As we saw in the introduction to the Everyday Excellence challenge, deliberative humility is one of the basic excellences of mind. Superficially, this is the excellence of being open to the possibility that we don’t have all the answers. But if we don’t have all the answers, then what should we do?On this first day […]
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Everyday Excellence
Are you up for a philosophical challenge? Great — let’s go! Excellencifying isn’t about superhuman feats of excellence; it’s about cultivating daily habits of acting and thinking that lead to excellence. I’m introducing a monthly challenge to cultivate everyday excellence. Our first series of challenges are about excellences of mind. Let’s start by defining excellences […]
Continue ReadingI know how you feel
Knowledge, narrative, and insight Have you ever shared one of your experiences and got a hearty “I know just how you feel!” in reply? Were you skeptical that your conversation partner actually did know how you feel? Because of what we share, we are tempted into believing that we know more about each other’s experience […]
Continue ReadingNathanael’s Attitude
Before we continue, I have a brief assignment: Have another look at yesterday’s gospel reading, John 1:43-51. Pay particular attention to Nathanael. Ready? Let’s dive in. Did Jesus’ comment about Nathanael strike you? “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Surely that’s a compliment when it comes from no less a […]
Continue ReadingBelief Formation
Most of us haven’t given much thought to the way we acquire our beliefs, but this is a hot topic for philosophers like me, mainly because we’d like to know how to go about forming beliefs that are grounded and good for us. Essentially, the way people form beliefs is a lot like the way […]
Continue ReadingHabits
The new year marks a season of expectation, guilt, and failure brought on by one of the curses of our primate nature, the New Year’s Resolution. It’s been decades since I joked that my new year’s resolution was to give up making any. I encourage you to join me, and I’ll give you a very […]
Continue ReadingPrimate Science
Science as progressive lying Much has been made in recent news of Anthony Fauci’s “deceit,” and to be honest, the whole story brought to mind my granny, alas now deceased. I loved my granny dearly, and she doted on me, her first grandchild, from as far back as my memory extends. Nevertheless, my affection for […]
Continue ReadingEmptiness
A memorial for 2020 The beginning of a new year always seems full of promise, and the first day of 2021 tempts us to close the door on 2020, a year of disappointment, loss, and suffering for so many, and on such a scale. Before you close that door, think along with me about how […]
Continue ReadingExpect the Unexpected
“Expect the unexpected, or you will not find it — it cannot be searched for or found out.” This is one of my favorite quotations from the presocratic philosopher, Herakleitos. It’s a paradox: How do you know what to expect if it’s unexpected? And if you somehow manage to expect the unexpected, it’s no longer […]
Continue ReadingThanksgiving
To say that this has been a period of extraordinary upheaval would be the understatement of the year. We’ve dealt with the immediate crises of the pandemic: changing our routines, adjusting to anxiety, working through the challenges of activities that used to be simple. Briefly, we’ve worked very hard just to make it work. In this season […]
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