Sunday, March 21, 2010

First Things

Motivated by some discussions last fall and an unusually light class load this semester, I've been reading through quite a few philosophical and theological books -- slightly different from my normal, politically-themed reading. Some of the ideas I found struck me as interesting enough to bring up in conversation. Many led to thought-provoking conversations, and after receiving several suggestions, I've decided to start posting some of the ideas that have proven to be the most intriguing. Such topics include logic, truth, God, and morality, some of which are often seen as unrelated or even contradictory.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm no expert, and the self-taught nature of my reading in this area is apt to lead to many flaws. Still, all the conversations I've had have been, at the least, mutually beneficial. Hopefully this blog will have a similar result.

As a side note, there will still likely be random posts about politics, games, books, academia, and other random subjects. Reader beware?

3 comments:

  1. I'm really happy you're doing this! My medical studies keep me busy enough that I have only a very cursory knowledge of many of the political/theological topics I'd like to know more about. Thus, my blog tends to sing to the tune of, "Hmm, I wonder what position I should have about X issue?" Looking forward to the good stuff you churn out!

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  2. Matt,

    That's primarily what is driving my reading. Something along the lines of "If I believe X to be true, then what is the logically consistent position to take on issue Y?" I guess you could call this "philosophical integration" or "internal consistency". Interesting thing definitely turn up when you start to test each of your own sets of beliefs for consistency with each other...

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  3. Mmhmm. "Cognitive Dissonance" is like the theme of my life :)

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