Red Letter Philosophy

"You must wager. There is no choice, you are already committed", wrote Blaise Pascal. In this, our final episode devoted to Pascal, we contemplate Pascal's most influential philosophical essay, namely, The Wager. Does it make sense to wager that God is real? Does it make sense to wager on the life of belief? Pascal wrote, "learn from those who were once bound like you and who now wager all they ha...

What is the appeal of Halloween?  Is it candy?  Is it parties?  Is it scantily dressed women?  Is it fantasy?  Perhaps its appeal can be attributed to something else?  In "The Tomb", H.P. Lovecraft wrote that, "There is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal."  Perhaps the appeal of Halloween lies in our intuition that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal, be...

Pascal wrote that, "the whole cause of a man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room."  He also wrote that, "being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things."  In this episode, we look at why we find it so hard to sit quietly in our rooms; we look at why we decided to not think about such...

In our day, have we sacrificed wisdom for science?  Understanding for calculation?  Mystery for problem solving? Perhaps this is partly why we have eyes but cannot see, and have ears but cannot hear.  On today's episode of Red Letter Philosophy we contemplate the mystery of reason and reason's impotence.

In this episode we continue our contemplation of Pascal, The Wise. Is it true that "curiosity is only vanity"? Is it true that "a trifle consoles us because a trifle upsets us?" Are our troubles fundamentally spiritual in nature? All this, and more, in this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.

Blaise Pascal was a scientist, philosopher, and mystic. He was one of the most profound thinkers to have ever lived. One cannot read Pascal and come away unchanged. In this episode we hope to prove that.

Summer's almost gone. Throughout the Summer we have talked life, logic, and love. This week we sum it all up with a laugh. "They" say life imitates art; or is that art imitates life? Either way, this week we look at the spirits of the age as depicted in popular culture. We give you The Office and philosophy.

Ideally our hearts and minds align.  But, unfortunately, on this side of the veil these two faculties of perception are often divided.  One of the spirits of our age seems to be the spirit of feelings or psychology. In this episode we dialogue about the elevation of feelings and their disastrous consequences.

Some politicians, professors and activists talk about the "right side of history". This idea is loaded with assumptions about the nature of history. Does history have meaning? Does it have a meaning beyond the actions of individuals? What is it? Pull up a chair, have a drink... let's talk.

We continue our discussion of the spirits of the age. In this episode we discuss the notion of "lived experience." Is the idea of "lived experience" coherent? Is there only "my truth" and never the truth? Are we imprisoned in a solipsistic reality of our own making? No, no, and no. Pull up a chair, have a drink, and contemplate life and meaning with Red Letter Philosophy.

We've ditched the usual format for the Summer. in this, the inaugural episode of our "backstage" shows, your intractable hosts, Soz and Mot, ring in the Summer by discussing life, logic, and the spirit of the age.

What do the American Revolution, Patrick Henry, and Harry Potter have in common? Does the spirit of Patrick Henry endure or have we, like Harry Potter and the mirror of Erised, fallen into a dreamy and paralyzing hope? Get the answer to these questions and celebrate the American Revolution on the annual 4th of July episode of Red Letter Philosophy.

Marcus Aurelius may have been the only philosopher-king in history. In today's episode we contemplate the fatherly advise of the philosopher-king. What does it mean to be a father? What does it mean to be manly? Why does it matter? These questions and more on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.

"This is the end, beautiful friend" - James Morrison. All endings may be deaths, but not all deaths are endings. And so it it is with this episode. We say goodbye to season three and our focus on beauty. We will always incorporate beauty into our episodes, but it won't be our focus after this episode. So, today we discuss love, beauty, and death. Three doors in the walls of the world.

In this, the penultimate episode of season three, we finish our discussion of Kant's philosophy of beauty. In this discussion, we come to see that through the contemplation of beauty, our powers of perception are deepened. We come to see that not all of reality can be captured in utilitarian and materialist terms.

In this episode we honor those who died in military service to their country. We reflect upon the thoughts of Pascal, who said "When I consider the brief span of my life… I take fright and am amazed to see myself here rather than there… Who put me here? By whose command and act were this time and place allotted to me?" Today we reflect upon the sacrifice of our beloved dead. Today is For the Falle...

A few episodes ago we put out a show titled, "What Aquinas Said".  In that episode we laid out Thomas Aquinas' understanding of beauty.  Aquinas was the greatest Medieval philosopher. In today's episode we contemplate what the greatest Modern philosopher, Immanuel Kant, said about beauty.  With Kant we may have a change of approach.  From Plato to Aquinas we talk about beauty, but in Kant we talk...

Welcome to our second annual Mother's Day episode. Join us as we meditate on the meaning of motherhood through poetry and prose. To quote G.K. Chesterton: "How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe?" How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someon...

In this episode we finish pondering an insight of Gene Simmons', namely, that there is a difference between what tastes good and good taste. What does it say about our world that there is a difference between good and bad taste? What does it say about us? Come with us as we enter the realm of the objective but immaterial.

Discussions of beauty, especially in our day, are often discussed in terms of taste.  Taste, it is assumed, is a purely subjective thing.  However, in this episode we contemplate a proposition proffered by Gene Simmons, namely, that there is a difference between what tastes good and good taste.  Dig it.

The title of this week's episode comes from the title of a book by Bishop Robert Barron. C. S. Lewis wrote, "This is our dilemma - either to taste and not to know of to know and not to taste." In this episode we seek to bridge knowledge and taste by contemplating the architecture of the great Gothic cathedrals. In this contemplation we come to understand Thomas Aquinas, whom we met in the previous...

"Then a shriek went up like the world's last cry From all nations under heaven, And a master fell before a slave And begged to be forgiven." So wrote G. K. Chesterton. A poetic reflection upon the meaning of Easter, on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy. Happy Easter.

In this episode we ask an empirical question: as we encounter beauty in this world, do we notice any patterns? Are there characteristics that all, or most, beautiful things posses? We take up this question with the greatest of Medieval philosophers, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Integrity, harmony, and clarity: this week on Red Letter Philosophy.

Escaping enslavement by the Irish, Patrick returns to his former captors, not for revenge; but liberation. Some reflections on St. Patrick on today's special episode of Red Letter Philosophy.

Beauty, we have learned, cannot be completely subjective. She resists attempts to reduce her to material phenomena and scientific analysis. In today's episode we make explicit what has been implicit in our previous episodes, namely, the argument from beauty.