Secular Frontier

Angelus Silesius (wiki) Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (wiki) A famous two-line verse by Angelus Silesius from his work Cherubinischer Wandersmann is titled “Ohne Warum” (“Without Why”).  The literal English translation is: “The rose is without why; it blooms because it blooms, It pays no attention to itself, nor asks if it is seen” Leibniz (1646–1716)—a contemporary ... (Part 3) Blogging Through Martin Heidegger’s “Introduction to Metaphysics”

Heidegger raises the basic question of metaphysics of “why are their beings at all rather than nothing (Introduction to Metaphysics, 1)?”  Negatively, we see “to be a being” apparently excludes nothingness: entities “are” in some way or other: the tree, car, dream, hallucination, etc all “are” in some way or other rather than being nothing.  ... (Part 2) Blogging Through Martin Heidegger’s “Introduction to Metaphysics”

I will be blogging my way through Martin Heidegger’s Introduction to Metaphysics. This is one of the great works by an important 20th century philosopher. Philosophically, metaphysics is the study of ultimate reality—the fundamental nature of existence, being, and the world. While popular culture often treats it as “spooky physics” or quantum mysticism, the word ... (Part 1) Blogging Through Martin Heidegger’s “Introduction to Metaphysics”

People forget Plato talks about parousia (παρουσία) in the relation of the eternal forms to the temporal. (1) Temporal Being is imitation (mimesis / μίμησις) of the extratemporal.(2) The extratemporal is the paradigm (paradeigma / παράδειγμα), and the temporal is the after-copy (eidolon / εἴδωλον).(3) The temporal participates (metexei / μετέχει) in the extratemporal (methexis ... Reflections on My Presentation on History Valley Podcast with Jacob Berman on Parousia and Domitian

The word parousia in the New Testament means the second coming of Christ. What is the etymology of parousia? In Plato’s Phaedo, parousia means presence, Beauty itself is present (parousia) incarnate in the beautiful thing. How do we get from the platonic Greek understanding of parousia as presence to the New Testament Greek usage as ... My Notes for Discussing the Parousia on History Valley Podcast Tomorrow with Jacob Berman

Josephus’s legacy is inherently complicated. To many of his contemporaries and later Jewish generations, he was branded a traitor and an opportunist who abandoned his people for Roman luxury. Paradoxically, his works were entirely ignored by ancient Jewish communities but painstakingly preserved by the Christian Church. This was because his writings offer crucial contextual background ... The New Testament and Josephus

Previously The Life and Times of the Apostle Paul Now, The death of John the Baptist is recorded both in the New Testament Gospels (Matthew and Mark) and by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his work Antiquities of the Jews (Book 18, Chapter 5). While both sources agree that Herod Antipas executed John, they ... The Life and Death of John the Baptist

It’s the classic story: The Arch persecutor and enemy of the Christians Saul transforming to be their most powerful representative and advocate Paul (showing the power of the religion), indeed the prophesied one who would bring the message to the nations at the end of the age. If you were just making Paul up, this ... The Life and Times of the Apostle Paul

Previously Celebrating New Teachers: Education and Metaphysics with Squaring and Circling Now, The Unit: One of the big trends in differentiating instruction in elementary school education is Philosophy for Kids: This is a philosophy unit for gifted students grades 5-8, both in self-contained gifted classrooms and gifted students in community classrooms. I have taught grades ... It’s a New School Year! Here’s a Junior/Intermediate (gr 5 – 8) Gifted Student Creative/Critical Thinking Unit: Can Kids Do Philosophy?

Previously, post series marking the end of summer: Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (2/2) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (Conclusion) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? Reflections as the Summer Comes to ... A Green Day End of Summer Post (Wake Me Up When September Ends; Minority): Case Against Faith and My First Published Short Story

Previously, Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (2/2) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (Conclusion) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? Reflections as the Summer Comes to an End: The Secular Roots of Esoterica ... ps: Postmodern Religious Thought as Religion without Religion

We began this mini-series with a 3-part study of esoteric genealogy in Matthew and Luke, and added a fourth related post on esoteric Rosicrucian Lore: The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz.  The 4 posts are here: Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (2/2) Why are there 2 Completely ... Esoterica and Godlessness

Previously, Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (2/2) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (Conclusion) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? And now, the Appendix In the last post I said in the comments: ... Reflections as the Summer Comes to an End: The Secular Roots of Esoterica

(The Steps of Freemasonry: Scottish / York rites, wiki) Previously, Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? (2/2) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke? Now, the Conclusion: For anyone interested in esoterica like freemasonry and Rosicrucianism, the image I outlined in the ... (Conclusion) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke?

(MacDonald Family Coat of Arms, wiki) The idea that bloodlines are not just historical but make figurative points is as old as the process itself, which makes sense in the case of Matthew 1 and Luke 3 (the genealogy in Luke may originally have been at the beginning of Luke) as bloodlines of Joseph that ... (2/2) Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke?

It’s remarkable to think that both Matthew and Luke independently inserted a genealogy of Joseph into the Jesus tradition.  What seems more likely is that Matthew introduced the genealogy and Luke reworked it to fit his own non-atonement theology. The genealogy of Jesus’ adoptive father Joseph in Matthew explains Jesus getting killed but still being ... Why are there 2 Completely Different Bloodlines of Joseph in Matthew and Luke?

Previously, An Invitation to Listen to Edouard Tahmizian and Richard Carrier’s Upcoming Discussion: The Problem of Free Will. Last time I made 2 notes in the comments I’d like to expand on. Derrida notes we are not determined in our actions, even when we try to be. When acting, there is never enough time, information, ... (2/2) An Invitation to Listen to Edouard Tahmizian and Richard Carrier’s Upcoming Discussion: The Problem of Free Will.

Tahmizian and Carrier will be recording a discussion on Free Will vs Determinism soon and here are some of my thoughts: What is the free will vs determinism debate? For example, if we ask with Keith Augustine why aggressive behavior in society is overwhelmingly a male issue it seems to point to testosterone as the ... An Invitation to Listen to Edouard Tahmizian and Richard Carrier’s Upcoming Discussion: The Problem of Free Will.

Previously What is Continental Philosophy Phenomenology? (2/2)What is Continental Philosophy Phenomenology? Now, the Conclusion: Last time in a note I mentioned we see subject-object unity as even more basic than the in-itself-ness of the object, such as in an object of affection. In-itself-ness is not simply a pure encounter, but a later mental bracketing of ... (Conclusion) What is Continental Philosophy Phenomenology?

Last time I noted Concepts (e.g., houseness) are inherently vague and indeterminate, but can be clarified by triangulating or intersecting related concepts. This means comparing and contrasting to un-cover from hiddenness. My basic example is houseness is “present” in an incarnate or exemplary way in the mansion, merely present in the average house, and deficient ... (2/2)What is Continental Philosophy Phenomenology?

Hegel, in his inaugural address, Heidelberg, 1816, says “The Being of the universe, at first hidden and concealed, has no power which can offer resistance to the search for knowledge; it has to lay itself open before the seeker — to set before his eyes and give for his enjoyment, its riches and its depths.” ... What is Continental Philosophy Phenomenology?

We spoke before of the intersecting concepts teaching/learning strategy (ethics/freedom/morality; spirit/soul/mind). Let’s do that again with: social pretense/acceptance/slumming. One of the important keys in media literacy in the world of today is non-standard comparisons. If you can engage with a book, why not also a song? For example: (1) William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848): ... Surreptitious Media Literacy

Previously The “Spirit” of Pride (It’s Pride Day here in Sydney, Nova Scotia Canada!) Ethics, Morality, and Freedom: Why Research Word Histories (Etymology)? Gamification and Game-Based Learning Now, the Conclusion: What are the types of distorted thinking (catastrophizing, black and white thinking, etc) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) gets you to challenge and how might those ... (2/2) Gamification and Game-Based Learning: Classroom Management

Previously The “Spirit” of Pride (It’s Pride Day here in Sydney, Nova Scotia Canada!) Ethics, Morality, and Freedom: Why Research Word Histories (Etymology)? Now, In the previous two short posts I looked at various fun teaching/learning strategies for creating meaning for students: Intersecting Concepts (e.g., mind/soul/spirit; freedom/ethics/morality); Word Histories; Proving Claims by Appealing to your ... Gamification and Game-Based Learning

Last time I did a reading of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave from the Republic guided by Heidegger’s interpretation of Plato’s cave pioneered in his The Essence of Truth: On Plato’s Cave Allegory and Theaetetus, a lecture course he did from 1932. Today I’m going to look at the meaning three intersecting concepts, Ethics, Morality, ... Ethics, Morality, and Freedom: Why Research Word Histories (Etymology)?

We speak in a vague way of mind, soul, and spirit, although when we eliminatethe intellect and the soulish passions, it’s unclear what would be left over as spirit.  And yet we speak of spirit clearly when we say Zeitgeist, or acting in the spirit of justice, or the spirit of 76, etc.  Sprit is ... The “Spirit” of Pride (It’s Pride Day here in Sydney, Nova Scotia Canada!)

One of my proudest moments was when I got into 2 PhD programs in Continental Philosophy about 25 years ago, but decided not to go.  There are many reasons (the job market was bleak), but I think some of it had to do with one of Nietzsche’s aphorisms I mentioned last time. Nietzsche’s aphorism 399 ... Happy Birthday: I’m 50!

Martin Heidegger was born on September 26, 1889, roughly 8–9 months after Friedrich Nietzsche’s mental collapse on January 3, 1889 (in Turin). Nietzsche remained incapacitated until his death in 1900.  Heidegger died on May 26, 1976, in Freiburg im Breisgau, West Germany, at the age of 86.  I was born about 2 months later on ... Reflections on Turning 50 Tomorrow