Thinker Sensitive

In this installment of the Weekly, Ryan diagnoses the pitfalls of defining success by and basing self-worth on contemporary standards, providing practical recommendations and giving encouragement to those who may be struggling with insecurity and a lack of self esteem in a digital age. " Many young people live in a world where self-esteem and self-worth are predicated upon social media affirmation...

Ryan releases an updated trailer that succinctly sums up the nature, character, vision, and goal of Thinker Sensitive. About Ryan, Host of Thinker Sensitive : Ryan Ragozine is the host of Thinker Sensitive . He is passionate about ecumenical dialogue, inter-religious dialogue, and worldview engagement. He is a major proponent of civil discourse, free thinking, free speech, and ethical communicatio...

On this week's episode, Ryan explains why all people—regardless of whether one is religious or not—are people of faith. " We tend to have a very limited and narrow understanding of the concept of faith. In a reductionistic way, we typically only apply this category to those who are religious. Faith only applies to the religious person; only the religious person has faith. We hold so many assumptio...

In this week's episode, Ryan discusses the relationship between faith and reason, explaining why he personally doesn't see them as enemies, but as friends. " Though I don’t believe that faith and reason are mutually exclusive and intrinsically opposed to one another, I do believe that faith can be detached from reason. Faith can be blind or it can be supported by reason. Blind faith is the culprit...

On this week's episode, Ryan delves into the relationship between Christianity and conspiracy theories and religion and delusional thinking. Although Ryan does not believe that there is a necessary connection between faith and delusion, he does think that there are some reasons why religious people have a tendency to accept conspiracy theories. " I believe in the classical and ecumenical truths of...

On today's installment of The Weekly, Ryan discusses the topic of justice. But instead of focusing on issues of activism and social justice, Ryan centers his attention on justice in thought and speech, which he believes is every bit as important as social justice. " To think justly and communicate justly, to embody these values, is to participate with the Spirit of God in the world, the same Spiri...

On this week's episode, Ryan delves into the topic of finding common ground and highlights the importance of volunteering and public service. " How do we find common ground in such a radically diverse society? Why should we care about common ground? What positive consequences stem from finding common ground and what negative consequences follow from ignoring it?" About Ryan, Host of Thinker Sensit...

Why is self-interest harmful to democracies? Why is the pursuit of the common good such an integral part of healthy democratic societies? Is it even possible today to talk about a “common good”? And how does all of this relate to our contemporary American context? These are the tough questions that we will be tackling on this week's episode! " I truly wonder, much to the chagrin of the original de...

Why do we have such a strong tendency to focus on what divides us instead of on what unites us? How do we overcome such a negative tendency? How should we approach difference? And how do we foster unity? These are the tough questions that we will be tackling on this week's episode! " The issue lies not so much in the differences themselves nor in the mere recognition of the differences, but in our...

In this installment of The Weekly, Ryan discusses the importance of practicing what we preach, detailing many benefits on both a personal and social level.  " When I express a value for an ideal or stand up for a cause through some form or medium of communication but don’t live into the ideal or take action for the cause, I am preaching without practicing. This is also a working definition for 'vi...

On this installment of The Weekly, Ryan delves into the various causes of inconsistent thinking and demonstrates why coherence is something that we should all care about. " Everyone has a worldview—whether it is subconscious or conscious, implicit or explicit, developed or undeveloped, detailed or undetailed. A worldview is an overarching view of life, an eco-system of belief—including opinions on...

In this installment of the Weekly, Ryan distinguishes between cultural Christianity and authentic Christianity, defining the relationship between Christianity and Jesus Christ and ultimately resolving on the primacy of love and forgiveness in the Christian faith. " If I have the audacity to claim Christ, to use his name as my own, then I better be able to love and forgive incessantly—over and over...

On this Weekly episode, Ryan discusses the nature and character of extremism, looking at various forms of radicalism and asking the tough question: Is extremism always bad? " See, political and religious extremists would kill for their beliefs, whereas Christian extremists would die for their beliefs. This is a radicalism of a wholly different nature. All of us are going to die one day; our finitu...

Is intolerance always inappropriate and uncalled for? Are there times when intolerance is actually warranted? Is it ever morally right or ethically good to be intolerant? These are the tough questions that we will tackle on this episode! " Tolerance, what we call 'true tolerance' (tolerance in the midst of disagreement; tolerance of divergent opinions; tolerance that runs in both directions; recip...

Are all judgments bad? Are all criticisms unwarranted? Is it possible to speak about good judgments? If so, are such judgments important or even necessary at times? What’s the difference between good criticism and bad criticism? These are the tough questions that we will be tackling in this episode! " Contemporary society is loaded with criticism. It almost seems like the majority of our self-expr...

In the final episode, Ryan analyzes the standards and criteria that we use to evaluate truth claims and moral propositions, questioning why religious criteria, propositions, ideas, and worldviews have been pushed out of the public square. " I am a firm believer in an inclusive, rational competition of ideas: let the best ideas & best arguments—not just simply about God, but about everything—wi...

In the seventh episode, Ryan tackles the topic of online censorship, providing examples and presenting some possible solutions. " But we are concerned about the discretion that exists at the hands of these platforms, and we advocate for greater transparency for the public to understand how Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., make decisions that affect their individual online expression." -Suzanne...

In the sixth episode of the season, Ryan diagnoses the various forms of censorship, coercion, and discrimination in contemporary society, providing a nuanced understanding of free thinking and free speech. " Censorship on both the corporate and social levels is often done in the name of 'tolerance, inclusivism, diversity, coexistence,' and yet far too often the censorship in question directly oppo...

In the fifth episode of our season on simplemindedness, Ryan, with the help of "The Social Dilemma" Netflix documentary, discusses the issue of algorithmic bias.   " The current online landscape doesn’t create balance; it doesn’t create inclusivity, diversity, tolerance, openness, or unity. Instead, it opposes these things. It makes us more biased, more partisan, more closed-minded, more hostile &...

In the fourth episode of our new season, Ryan uncovers the many different forms of bias that are prevalent in our society today; critiques contemporary tribalism; and offers some advice and encouragement.  " The idea that we should provide for our families at all cost, that we should always put our friends and families first—which is often representative of an 'us or them' or even 'us vs. them' me...

In the third installment of our season entitled, "The Simpleminded Society," Ryan deconstructs human objectivity, displaying the negative consequences that flow from it, and reconstructs a working understanding of human subjectivity, demonstrating its many advantages. " All human knowledge is a synthesis of subject & object. No one gets to the object in an unmediated manner; no one retrieves t...

In the second episode of our new season, Ryan offers a critique of black and white, polarized thinking; argues that centrists and moderates are becoming more rare and more disliked in our society; and calls for mediation, bridge-building, and peacemaking. " Thinker Sensitive is a podcast with many values. One of our central values is mediation, and this podcast will continually try to model true m...

In the first episode of our season entitled, "The Simpleminded Society," we argue that the question of truth should be elevated above the question of offense; we define simplemindedness; we provide several examples of it in contemporary society; we detail the way of the true philosopher; and we provide practical tips on how to overcome simplemindedness. " One important lesson that I have learned,...

In this edition of The Weekly, Ryan provides 7 practical tips for maintaining and developing friendships amidst profound disagreement. " Dealing with disagreements well really revolves around this classical ethical imperative that we call the 'Golden Rule': treat others the way that you want to be treated; engage with others the way that you would want to be engaged with; disagree with others the...

In the third episode of our new weekly segment, Ryan reads through and comments on an article that he wrote on the limitless and boundless power of love. The original article was entitled, "The Rule of Love: The Hope of the World." " Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate c...