I could not end this series without touching on these two topics for completion. As I pondered how to do that, even these parting topics had spinoffs, such as how do we find truth to start with (epistemology)? But I will let that go for now. Certainty In most religious sects, certainty is not only…

In 1992 I listened to a remarkable lecture titled, Possible Answers to Basic Philosophical Questions. Dr. Schaeffer, the presenter, had made the point in an earlier lecture that philosophy is really a remarkably simple discipline because, unlike biology or physics, there are only a handful of questions and an equal number of possible answers. The…

A few weeks ago I was the brunt of someone’s anger. It was one of those situations where you step into a stranger’s line of fire . . . and it had nothing to do with you. Now, I don’t even remember what it was about. But I started thinking afterwards, that we who live…

I tell these stories, not because I think they are unique to me. It is not about “my journey” but about the human condition. I tell them because I’ve observed them and like a correspondent, I want to write about the experience because I think many others have had the same. A good friend and…

The Art and Science of Religious Intolerance To fully address tolerance, I believe we must look carefully at the substance of intolerance. I used the term “art” in the title, not implying a positive trait, but how we work creatively to dress up or decorate our intolerances to make them more palatable. Within the variety…

 One of my favorite movies of all times was Awakenings. It was my favorite for several reasons. It was based on a semi-autobiographical novel written by Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and brilliant writer. I knew his work well as I spent 38 years in neurology. I also loved the movie because it featured Robin…

I am still working on part II of my article on Pluralism, Relativism, and Tolerance. The part II will deal with tolerance by looking at its counterpart, intolerance. To heighten your interest, I will disclose that I have decided to be very specific for the sake of example, and that is looking at the psychological…

A long time ago, I attended a philosophical lecture with the same title as this piece. While I don’t remember all the details, the way the speaker approached this topic left a lasting impression on me. I am writing about this now out of my continuing concern about our collective loss of truth. This loss…

It is only fair, since you dear folks bore with me during the times I was contemplating putting a bullet through my head, that when there are times of good news that I should share that too. First of all, I reported in January that my cancer had a sudden surge (one of about about…

I posted recently that I was looking for beta readers for my new novel Retribution (pre-published). I had an outpouring of interests from all walks of life, which make a good “focus group.” I have 45 people signed up for this project. I have plenty of help in this, so thank you for considering it!