A Writer’s Choice
TEN BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE WAY I THINK
ReadAuthor: Julian Baggini
Would a message from God pass these Catholic rules on revelation?
Herein contains what we might call the paradox of revelation. As its meaning makes clear, you can’t have a “revelation” that tells everyone what they already know. However, having established a religion on those revelations, the teachings revealed through them become non-negotiable, and the ecclesiastical authorities become the arbiters of their interpretation. And so that means no further revelation is admissible if it contradicts what is already believed. Revelation of radical new truths, if accepted as real, thus makes future revelation of radical new truths impossible. To put it another way, what was absolutely valid for the establishing of a religion becomes by necessity invalid once it already exists.
ReadAre we addicted to addiction?
Addiction is a vague term and professionals usually prefer to talk about dependence. Still, whatever word you use, somewhere between champagne truffles and crack cocaine a line is crossed. But where?. Whether we have free will or not, there is an important difference between choosing to have a coffee and being consumed by the need to shoot heroin.
ReadBrain games
Be prepared for the information about to enter your brain via your retina to cause neuronal firings that will result in the raising of your eyebrows: a leading neuroscientist has declared that that we are not mere collections of atoms, nor just biological machines. According to Sebastian Seung, the self is a non-material entity. The 21st-century soul, however, is not some strange ghost in the machine. It’s information. You are, in effect, a piece of software running on the wetware in your skull…
ReadShould we complain more or less?
Think of people you know who have refused to back down on a complaint because “it’s the principle”. They may be right and they may be able to win. But the effort of complaining and following through can demean even the most righteous of complainants. Sometimes, we should shirk even a good fight, because we don’t want to become bitter.
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