The Universe in Essays

On the third of October, the Catholic Church relieved Vatican priest Krzysztof Charamsa of his post. The decision came after a news conference during which the former priest informed the public of his relationship with another man. The Church explicitly bars any man with deep-seated homosexual attractions from being a priest and requires all priests to live a celibate life, making Charamsa a dual violation of Church teaching. After being notified of the Church’s decision, the former priest wrote a passionate letter to Pope Francis within which he condemned the Catholic Church and its treatment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Specifically, the Church is “frequently violently homophobic” and that it causes “immeasurable suffering” to homosexual Catholics. The Pope has yet to issue a response.

Prompt: Evaluate the successes and failures of peacekeeping after the First World War.   Cynically speaking – and perhaps realistically speaking as well – peace is an impossible dream, defying all attempts to achieve it. In the case of world affairs following World War I (WWI), peacekeeping was not a successful undertaking. In particular, the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, and Wilson’s Fourteen Points all failed to achieve peace between nations.

Overview: A reflective statement on Ismail Kadare's novel, Broken April . In reflective statements, we are to explain how our understanding of the culture and context within which a certain text was written has deepened as a result of Interactive Oral presentations on the text. Written: October 27th, 2015. From Interactive Oral presentations on Ismail Kadare’s novel Broken April , I have come to a deeper understanding of early twentieth century Albania. Specifically, I now see the connection between Kadare’s view of freedom on the one hand, and the text and its consummation on the other.

A United States drug company – Turing Pharmaceuticals – recently raised the price of AIDS medication by over five thousand percent, having bought the rights to the drug in August. Following public outcry, Turing promised to reduce the price, though not specifying the exact reduction. The ostensible justification for their previous move from $13.50 a pill to $750 was to use that increased profit for medical research. Martin Shkreli, the head of the company, says that his critics do not understand the pharmaceutical industry, implying that his company’s actions were not immoral or selfish, but balanced and prudent.

Question: Why did a general European war break out in 1914? Historical investigation is important because it reveals to us our past mistakes and how we might avoid them in the future. Determining the cause of World War I is necessary for this very reason: we ought to know how it came about so as not to repeat it. Imperialism – the policy of acquiring and holding colonies to extend the authority of an empire – explains why a general European war broke out in 1914. Other causes of war (e.g., nationalism and militarism) did exist, but were not decisive nor effectual on their own.

Philosophical naturalism is the thesis that the physical world is all there is – no God, no angels, and no soul. Literary naturalism is the effort to portray human action in animalistic terms. The latter is likely an outgrowth of the former. From Interactive Oral presentations on Emile Zola’s novel, Thérèse Raquin , I have come to see how literary naturalism developed in nineteenth century France, and how this development shaped Zola’s work in two ways: his characterization of women and his psychology of human beings.

Revolutions are not about corrupt governments or wicked kings; revolutions are about ideas. In 1966, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution to ingrain Communist ideals in Chinese life and culture. Ji-Li Jiang, in Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution , recounts her experience of that social upheaval in order to bear witness to the suffering she  endured under Mao’s regime. If Jiang had scrapped a memoir in favor of a persuasive essay, the book’s power would have been lost, and Jiang’s witness weakened as a result.

Question - "On the issue of the Bible being divinely inspired, how do we know it wasn't meant to be a story to teach children to be good, and not truly god's word?" - Louis. Answer - I am going to use your question, Louis, as an opportunity to develop my thoughts on the gospels alone. Trying to tackle the whole Bible is too big a task for one article. Indeed, whole libraries have been written on the subject! So let us narrow our focus to the four biblical gospels.

Abstract: Did the spread of Christianity lead to the downfall of Rome, and the corresponding "Dark Ages" that lasted for the next thousand years? Bruce and I exchange a few thoughts on this frequently heard claim. Throughout the dialogue, I flesh out two reasons to conclude that the Christian religion, whatever else it might have given to Rome, did not lead to its destruction: (1) the Byzantine empire was predominately Christian, and yet endured for a thousand years, and (2) Christianity is a missionary religion.  My friend Louis and I engage in a few final remarks. Written: July 2015.

Jack  - My claim was not that the majority of philosophers were atheistic moral realists. I said atheism and moral realism were both majority positions, and that many of the main contemporary defenders of moral realism are atheists. There are clearly a great many philosophers who are both atheists and moral realists, if the two were incompatible I would really expect the experts to have noticed.

Abstract: If there were no God, would morality still bind our lives? Would moral duties still guide our actions, and moral values provide goals to strive for? It is my contention that they would not. If God does not exist, an objective moral standard do not exist. By  " objective", one means something like, "valid and binding independently of human opinion." To say that rape is objectively wrong, for instance, is to say that it is wrong to rape another person, whether or not anyone actually thinks that it is. My claim is that if atheism is true, morality cannot exist so-defined. If I am on the right track here, then if God does not exist, genuine moral progress among the world's cultures cannot occur either. But if we think that moral progress does take place, we will conclude that God exists. Below is a conversation I had with an atheist thinker about these reflections on God and morality. Written: June 2015.

Written: June 2015. Question -  I like your genuine pursuit, however there is a fundamental flaw with the process in which you have taken to address my issues, unfortunately; the so called 'infallible word of god' has books that are stolen essentially. Some passages in proverbs, some phrases Jesus has said 'love everyone like yourself' as well as the book of genesis were all clear rip offs of historical books.

Abstract: I love discussing philosophy and religion on online forums. Not only is it an opportunity to develop my communication skills, but it helps me to see how far I've come in my studies. I recently discussed the moral argument for the existence of God with someone who had (what they took to be) some serious objections. Below is my interlocutor's post, and my response. Written: June 2015. Objections -  Hey guys, where I'm at right now I don't endorse the moral argument. Because of this debate between William Lane Craig and Stephen Law (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7FhphWDokA) I believe that Craig's best-outreaching argument based on moral absolutes is isn't sound. Law brought up good points, and because of his objections, (not to mention Craig saying other places that we can say that God's goodness is also established in the moral argument that then flatly denying it here) have led me to believe that the moral argument isn't sound. I reall...

Prompt: To what extent did Peter the Great change Russian society? Written: May 2015 Peter the Great (1672-1735), towering over his peers at nearly seven feet, was one of the most influential Tsars of all time. Prior to his reign, Russia was steeped in economic downturn, rampant poverty, and widespread famine. [1] Under Peter’s direction, Russia was pulled out of its medieval stupor, westernized in every conceivable way, and transformed into a power to be reckoned with. Specifically, Peter the Great revolutionized Russian society through domestic, military, and government reforms.

Abstract: Fiction embodies religion and philosophy just as much as any other human creation. Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is no exception. Detailed analysis of the beliefs of ex-preacher Jim Casy shows that Steinbeck creates the character of Casy to serve as an advocate for his (Steinbeck's) philosophical persuasions; namely, atheistic humanism. The atheistic humanist worldview is critiqued and found wanting. Written: May 2015

Abstract: This is the second installment of my commentary on The Grapes of Wrath. I touch on the question of where intolerance truly springs from, and the proper way of overcoming it. Religion is brought into the discussion as an application of the conclusion reached. Written: April 20th, 2015. Pages: 151-152.

Abstract:  This is the first installment of several literary commentaries I've written on Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath . It explores the long-term consequences of refusing to help others when they need it most. The conclusion is reached that even from a self-centered point of view, it is in one's best interests to help others (for whatever that's worth). Written: April 19th, 2015. Pages: 86-87.

Background Information - Philosopher William Lane Craig has developed and defended an argument for the existence of God based on moral considerations. He argues that God is the best explanation for objective moral values and duties. To say that some value or duty is objective  is to say that it is valid and binding whether or not anyone believes it to be so. For example, to say that murder is objectively wrong is to say that it is wrong to murder someone, whether or not anyone actually thinks that it is; the wrongness of murder is independent of opinion. Craig maintains that if God does not exist, moral values and duties cannot be objective in this sense. If we think that there are objective values and duties, then we will conclude that God exists.

Written: April 1st, 2015. Abstract: Having recently written an extensive essay where I argue that all world religions cannot be true [1], my good friend Bruce interacted with the arguments therein and provided me the opportunity to expand my thoughts and augment the essay with considerations about Eastern religions in particular, and how they relate to Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) more generally. Below is an edited transcript of our dialogue (originally in text message format, believe it or not). I end with a reflection on the quality of our discussion.

Written: March 29th, 2015. Abstract: Were the earliest Christians liars and deceivers? Did they dupe the whole world into believing something they knew was false? In any case, can this suggestion be disproven? Herein I address the so-called conspiracy hypothesis: roughly, the idea that early Christians made everything up (out of thin air, presumably) about Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection. I argue that not only is there no evidence for this claim, but there are many and varied reasons to reject it.

Written: March 2015 Prompt: Please select 2-3 International Baccalaureate Learning Profile Traits that you think are the most important for students to exhibit. Discuss why you believe those traits are most important and create a plan for how we can better foster the development of those particular traits as a school. Too many people go through life day after day, their only concern making it to the next day. They survive; they do not live. It is the pride of International Baccalaureate schools that they aim to produce students who do not merely survive, but truly live. They do this through the IB learner profile, a series of characteristics that represent the ideal life-long learner. By cultivating these traits, one moves beyond the daily grind of survival into real meaning. One need only list those attributes to be convinced: inquirer, knowledgeable, communicator, open-minded, caring, and so forth. While the above is not a controversial thesis, it is a matter of debate whic...

Written: February 12th, 2015; revised March 1st, 2015. Prompt: In what ways does Sophocles' Oedipus the King represent the perfect tragedy, as understood by Aristotle? While perfection cannot be tragic, tragedies can be perfect. Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is the perfect tragedy. In it, he outlines the events surrounding and befalling the great king of Thebes, Oedipus. Oedipus the King exemplifies at least three features of Aristotle’s perfect tragedy: plot, characterization, and diction.

Written: February 2015 Prompt: Compare and contrast two ancient civilizations. Every civilization on Earth, no matter the distance in space or time, has commonalities with every other civilization. This should come as no surprise, for humans, despite what they may think, are more alike than different. Consider two civilization in particular: China and Rome. Roman civilization came into being in the seventh century B.C. with the founding of the city by the same name, and Chinese civilization developed in the seventeenth century B.C. China and Rome, sharing the same continent of Eurasia, had comparatively similar religious and political systems, but differing economies.

Written: February 2015 Abstract:  There is no surer way to start an argument or end a friendship than by bringing up religion. Religion speaks to the deepest needs of the human heart, so a natural defensiveness results when others question one’s own religious afflictions. Moreover, religion is taken to be a subjective phenomenon, leading to the common belief that all religions are equally true.   It is argued that this under-standing of the nature of religion, and the resulting implication, is fundamentally mistaken. The paper ends with a consideration of how people might come to know which of the world’s many religious traditions is true.

Written: February 2015 Originally Published: Half Measures: Chemical Reactions: Elemental Analysis . As a certain wise man wise once said, elemental analysis is not the sexiest thing around. But is a very necessary thing. Learn it, and then you can move onto more interesting concepts. In short, elemental analysis is the determining of the empirical and molecular formulas for some compound. We'll examine each of these in turn.

Written: December 2014 As daunting as quantum numbers may seem, they needn't be. Simply put, they are a relatively simple method of classifying electrons. Many analogies have been used to help explain what quantum numbers are and how they describe the electron (e.g., comparing them to a hotel, describing them as a city, etc.). The problem with this approach is, each analogy becomes overly complex in order to maintain similarity to the actual situations quantum numbers describe. So, no analogies will be presented here.

Written: February 4th, 2015. Prompt: Is Globalization helping to develop the poorer parts of the world or is it creating a larger gap between rich nations and poor nations? Today, rich nations are getting richer and poor nations poorer. The problem with answering the question of whether globalization is helping the situation is two-fold. First, helping is an ambiguous term. If a country develops economically as a result of globalization, but loses its cultural identity, would globalization still be said to have helped that nation? In other words, are we talking about strict economic help, or broader conceptions of aid and support? Second, the question presents a sharp dichotomy between good and bad; either globalization is good for developing nations, or it is not. But clearly this leaves out the position that globalization helps some developing nations, but not others. It very well may be the case that some "middle path" between these two extremes is the more plausible ...

Written: December 2014. Prompt: Which philosophical and historical foundation most influenced the American political system? Everything that happens does so because it is part of a causal chain, a chain that stretches back to the very beginning of time. The American political system is no exception. Three historical foundations or causes of said system were the English Bill of Rights, the system of thought established by John Locke, and Baron de Montesquieu and his argument in The Spirit of the Laws. Montesquieu takes pride of place as the most influential of the three.

Written: November 19th, 2014. Prompt: How have the principles embodied in the Constitution shaped the structure and roles of the three branches of government? Every nation, power, principality, people, or society can hope to endure only if they are based on a set of principles that unify their respective parts into one whole. The branches of the United States government meet this criterion of hope. The principle of popular sovereignty is exemplified in the legislative branch, judicial review in the judicial branch, and checks and balances in the executive branch.

Written: January 13th, 2015. Poem: Lavinia Greenlaw's "A World Where News Traveled Slowly" - accessible here . Nature has brought with it consequences that threaten to envelope the human heart. In her poem, "A World Where News Traveled Slowly", Lavinia Greenlaw distinguishes three stages in the history of communicating information. First, speaking face to face. Second, circulating information via towers strung along a mountain range (i.e., semaphore). Third, corresponding instantly through technology. From these epochs in information-sharing's history, Greenlaw argues that instant communication promises to bring the world to ruins, indicated by the tone and purpose of the work.

Written: January 15th, 2015 Poem: Harold Witt's "The Hawk" - Accessible here  (page 4). Nature guarantees the impossibility of perfect equality. There will always be differences in mental, physical, and emotional capacities. In his poem, “The Hawk”, Harold Witt focuses in on one instance of this inevitable inequality: a hawk and his prey. Through this illustration, Witt implies that, even though the powerful may oppress those underneath them, the weak and impotent can still prevail.

Abstract: This is the second part of my correspondence with my good friend, Mr. L. A. Mitchell, over his original argument for atheism. Read the first installment, "General Relativity Proves What, You Say?: A Response to L. A. Mitchell", for necessary background. Written: September 9th, 2013.

Abstract: A good friend of mine wrote an articulate, well formulated argument for atheism. Given our shared interest in philosophy in general and the philosophy of religion in particular, we decided to write a series of essays discussing the merits of his argument. I began by writing a refutation of his "entailment argument" for atheism, which is reproduced here. Written: August 28th, 2013.

Abstract: Holocaust denial is on the rise, and demands a careful, articulate response. I review the evidence for and against the occurrence of the Holocaust, demonstrating the historical validity of the three major facets of the Holocaust: (1) gas chambers used for murder, (2) the death of 6,000,000 Jews, and (3) the intentionality of (1) and (2) on the part of Nazi Germany. Written:  May 5th, 2014.

Abstract:  The kalam cosmological argument is a profound argument for the existence of God, based on the beginning of the universe. It has been my experience that all of philosophy folds into itself in this one argument. Theories of time, the nature of infinity, scientific models of the universe, quantum fluctuations, and the nature of personhood arise in the narrative of this cosmological argument. Below is a presentation of the argument, in general outline. Written: December 29th, 2014 - January 13th, 2015.

Written: November 2015 Type atom into Google images  and many "facts" are gathered about the nature of the atom:  Electrons, much like planets, orbit the nucleus of the atom. The constituents of an atom are all relatively the same size. All electrons orbit the nucleus from the same distance. The sad truth is, all of these "facts" are false. But this begs the question: if this understanding of the atom is incorrect, why are so many people taught it? The answer is simply that it's a more readily understandable model of the atom than what scientists are now putting forth. But it's time people learn the truth, because the reality of the situation is far more spectacular.

Written: October 8th, 2014. Humanity is separated from most everything else in the universe, not by size or beauty, but by intrinsic value and worth, something that inheres itself in each and every human being. It is on this basis that mankind’s unalienable rights may be founded. Federalists, those who supported the ratification of the Constitution, and anti-Federalists, those who did not, accepted this truth. But one of the many questions debated between them was whether or not the Constitution should include a comprehensive statement of those rights, a Bill of Rights. The anti-Federalists presented stronger, more persuasive arguments for their position, as Congress later came to agree.

Written: October 27th, 2014. Poem: Robert Shaw's "In the Rear-View Mirror" - Accessible here , page 4. Life has given humanity only one guarantee: at some point in time, every individual will have to say goodbye to someone they love. Or so it would seem. In the poem, “In the Rear-View Mirror”, by Robert Shaw, the speaker presents the idea that, even though one is powerless to prevent people from leaving one’s life, they are never truly gone. The circularity and retrospective angle from which the poem is recited, the long, flowing sentence structure and diction of the poem, and the metaphor of a rear-view mirror come together to construct this idea. 

Written: January 25th, 2015 Poem: Alexandra Fuller's "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" - accessible here , page 6. No one is guaranteed success and well-being in the world. Poverty, homelessness, and pay-check to pay-check living prove this. In his fictional work, “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight”, Alexandra Fuller describes the typical course of a selling-day for tobacco farmers. Through this description, Fuller implies that such a farmer’s physical and mental well-being is dependent upon their economic success. She utilizes three literary devices to get her message across: tone, imagery, and characterization. 

Written: February 1st, 2015 Poem: Dudly Randall's "Ballad of Birmingham" - accessible here . The most tragic fact about slavery is this: the strongest obstacle to its end is the slave himself. In his poem, “Ballad of Birmingham”, Dudly Randall traces the events that unfold around an African American girl and her mother on the day of Freedom March in Birmingham, Alabama. From these events, Randall suggests that it is better to march for one’s freedom in the face of death, than sit in the House of God a slave. From irony, imagery, and a purposeful structure, Randall weaves this message.