When I was growing up, my mom would often tell me not to be so critical. This was often followed by the refrain “you’re so negative sometimes.” During my childhood, the idea that being critical is being negative was a powerful influence on my thinking, but it didn’t stick. As I grew older and beganContinue reading “What does it mean to be a critical thinker?”
Category Archives: Philosophy
The Wisdom of Learning from Our Mistakes
By Harold W. Anderson, M.A., M.Div., Ph.D., LMFT When you have lived 70 years, you would think you would have learned something. Life experiences are great teachers, but you must be strong enough and willing to listen to them as teachers. This is not easy. The problem is, we all want to be right. WeContinue reading “The Wisdom of Learning from Our Mistakes”
Goodness, not Self-Interest, Is Our Truth
Sermon based on I Peter 1:17-22, written by Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D. on April 18, 1999 Let me begin this morning by telling you several different scenarios. I want you to think about each one and answer to yourself what you think you would do in these different circumstances. Here’s the first scenario: You areContinue reading “Goodness, not Self-Interest, Is Our Truth”
Facing the End of Life
By Rev. Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., LMFT Last March we were bringing our vacation in Maui to a close. While packing our bags, Becky received a call from Becky’s youngest sister. Since we were busy packing, Becky let the call go to voicemail and thought she would call her sister back on the way toContinue reading “Facing the End of Life”
Moral Equivalency and Stopping at Stop Signs
In my ethics class, I would ask, “Do you suppose that driving would be safe if no one stopped at stop signs?” They would quickly answer that driving under such circumstances would not be safe. I agreed. However, living in a world where “X = not-X” is to live in such a world. Meaning becomesContinue reading “Moral Equivalency and Stopping at Stop Signs”
Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?
We live in a world where all too often politics divides us more than unite us. If this division sparks a useful debate, it is helpful. But when it furthers the divide, which breeds hate, we have a problem. Perhaps it is by understanding the relationship between rhetoric and reality that we find the wisdomContinue reading “Rhetoric vs. Reality: Are They the same?”
Loving a Façade: The Powerful Deception of Abuse
A human being is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation that relates itself to itself or is the relation’s relating itself to itself in the relation; the self is not the relation but is the relation’s relating itself to itself. A humanContinue reading “Loving a Façade: The Powerful Deception of Abuse”
Leading the Pais (Child): A Discourse on Pedagogy
Pedagogy comes from two Greek words meaning “child” (pais) and “leader” (agōgos) from the verb “to lead” (agein). Thinker: Pedagogy. Sophist: Say what? Thinker: Pedagogy. Sophist: I know, I know. I heard you the first time. What the hell is that? Thinker: Have you gone to school? Sophist: Well yea. Can’t say that I likedContinue reading “Leading the Pais (Child): A Discourse on Pedagogy”
Overview of This Blog
Philosophy, theology, justice. Has there ever been a time that these three topics have not been intertwined? From its very inception, western philosophy has been interested in the religious and mythological claims of human beings. From Thales to Heraclitus, from Plato to Aristotle and from Stoicism to Neo-Platonism, philosophers have entertained the notion of divinityContinue reading “Overview of This Blog”