane Austen and the War of Ideas (1975), I am reminded of a crucial mistake repeatedly made in moral philosophy that I can scarcely believe could be made by anyone with a religious training and commitment [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged Christianity, ethics, Jane Austen, literary criticism, Mansfield Park, philosophy, rationalism, secularism Leave a comment
Climate Science, Science and Humility
John Quiggin has just posted on the thoroughgoing mess the Australian conservative opposition is getting itself into over climate change in Delusionist disaster down under, which set me thinking about what is going on with the climate change thing. Anyone following this blog will know that I am not only aware of science getting some [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged climate change, controversy, ethics, intelligent design, irrationalism, philosophy, science Leave a comment
The Futility of the Culture Wars
[Michael Bérubé has written a provocative essay on US Culture Studies, which he has taken onto Crooked Timber. This is a lightly edited version of a comment I left on the article.]
I can understand the reaction of the Cultural Studies folks, but I really think they should and will be grateful. Your point about [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged culture studies, culture wars, Enlightenment, ethics, John Gray, theology Leave a comment
Rational Or Christian
I have been using Marilyn Butler’s brilliant Jane Austen and the War of Ideas to write the essay on Mansfield Park and was reminded of this:
In characterizing her heroine, Fanny, Jane Austen illustrates her idealogical disagreement with Maria Edgeworth. Caroline Percy of Patronage, Belinda, Leonora, and other Edgeworth model characters, is essentially a rationalist. Fanny [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged Archbishop of Cantebury, education, ethics, faith, Jane Austen, philosophy, rationalism, Rowan Williams Leave a comment
Bankers, Economists, All, Repent
Archbishop Rowan Williams’ recent call on Newsnight for bankers and economists to repent has provoked a bit of debate in the UK, while across the pond Paul Krugman’s earlier call in the NYT Magazine for fresh water economists to repent has provoked a sharp response from its targets (h/t John Quiggin, who has a nice [...]
Posted in topical Also tagged Christianity, economics, ethics, financial crash, Great Recession, humility, Paul Krugman, philosophy, Rowan Williams Leave a comment
The Ontological Appleyard
Appleyard has one of his existential proofs of beautiful, witty and intelligent bloging over at Thought Experiments with Kliban and the Ontological Proof.
Appleyard is a very rare breed indeed, a fanatical, lethal agnostic, and seems to be toying with his atheist prey while working out whether to put them out of their misery or not.
There’s [...]
True Love
Mark Vernon, has posted the fourth instalment in his series on Plato at the Guardian where he tackles Platonic love.
At the outset Mark wonders whether Iris Murdoch’s interpretation of Platonic love might not be relevant because she was both a professional philosopher and a successful novelist, despite not being acknowledged as a Plato scholar. I [...]
Posted in 1 philosophy, topical Also tagged Buddhism, ethics, Jane Austen, love, loving kindness, philosophy, Plato, secularism Leave a comment
The problem with the Enlightenment
My writing here may give the impression that I think religion is necessary for a meaningful and ethical life and it has been pointed pointed out that secular and atheist people are capable of leading meaningful and ethical lives. And indeed they can, though I strongly recommend Thomas Nagel on the meaning of life [...]
Posted in 1 philosophy, commentary, correspondence Also tagged Enlightenment, ethics, Jane Austen, philosophy Leave a comment
Theodicy and the Problem of Modernity
I couldn’t help but reflect on Stephen Bates’s article, How I became an agnostic, answering the Guardian CIF Belief question How did you lose, or find, your faith? It ends on a sad note, Bates wanting to be back in the Roman Catholic fold, but finding himself drifting further away.
[Incidentally, I am not a Christian [...]
Posted in religion, topical Also tagged ethics, evil, faith, Jane Austen, philosophy, reason, theodicy, theology 2 Comments
Why this Matters (II)
In today’s Guardian George Monbiot publishes a gripping email exchange between himself and Paul Kingsnorth. Paul’s opening salvo is worth quoting at length.
On the desk in front of me is a set of graphs. The horizontal axis of each represents the years 1750 to 2000. The graphs show, variously, population levels, CO2 concentration in [...]
Posted in commentary Also tagged Enlightenment, ethics, irrationalism, philosophy, secularism, William Cowper 1 Comment
Faith & Reason
[I have revised the introduction to the War of Ideas (i), explaining the post a bit better (I hope).]
Reflecting on the Guardian Comment is Free, Cif Belief section today, it struck me just how childishly dualistic public discourse of religion has become.
Posted in topical Also tagged belief, faith, irrationalism, philosophy, reason, secularism Leave a comment
Categorical Follies (II)
If we are going to make any sense of the modern confusion in ethics we mustn’t be intimidated by the reputations of the likes of Kant and Hume as we have every reason to believe that they may be part of the problem being everywhere reminded of their exceptional influence on modern philosophy.
How useful are [...]
What Price Philosophy?