Philosophy
We use a number of products from Dr. Bronner's. They are good soaps without all the garbage large corporate companies feel the need to include in their products. Back when I had eyes that were young enough to be able to read the small print on the labels (it always reminded me of the times a teacher would allow you to bring in one sheet of notes for an exam and you tried to cram as much on as possible), I was fascinated by the range of theological writings they squeezed on there. The central idea was that while religious doctrine had long been a source of conflict between people and between peoples, there was a central core to all religion and it was this commonality that disclosed the wisdom, if not the truth of it all. There seem to be three different claims implicit in the Dr. Bronner's labels:
(1) There is a common set of fundamental axioms underlying all religions.
(2) These axioms are (a) true or (b) a foundation for moral, peaceful coexistence.
(3) The elements outside of this common basis are unimportant or at least of a less important sort than the common features.
Are any or all of these claims true?
- Modern Mencken
Tomorrow is Mencken day at the Enoch Pratt Library, honoring one of the great intellects of Baltimore. Who would be the modern day version of H.L. Mencken? Is there a writer who is smart, ascerbic, conservative, and wry? P.J. O'Rourke? ...
- Summer Solstice And The Cultural Meaning Of "pagan"
Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and a holiday for Pagans. The term "pagan" has both a denotation -- it refers to pre-Christian religions which tended to be polytheistic and to contemporary religious views that are more...
- Can You Really Own A Position?
I've been thinking about the use of the verb to own with respect to an intellectual view. When a student is being wishy-washy about a proposition he or she is arguing for and clearly believes, I'll tell the student to "own the position." ...
- Group E-mail Vs. Spam
Is there a difference between sending an e-mail to a group of people and spam? Is the difference based on the number of people contacted? If so, where is the dividing line between contacting a bunch of folks and sending spam? Or is it...
- Historians, Archaeologists, And Scientists
Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...
Philosophy
Dr. Bronner's "All-One!", Is It Really?
We use a number of products from Dr. Bronner's. They are good soaps without all the garbage large corporate companies feel the need to include in their products. Back when I had eyes that were young enough to be able to read the small print on the labels (it always reminded me of the times a teacher would allow you to bring in one sheet of notes for an exam and you tried to cram as much on as possible), I was fascinated by the range of theological writings they squeezed on there. The central idea was that while religious doctrine had long been a source of conflict between people and between peoples, there was a central core to all religion and it was this commonality that disclosed the wisdom, if not the truth of it all. There seem to be three different claims implicit in the Dr. Bronner's labels:
(1) There is a common set of fundamental axioms underlying all religions.
(2) These axioms are (a) true or (b) a foundation for moral, peaceful coexistence.
(3) The elements outside of this common basis are unimportant or at least of a less important sort than the common features.
Are any or all of these claims true?
- Modern Mencken
Tomorrow is Mencken day at the Enoch Pratt Library, honoring one of the great intellects of Baltimore. Who would be the modern day version of H.L. Mencken? Is there a writer who is smart, ascerbic, conservative, and wry? P.J. O'Rourke? ...
- Summer Solstice And The Cultural Meaning Of "pagan"
Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and a holiday for Pagans. The term "pagan" has both a denotation -- it refers to pre-Christian religions which tended to be polytheistic and to contemporary religious views that are more...
- Can You Really Own A Position?
I've been thinking about the use of the verb to own with respect to an intellectual view. When a student is being wishy-washy about a proposition he or she is arguing for and clearly believes, I'll tell the student to "own the position." ...
- Group E-mail Vs. Spam
Is there a difference between sending an e-mail to a group of people and spam? Is the difference based on the number of people contacted? If so, where is the dividing line between contacting a bunch of folks and sending spam? Or is it...
- Historians, Archaeologists, And Scientists
Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...