Podcast appearances and mentions of Richard Dawkins

*Math in Nature: It turns out human cells exhibit a mathematical pattern also seen elsewhere in ecology. For more on math in nature see rsr.org/math. *Evolutionists' Admissions: For years evolutionists such as Richard Dawkins claimed the eye was a “bad” design wired “backwards”. Now some evolutionists are agreeing with creationists that it's a bunch of baloney and the eye is “almost perfect”. *Pirate Spiders, Masters of Trickery and Deception: Costa Rican pirate spider tricks its prey to “walk the plank” into a trap. *Big-headed Snakes: Natural Selection or Ingenious Engineering? – RSR supports ICR's Continuous Environmental Tracking over CMI's appeal to natural selection. *Math in Nature: It turns out human cells exhibit a mathematical pattern also seen elsewhere in ecology. For more on math in nature see rsr.org/math. *Evolutionists' Admissions: For years evolutionists such as Richard Dawkins claimed the eye was a “bad” design wired “backwards”. Now some evolutionists are agreeing with creationists that it's a bunch of baloney and the eye is “almost perfect”. *Pirate Spiders, Masters of Trickery and Deception: Costa Rican pirate spider tricks its prey to “walk the plank” into a trap. *Big-headed Snakes: Natural Selection or Ingenious Engineering? – RSR supports ICR's Continuous Environmental Tracking over CMI's appeal to natural selection.

*Math in Nature: It turns out human cells exhibit a mathematical pattern also seen elsewhere in ecology. For more on math in nature see rsr.org/math. *Evolutionists' Admissions: For years evolutionists such as Richard Dawkins claimed the eye was a “bad” design wired “backwards”. Now some evolutionists are agreeing with creationists that it's a bunch of baloney and the eye is “almost perfect”. *Pirate Spiders, Masters of Trickery and Deception: Costa Rican pirate spider tricks its prey to “walk the plank” into a trap. *Big-headed Snakes: Natural Selection or Ingenious Engineering? – RSR supports ICR's Continuous Environmental Tracking over CMI's appeal to natural selection. *Math in Nature: It turns out human cells exhibit a mathematical pattern also seen elsewhere in ecology. For more on math in nature see rsr.org/math. *Evolutionists' Admissions: For years evolutionists such as Richard Dawkins claimed the eye was a “bad” design wired “backwards”. Now some evolutionists are agreeing with creationists that it's a bunch of baloney and the eye is “almost perfect”. *Pirate Spiders, Masters of Trickery and Deception: Costa Rican pirate spider tricks its prey to “walk the plank” into a trap. *Big-headed Snakes: Natural Selection or Ingenious Engineering? – RSR supports ICR's Continuous Environmental Tracking over CMI's appeal to natural selection.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (09/29/23), Hank shares his thoughts on apologetics, which is much more than just defending the faith; it is both pre-evangelism—whereby we prepare ourselves to be ready to give answers—as well as post-evangelism as a means to shore up our faith.Hank also answers the following questions:In 1 Corinthians 15:14, why would Paul say that our faith is worthless if Jesus did not rise from the dead? What about a skeptic who doesn't believe in the physical resurrection or those who believe in a spiritual resurrection? (3:16)Can you comment on the film, The Unbelievers with Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawkins, and Krauss' statement that although the universe has no meaning, we make our own meaning? (15:13)Why are the four Gospels different? Are there contradictions? What about the difference between the synoptic Gospels and John regarding the day Christ was crucified? (20:21)

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Christian Philosopher Peter S. Williams about his book An Informed Cosmos: Essays on Intelligent Design Theory. Find his resources at www.peterswilliams.com0:24 - Intro to our guest2:15 - About the book An Informed Cosmos9:25 - Getting clarity on what intelligent design is14:10 - Is I.D. science? And defining “science”19:39 - Truth as the most important approach21:56 - Imposing worldviews on the data?25:01 - Is evolution the means by which God created?29:21 - What role does a Darwinian process play?35:00 - How did Peter go from being a theistic evolutionist to an ID proponent?40:45 - What tipped the balance for Peter?46:52 - What role does information play in design detection?53:21 - Can we recognize non-intelligent design?54:57 - Theistic interpretations?56:22 - Paley's “watchmaker” shows that we can detect design?1:00:13 - Prevailing errors when thinking about design1:05:00 - Is intelligent design “creationism”?1:06:25 - How has intelligent design changed Peter's thinking?1:13:30 - Peter's music - www.peterswilliams.com/composingCheck out a past episode with Peter S. Williams:006 - Outgrowing God? with Peter S. Williams - https://a315.co/4615IYjBooks by Peter S. Williams:An Informed Cosmos: Essays on Intelligent Design Theory - https://a315.co/48ugxUcA Universe From Someone: Essays on Natural Theology - https://a315.co/46GLUtlApologetics in 3D: Essays on Apologetics and Spirituality - https://a315.co/3PtMqUuOutgrowing God? A Beginner's Guide to Richard Dawkins and the God Debate - https://a315.co/3Pww9xPGetting at Jesus: A Comprehensive Critique of Neo-Atheist Nonsense About the Jesus of History - https://a315.co/46pUFriA Faithful Guide to Philosophy: A Christian Introduction to the Love of Wisdom - https://a315.co/3Ptm0C3C.S. Lewis vs the New Atheists - https://a315.co/48ugxUc================================We appreciate your feedback.If you're on TWITTER, you can follow Chad @TBapologetics.You can follow Brian @TheBrianAutenAnd of course, you can follow @Apologetics315If you have a question or comment for the podcast, record it and send it our way using www.speakpipe.com/Apologetics315 or you can email us at podcast@apologetics315.com

*Killing the Messenger: But not the message! Hear how Dr. Baugh and the Paluxy footprints have survived the slings and arrows of worldly fortune to remain in the battle at the Creation Evidence Museum of Texas in Glen Rose.   *Death of an Atheist: Dr. Baugh talks about his ministry opportunity with former atheist Stephen J. Gould & current atheist Richard Dawkins in Glen Rose, (he was too busy, but his 17 year old assistant got it done), and his open invitation to Lawrence Krauss and Neil "Inhale" deGrasse Tyson. (as long as they behave themselves).   *Global Witness: The global limestone layer is a witness to the global flood of Noah's day.   *Glen Kuban Footprint Iconoclast: Dr. Baugh doesn't name names, but here at RSR we know Glen Kuban as the Footprint Iconoclast!   *Collagen Found in Dinosaur Bones: Despite efforts to discredit the suggestion of a young age for dinosaurs implied by the human footprints found with them at Paluxy, skeptics will not overcome Mary Schweitzer's discoveries & the irrefutable evidence of Dinosaur Collagen.

*Killing the Messenger: But not the message! Hear how Dr. Baugh and the Paluxy footprints have survived the slings and arrows of worldly fortune to remain in the battle at the Creation Evidence Museum of Texas in Glen Rose.   *Death of an Atheist: Dr. Baugh talks about his ministry opportunity with former atheist Stephen J. Gould & current atheist Richard Dawkins in Glen Rose, (he was too busy, but his 17 year old assistant got it done), and his open invitation to Lawrence Krauss and Neil "Inhale" deGrasse Tyson. (as long as they behave themselves).   *Global Witness: The global limestone layer is a witness to the global flood of Noah's day.   *Glen Kuban Footprint Iconoclast: Dr. Baugh doesn't name names, but here at RSR we know Glen Kuban as the Footprint Iconoclast!   *Collagen Found in Dinosaur Bones: Despite efforts to discredit the suggestion of a young age for dinosaurs implied by the human footprints found with them at Paluxy, skeptics will not overcome Mary Schweitzer's discoveries & the irrefutable evidence of Dinosaur Collagen.

I confess that Hakeem Oluseyi had not really risen on my radar screen until the last year or two. I was aware of the National Society of Black Physicists, having sometimes gotten notices about is meetings, but, being generally unsupportive of current efforts to compartmentalize scientists by their identity, I hadn't really paid much notice to it. Then, in one of those ironies that periodically makes one feel better about the vicissitudes of fortune, I learned more about him only after people had attempted to cancel him. When I read about Hakeem's brave and impressive campaign to uncover the truth about James Webb after a small but unduly loud group of physicists, whose actions seem to be centered about their mutually celebrated victimhood, argued that the James Webb Space Telescope should be renamed, my interest in him, along with my respect for him, rose considerably. Prompted by this newfound interest, I read a book he had co-authored, entitled, A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars, and I was fascinated by the remarkable transformation of a hillbilly turned drug dealer into an academic. Here was someone who could have reveled in begin a victim by lashing out in hate, but instead was inspired to improve himself and those around him. I decided I wanted to delve deeper into the man, his life, his science, and his recent unfortunate experiences while holding firm to the search for truth in a podcast. It was a fun, and fascinating few hours. Hakeem and I both like to joke as well as tell stories, and we are both serious about the effort to understand nature, and to share our enthusiasm about that effort. I hope the combination of our mutual enjoyment about life and science, along with learning about his own story will inspire, entertain and inform. I certainly enjoyed our discussion and I hope you will as well.As always, an ad-free video version of this podcast is also available to paid Critical Mass subscribers. Your subscriptions support the non-profit Origins Project Foundation, which produces the podcast. The audio version is available free on the Critical Mass site and on all podcast sites, and the video version will also be available on the Origins Project Youtube channel as well.And a reminder that The Origins Project Foundation is programming some live upcoming events, including a live podcast with Richard Dawkins in Birmingham Sept 25th, and two live events in Southern California museums. Oct 15th, at the Bowers Museum, I will be giving a presentation on my new book, and Oct 17th Brian Keating and I will be recording a joint podcast at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. Go to originsproject.org for more info and the opportunity to purchase tickets. Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe

It's finally here! Gary's newest book, the one he's been working for years, is now ready and in stock. Why It Might Be OK to Eat Your Neighbor is much more than a provocative title, it is a practical apologetic work that pushes the antithesis of those who claim there is no God, using their own words. This book will help many to wrap their minds around the moral and ethical problems (to name but two) with consistent atheism and pure materialism.

“We create our own unhappiness. The purpose of suffering is to help us understand we are the ones who cause it.” Willie Nelson / Woah! There's a purpose to suffering!?! / 2 world views – the world has no design or purpose or the everything in the world is designed with purpose / we can simultaneously hold 2 ideas - that we must be compassionate to all who suffer and that we cause our own suffering / the best way to deal with our own pain is to take responsibility / the bank robbery analogy / the evidence is everywhere - the question is how you interpret it / a formula for seeing God behind everything /  WOTS - a simple fun way to Vedic epistemology / we can't remove every thorn in the world, but we can put on some shoes SB 6.24.46

“We create our own unhappiness. The purpose of suffering is to help us understand we are the ones who cause it.” Willie Nelson / Woah! There's a purpose to suffering!?! / 2 world views – the world has no design or purpose or the everything in the world is designed with purpose / we can simultaneously hold 2 ideas - that we must be compassionate to all who suffer and that we cause our own suffering / the best way to deal with our own pain is to take responsibility / the bank robbery analogy / the evidence is everywhere - the question is how you interpret it / a formula for seeing God behind everything /  WOTS - a simple fun way to Vedic epistemology / we can't remove every thorn in the world, but we can put on some shoes SB 6.24.46

Dr. Craig responds to more dialogue between Richard Swinburne and Richard Dawkins on God's existence and simplicity.

Does God Exist? The Scientific Case For Intelligent Design - Dr. Stephen C. Meyer and His Response to Richard Dawkins.   Intelligent Design Expert Responds To Richard Dawkins Freedom Pact 34.6K subscribers 771 views Aug 27, 2023 #stephenmeyer #RichardDawkins #intelligentdesign Dr. Stephen C. Meyer gives his honest opinion of Richard Dawkins in this clip taken from his full interview on the Freedom Pact podcast. Dr. Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. He has authored the New York Times best seller Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, which was named a Book of the Year by the Times Literary Supplement in 2009, and now, The Return of the God Hypothesis. #RichardDawkins #intelligentdesign #stephenmeyer   Does God Exist? | The Scientific Case For Intelligent Design - Dr. Stephen C. Meyer https://youtu.be/622y2zqAg9o?si=oIq6YbxF4vhoxQ_i Freedom Pact 34.6K subscribers 1,405 views Aug 24, 2023 Dr. Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. He has authored the New York Times best seller Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, which was named a Book of the Year by the Times Literary Supplement in 2009, and now, The Return of the God Hypothesis. In this episode, you can expect to hear Dr Stephen C Meyer on: - The scientific evidence for intelligent design - The identity of the 'creator' - Richard Dawkins contributions to the debate on religion - Does Jordan Peterson believes in God? - Why God would create a world that has so much suffering? - & Much more You can find our more about Stephen C. Meyer and the books mentioned in this interview at https://stephencmeyer.org/books/ You can follow Stephen on Twitter (X) at: https://twitter.com/StephenCMeyer @DrStephenMeyer Connect with us: https://freedompact.co.uk/newsletter​ (Healthy, Wealthy & Wise Newsletter) https://instagram.com/freedompact​ https://twitter.com/freedompactpod freedompact@gmail.com Tiktok.com/personaldevelopment Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 01:25 Does it Take More Faith To Believe In God Than Theoretical Physics? 04:20 Believing In The Multiverse Theory Vs Believing In God 06:10 Is Religion Just “Magical Thinking”? 10:30 Why Science & Religion Can Co-Exist 15:00 The Hard Evidence That Time Had A Beginning 22:25 Religion & Confirmation Bias 28:40 Who Is “The Creator” 36:50 Richard Dawkins 45:00 Stephen Fry “God Is Evil!” 54:30 Does Jordan Peterson Believe In God? 1:02:30 Connect With Dr. Meyer   For a list of 100+ episodes of ACU Sunday Series visit- https://www.podbean.com/site/search/index?kdsowie31j4k1jlf913=85cb8104bdb182c048b714ad4385f9e82a3aeb49&v=ACU+Sunday+Series+ Note- Click on “100 Episodes Found” in upper right corner.   HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!  Please go to Apple Podcasts and give ACU a 5 star rating. 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Chapter 1 What's The Selfish Gene"The Selfish Gene" is a book written by Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and ethologist. Published in 1976, the book focuses on the gene-centered view of evolution. Dawkins explains how genes, not individuals or species, are the fundamental drivers of evolution and describes how they can influence human behavior. The book also introduces the concept of memes, ideas or cultural practices that can spread and evolve similarly to genes. "The Selfish Gene" is considered a significant contribution to the field of evolutionary biology and has had a significant influence on the public's understanding of genetics and evolutionary theory.Chapter 2 Why is The Selfish Gene Worth ReadThe Selfish Gene is worth reading for several reasons:1. Innovative Concept: Richard Dawkins introduced the concept of the gene-centered view of evolution, which was a groundbreaking idea at the time. He argues that genes are the fundamental units of natural selection, and organisms are essentially vehicles that genes use to replicate themselves.2. Clear and Engaging Writing: Dawkins has a talent for making complex scientific concepts accessible to a wide audience. He explains his ideas in a clear and engaging manner, using vivid examples and analogies to illustrate his points, making the book enjoyable to read even for non-scientists.3. Thought-provoking Perspective: The book challenges traditional notions of altruism and morality by positing that seemingly selfless behavior can actually be driven by selfish genetic interests. It forces readers to reconsider their understanding of human and animal behavior from a gene-centric perspective.4. Influence on Evolutionary Biology: The Selfish Gene had a profound impact on the field of evolutionary biology, and its ideas continue to shape scientific discussions today. Dawkins' book spurred further research and debate on topics such as kin selection, evolutionary psychology, and the evolution of cooperation.5. Relevance to Society: The concepts discussed in The Selfish Gene have broader implications beyond biology. The book touches on topics like cultural evolution, the origins of human behavior, and the role of genetics in shaping society. It encourages readers to think critically about these subjects and their potential impact on various aspects of human life.Overall, The Selfish Gene is a thought-provoking and influential book that offers a unique perspective on evolution and genetics. Its accessible writing style and profound insights make it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in understanding the fundamental forces shaping life on Earth.Chapter 3 The Selfish Gene Summary"The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins is a landmark book in the field of evolutionary biology. Published in 1976, it presents a synthesis of ideas from various disciplines, including genetics, ethology, and game theory, to explain the fundamental mechanisms driving evolution.Dawkins introduces the concept of the gene-centered view of evolution, arguing that genes are the fundamental units of selection and the driving force behind the evolution of organisms. According to this view, genes are selfish in that they are constantly striving to survive and reproduce, shaping the traits and behaviors of organisms in order to enhance their own chances of passing on to future generations.The book also explores the concept of the "extended phenotype," which refers to the idea that genes not only influence the physical traits of an organism but also have an impact on its environment, such as through the construction of nests or the modification of behavior in other species.Dawkins delves into various aspects of...

In this episode, we welcome Justin Brierley back to the show. He is the former host of the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast on Premier Christian Radio in the UK and the author of Unbelievable? Why after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian. In this interview, we discuss the ins and outs of his brand new book The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again, how one word in a pro-atheism advertising campaign in the UK showed the cracks in the foundation of New Atheism philosophy, the cowardice of Richard Dawkins when it comes to debating real Christian intellectuals, why the tide started to turn on the New Atheism movement, how wokeness began to cannibalize proponents of New Atheism, the importance of secular philosophers like Jordan Peterson and Douglas Murray taking the Bible seriously, how atheism has to steal from God when it discussed morality or justice, why young men have been attracted to the teachings of secular public figures over pastors, why we should “keep Christianity weird”, why he's so optimistic about the future of Christianity in our world, and much more. Let's get into it… Episode notes and links HERE. Donate to support our mission of equipping men to push back darkness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Craig evaluates an intense exchange between Richard Dawkins and Richard Swinburne as they discussed the mystery of existence.

GET MY FREE INSTANT POT COOKBOOK: https://www.chefaj.com/instant-pot-download ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MY LATEST BESTSELLING BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1570674086?tag=onamzchefajsh-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=1570674086&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.1GNPDCAG4A86S ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The content of this podcast is provided for informational or educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health issue without consulting your doctor. Always seek medical advice before making any lifestyle changes. In today's live Q & A, Dr Doug Lisle answers viewers questions on Intermittent Fasting, why weight loss and escaping the pleasure trap is impossible for most. whether married women should work , why a man gets together with a much older woman, gratitude journaling, why some women don't want children, closing an open loop and more. To Register for the 3 hour LIVE Q & A with Dr. Lisle: https://www.chefaj.com/shop/p/doug-a-thon Free VIdeo Dr. Lisle mentions in today's broadcast: https://esteemdynamics.com/2020/04/24/getting-along-without-going-along-v1/ Welcome to Straight Talk with Dr. Doug Lisle airing LIVE the first Tuesday of every month at 11:00am PACIFIC time on The Chef AJ Broadcasting Network. Sign up for Dr Lisle's Webinar: https://truetolife.us/ To submit a question please sign up at https://www.chefaj.com/ Dr. Douglas J. Lisle, Ph.D.is the co-author of The Pleasure Trap available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1570671974?tag=onamzchefajsh-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=1570671974&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.1GNPDCAG4A86S Dr. Doug Lisle is an evolutionary psychologist and co-author of The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health and Happiness. He and his colleagues (Jennifer Howk and Richard Seidel) have developed a revolutionary method for approaching life challenges and improving self-confidence and self-esteem. They describe their approach as Esteem Dynamics — an approach with clinical insights derived from evolutionary psychology. Central figures having major influence on the development of Esteem Dynamics include Richard Dawkins, John Tooby and Leda Cosmides, David Buss, Robert Trivers, Steven Pinker, and Geoffrey Miller. All of these individuals are considered world-leading theorists in evolutionary theory and human psychology. Somewhat surprisingly, insights from these trailblazers has yet to reach mainstream clinical psychology, and thus major advances stemming from some of the world's greatest thinkers have yet to be systematically applied to problems of helping people improve their lives. Esteem Dynamics is the first such effort, and weds Dr. Lisle's 30-years of clinical experience to the deep insights into human nature only recently available via evolutionary psychology. Dr. Lisle received his undergraduate education from the University of California, San Diego. He completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Virginia, and was then appointed Lecturer in Psychology at Stanford University. His research and clinical interests include health and wellness, self-esteem, relationship satisfaction, the treatment of anxiety and depression, the genetics of individual differences, and optimizing achievement motivation. In addition to his work with Esteem Dynamics, Dr. Lisle lectures widely on health and wellness. Dr Lisle is available at selected days and times for a one-to-one, personal phone consultation: https://booknow.appointment-plus.com/7qtzn1bv/ To join the Living Wisdom Library: https://esteemdynamics.com/living-wisdom-library/

Dan discussed a recent episode of "The Poetry of Reality" in which Richard Dawkins discusses divine simplicity. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-particular-baptist/support

Unbelievable? delves back into history and asks Did new atheism fail? with one the world's best-known theologians Alister McGrath debating Oxford-educated philosopher and wildly successful YouTuber Alex O'Connor. Prompted by a new book Coming to Faith Through Dawkins which published on 29th August 2023, the book edited by Denis Alexander and Alister McGrath gathered other intelligent minds from around the world Australia, S. Africa, Egypt, USA, and the UK to share their startling commonality: Richard Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists were instrumental in their conversions to Christianity.  Despite a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, all are united in the fact that they were first enthusiasts for the claims and writings of the New Atheists. But each became disillusioned by the arguments and conclusions of Dawkins, causing them to look deeper and with more objectivity at religious faith. The fallacies of Christianity Dawkins warns of simply don't exist. "This is a novel book: real-life stories of people who have actually come to faith, not in spite of but through Richard Dawkins. It must be his own worst nightmare!" - William Lane Craig   Alister McGrath is a former atheist who discovered Christianity while studying the natural sciences at Oxford University. He has held a number of senior appointments during his career, including Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford, before taking up the Andreas Idreos Professorship of Science and Religion at Oxford, from which he retired last year. He also served as President of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. McGrath is one of the world's best-known theologians and apologists, and is the author of the internationally acclaimed textbook Christian Theology: An Introduction, which has been translated into twenty languages. With his wife, he wrote a critique of Richard Dawkins's God Delusion which became an international bestseller. Later this year, he will publish a new textbook entitled Christian Apologetics: An Introduction. McGrath has three earned doctorates from Oxford University, in the natural sciences, theology, and intellectual history. Alex O'Connor is a YouTuber and host of the Within Reason Podcast, a philosophy platform designed to present philosophical discussions in an accessible format. A graduate of philosophy and theology from St. John's College, Oxford University, he is also an international public speaker and debater, having defended his philosophical convictions against a wide range of experts across multiple continents, whose online video material has been viewed more than seventy million times. Alex O'Connor: https://www.youtube.com/user/alexjoconnor Alister McGrath: http://alistermcgrath.weebly.com/    Buy the book, Coming to Faith through Dawkins: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coming-Faith-Through-Dawkins-Christianity/dp/0825448220 • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Unbelievable? delves back into history and asks Did new atheism fail? with one the world's best-known theologians Alister McGrath debating Oxford-educated philosopher and wildly successful YouTuber Alex O'Connor. Prompted by a new book Coming to Faith Through Dawkins which published on 29th August 2023, the book edited by Denis Alexander and Alister McGrath gathered other intelligent minds from around the world Australia, S. Africa, Egypt, USA, and the UK to share their startling commonality: Richard Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists were instrumental in their conversions to Christianity.  Despite a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, all are united in the fact that they were first enthusiasts for the claims and writings of the New Atheists. But each became disillusioned by the arguments and conclusions of Dawkins, causing them to look deeper and with more objectivity at religious faith. The fallacies of Christianity Dawkins warns of simply don't exist. "This is a novel book: real-life stories of people who have actually come to faith, not in spite of but through Richard Dawkins. It must be his own worst nightmare!" --William Lane Craig"   Alister McGrath is a former atheist who discovered Christianity while studying the natural sciences at Oxford University. He has held a number of senior appointments during his career, including Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford, before taking up the Andreas Idreos Professorship of Science and Religion at Oxford, from which he retired last year. He also served as President of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. McGrath is one of the world's best-known theologians and apologists, and is the author of the internationally acclaimed textbook Christian Theology: An Introduction, which has been translated into twenty languages. With his wife, he wrote a critique of Richard Dawkins's God Delusion which became an international bestseller. Later this year, he will publish a new textbook entitled Christian Apologetics: An Introduction. McGrath has three earned doctorates from Oxford University, in the natural sciences, theology, and intellectual history. Alex O'Connor is a YouTuber and host of the Within Reason Podcast, a philosophy platform designed to present philosophical discussions in an accessible format. A graduate of philosophy and theology from St. John's College, Oxford University, he is also an international public speaker and debater, having defended his philosophical convictions against a wide range of experts across multiple continents, whose online video material has been viewed more than seventy million times.   Buy the book, Coming to Faith through Dawkins: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coming-Faith-Through-Dawkins-Christianity/dp/0825448220 • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

The team's on vacation, so for this week's Honestly, we're sharing a favorite episode from a favorite podcast, one you may not have heard of: UnHerd with Freddie Sayers. UnHerd's mission is similar to ours: to push back against the herd mentality, and to provide a platform for otherwise unheard ideas, people, and places. On this episode, host Freddie Sayers talks to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins about God, people's distrust in science and vaccines, cancel culture, aliens, romantic poetry and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christian author and broadcaster Justin Brierley joined the Rev Jamie Franklin to discuss his new book The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God and why he believes that we may be seeing signs of a revival of interest in Christianity in the Western world. Topics include:- The New Atheist movement: its appeal, internal division and eventual demise- Whether the Science vs. Religion question is relevant anymore.- Jordan Peterson, Tom Holland, Louise Perry and other secular thinkers who provide a challenge to the secular Enlightenment liberal narrative.- The need for the Church to be distinctively Christian and to offer real community for spiritual seekers.That and much much more as ever. For Justin's book please go to: https://justinbrierley.com/the-surprising-rebirth-of-belief-in-god/For Justin in general: https://justinbrierley.com/If you enjoyed this special episode, please consider supporting the podcast in the following ways:Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/irreverend) or Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend). Subscribe to Jamie's Blog here: https://jamiefranklin.substack.com. And please rate, review us and share on social media!Timings:00:00 Unbelievable? and early apologetics podcasts02:23 Bringing difference points of view into debate03:28 What is Justin doing post-Unbelievable?06:00 The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Justin's new book07:02 Please convince me to be an optimist about the future07:44 New Atheism and the background to rebirth of belief in God12:20 Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion and the decline of New Atheism17:58 Why science cannot prove God19:55 Is it still worthwhile engaging the Science vs. Faith question?21:33 People are still conditioned in the anti-Christian Enlightenment narrative23:38 Tom Holland and the historical pushback to the Enlightenment narrative25:26 Jordan Peterson, the “Intellectual Dark Web” and the new conversation on God33:38 Tom Holland and the insufficiency of recognising the cultural value of Christianity38:25 Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution and feminist interest in Christianity46:12 The need for Christian communities to help people live differently48:48 Christianity works because it is literally true49:30 The Church's need to find confidence in the Gospel53:48 Isn't the West decline into barbarism and moving away from Christianity?58:48 The rapid secularisation of culture could be reversed1:03:45 Thank you, please buy The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in GodSupport the show

This week: Bradley Cooper's use of a prosthetic nose becomes a source of controversy, Doja Cat accused of being Satanic and clips of Richard Dawkins being challenged by a philosopher for his atheistic worldview. As always...thanks for listening!   https://www.patreon.com/theweekindoubt http://palbertelli.podbean.com http://www.facebook.com/TheWeekInDoubtPodcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-week-in-doubt-podcast/id510160837 www.audibletrial.com/theweekindoubt Twitter: @theweekindoubt Also available on Stitcher

We revisit a riveting dialogue from Season 4 of The Big Conversation, from 2022. With their diametrically opposed beliefs on the ideas around God's existence, Francis Collins, a geneticist who found faith in Christianity, and Richard Dawkins, renowned atheist author and evolutionary biologist debate biology, belief and COVID: can science and fight be reconciled? We also look at Dawkins' recent exchange with Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne, as a natural extension to some of the issues discussed with Francis Collins, and will also give you a sneak peek of an exhilarating two-parter coming up in Season 5 of The Big Conversation: a debate on a pressing contemporary topic! Register for early access to new Big Conversation episodes, as well as hours of exclusive video and ebook content - including the bonus clip of Dawkins and Collins discussing genetics: https://thebigconversation.show Watch the full "Mystery of Existence" discussion, featuring Dawkins and Swinburne: Part One: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-why-is-there-something-rather-than-nothing-part-1-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne-and-jack-symes/16076.article Part Two: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-where-did-natural-environments-and-complex-organisms-came-from-part-2-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne/16119.article For the book "Coming to Faith Through Dawkins": https://www.kregel.com/biography/coming-to-faith-through-dawkins/ • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

This week on RfRx, Rob Palmer is returning to host Part II of the interactive logical fallacies trivia challenge. Bring your A-game and play trivia with us, or just come watch the show and hone your critical thinking skills. Why? Because recognizing these bad arguments can help you do two things: avoid being deceived by false claims made by others, and also stop using them yourself to justify questionable beliefs of your own. Rob will give a refresher on logical fallacies and then we'll play an interactive trivia game where those in attendance can play on teams trying to outdo their competition in describing and identifying Logical Fallacies! (Game-play participation is optional.) Rob Palmer has had a diverse aerospace engineering career, having worked as a spacecraft designer and tester, computer programmer, and software systems engineer. Rob began writing for Skeptical Inquirer in 2018 and has had over 60 articles published by Skeptical Inquirer and in other publications in 2 languages on 3 continents. Rob writes about contemporary skeptical issues and has interviewed individuals as diverse as scientists Neil deGrasse Tyson and Richard Dawkins, Ann Druyan (producer and writer for the modern Cosmos series), Seth Andrews (host of The Thinking Atheist podcast), and even John de Lancie (Star Trek‘s Q). Rob has also been a speaker for various skeptic and humanist groups, including here at Recovering from Religion. He has spoken at Dragon Con, and thrice at CSICon, (the annual science and skepticism conference in Las Vegas.) Topics have included critical thinking, psychics and mediums, and the international Wikipedia editing project he volunteers for. He has been interviewed about these subjects on various podcasts and YouTube shows, including The Skeptic Zone, Big Picture Science, Be Rationable, The Phil Ferguson Show, Banachek's Brain, 502 Conversations, and The Thinking Atheist. For RfRx comments, inquiries & topical questions, email us at RfRx@recoveringfromreligion.org. Any time you are struggling with religious doubts or fears you can connect with a trained RfR Helpline agent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To chat online go to http://www.recoveringfromreligion.org. To talk over the phone, dial: (844) 368-2848 in the US & Canada If you are in need of professional help, we can offer the Secular Therapy Project to provide options to connect with a professional therapist. All therapists have been thoroughly vetted by our organization and offer only evidence-based and non-religious treatment. Connect with them at http://www.seculartherapy.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok. Volunteer: http://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/volunteer Donate: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/donate --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/recovering-from-religion/message

We revisit a riveting dialogue from Season 4 of The Big Conversation, from 2022. With their diametrically opposed beliefs on the ideas around God's existence, Francis Collins, a geneticist who found faith in Christianity, and Richard Dawkins, renowned atheist author and evolutionary biologist debate biology, belief and COVID: can science and fight be reconciled? We also look at Dawkins' recent exchange with Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne, as a natural extension to some of the issues discussed with Francis Collins, and will also give you a sneak peek of an exhilarating two-parter coming up in Season 5 of The Big Conversation: a debate on a pressing contemporary topic! Register for early access to new Big Conversation episodes, as well as hours of exclusive video and ebook content - including the bonus clip of Dawkins and Collins discussing genetics: https://thebigconversation.show Watch the full "Mystery of Existence" discussion, featuring Dawkins and Swinburne: Part One: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-why-is-there-something-rather-than-nothing-part-1-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne-and-jack-symes/16076.article Part Two: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/unbelievable/unbelievable-the-mystery-of-existence-where-did-natural-environments-and-complex-organisms-came-from-part-2-with-richard-dawkins-jessica-frazier-silvia-jonas-richard-swinburne/16119.article For the book "Coming to Faith Through Dawkins": https://www.kregel.com/biography/coming-to-faith-through-dawkins/ • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. He has authored the New York Times best seller Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, which was named a Book of the Year by the Times Literary Supplement in 2009, and now, The Return of the God Hypothesis. In this episode, you can expect to hear Dr Stephen C Meyer on: - The scientific evidence for intelligent design - The identity of the 'creator' - Richard Dawkins contributions to the debate on religion - Does Jordan Peterson believes in God? - Why God would create a world that has so much suffering? - & Much more You can find our more about Stephen C. Meyer and the books mentioned in this interview at https://stephencmeyer.org/books/ You can follow Stephen on Twitter (X) at: https://twitter.com/StephenCMeyer Connect with us: https://freedompact.co.uk/newsletter​ (Healthy, Wealthy & Wise Newsletter) https://instagram.com/freedompact​ https://twitter.com/freedompactpod freedompact@gmail.com Tiktok.com/personaldevelopment

How the atheist writings of Richard Dawkins led Alister McGrath—and many other intellectuals—to the Christian faith Dr. Alister McGrath was an atheist when he entered Oxford University to study natural sciences. Through a series of influences he switched to theology and became a Christian. In his new book, Coming to Faith through Dawkins, coauthored with Denis Alexander, McGrath compiled twelve essays from fellow scientists, an engineer, a graphic designer, a journalist, and others who were led to question their atheism by reading the work of atheist Dr. Richard Dawkins. In our conversation, McGrath explains how he and others from around the world admire much of the scientific work of Dawkins. But Dawkins' sometimes-scathing attacks on religion led them to discover the credibility of Christ and Christianity—and eventually to their personal conversions to faith. Download the unedited transcript here (PDF). Summary Introduction 0:01 Coming to faith through atheism 2:42 The current state of faith in the UK 5:00 The motivation of the New Atheists 11:53 Johanna Erasmus and the journey of faith 18:13 The most transformative essays in Coming to Faith through Dawkins 26:58 The myth of a conflict between science and faith 32:58 The story of a young atheist turned Christian 37:41 Open about faith lead to job loss? 44:00 The role of science and faith 49:07 The power of intellectual pursuit and personal story 52:22 Download the unedited transcript here. About Dr. Alister McGrath Dr. Alister E. McGrath is a former atheist who studied natural sciences at Oxford before switching to theology and becoming an Anglican priest. He served as the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford from 2014 to 2022. He holds three doctorates from Oxford in molecular biophysics, theology, and intellectual history. McGrath is also the author of the international bestseller The Dawkins Delusion?, as well as C. S. Lewis: A Life and his latest book, Coming to Faith Through Dawkins: 12 Essays on the Pathway from New Atheism to Christianity. About Dr. Mark Turman Dr. Mark Turman is the Executive Director of Denison Forum and Vice President of Denison Ministries. Among his many duties, Turman is most notably the host of The Denison Forum Podcast. He is also the chief strategist for DF Pastors, which equips pastors and church leaders to understand and transform today's culture. About Denison Forum Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, The Denison Forum Podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.

President of the National Space Society @isaacarthurSFIA reacts to the congressional hearing on UFOs and aliens, commenting on Richard Dawkins' assertion about aliens and the testimony of ex-navy Ryan Graves, United States Air Force (USAF) officer and former intelligence official David Grusch. Isaac has an incredible imagination and unparalleled knowledge, making for a fascinating look into what aliens or extra-terrestrials might look like, why there might be UFO cover ups and what your government really knows.   Make sure to subscribe to Isaac's show: https://www.youtube.com/@isaacarthurSFIA  Andrew Gold links: http://instagram.com/andrewgold_ok http://twitter.com/andrewgold_ok https://www.tiktok.com/@ontheedgewithandrewgold https://www.patreon.com/andrewgold  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser... It was Richard Dawkins who popularized the phrase “genocidal bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser” to describe the God of the Old Testament in his most well-known work The God Delusion.  This attack line has become more common and is used to undermine the possibility that the God of the Bible, as described, is a just God. This Sunday, I want to take this attack head-on and deal with the accusation directly.  To do so, I will use scripture to explain scripture, reason to unpack what is unreasonable, and where I don't have the answers, I will let you know. My hope is to increase your capacity to offer an apologetic for the God we serve and to increase your trust and affection for this same God. Looking forward to our time together, Aaron

*Humiliation 101: Listen as Fred Williams and Doug McBurney discuss Real Science, on Friday! This week they analyze and refute the nonsense passed off as science by Ira Flatow over at NPR, (starting with analysis of Ira's Marxist oratory formulae, and the professor he humiliates). *Test for Echo: The NPR host says that of course evolution is just "how scientists understand biology"! But there are plenty of doubting scientists who believe evolution is at best unworkable, at middling ridiculous, and at worst evil! *March Madness: Hear the evolutionists lament the fact that some of the early imagery designed by evolutionists to fool children about origins "did more harm than good" for their cause (because many early proponents of Darwinism did not understand it would eventually involve the overthrow of all reason). We remind them that images like the "March of Progress" were also fake, phony and full of lies! *Stealing the Devil His Due: Asked for his best evidence "that evolution is real'', Prosanta Chakrabarty, Ph.D. misappropriates the name of God's Tree of Life, makes false claims about the evolutionist's "Tree of whatever", and ignores, or misrepresents the mountain of anti-evolution evidence accumulating in the Real Science world of genetics! *Everything Makes Nonsense: Flatow dusts off Dobzhansky's old saw that "nothing in biology makes sense without evolution." But that was proven false at least a decade ago by The Late Great Bob Enyart himself! *The Evolution of "Evilution": Is it just me or does Ira slip into the "Richard Dawkins" pronunciation of "Evilution" every once in a while? Regardless! His assertion regarding "neutral" evolution doesn't hold up according to his otherwise fellow travelers over at Quanta Magazine, and is being absolutely dunked on by Real Science researchers and their studies of cave fish adaptation at ICR. Trading Biology for Non-Binary: The only thing more pitiful than listening to an NPR host trying to align science, gender ideology and creepy weird sex stuff, is hearing a full professor, (and father of two girls) go along with it. Please just let the humiliation end!

*Humiliation 101: Listen as Fred Williams and Doug McBurney discuss Real Science, on Friday! This week they analyze and refute the nonsense passed off as science by Ira Flatow over at NPR, (starting with analysis of Ira's Marxist oratory formulae, and the professor he humiliates). *Test for Echo: The NPR host says that of course evolution is just "how scientists understand biology"! But there are plenty of doubting scientists who believe evolution is at best unworkable, at middling ridiculous, and at worst evil! *March Madness: Hear the evolutionists lament the fact that some of the early imagery designed by evolutionists to fool children about origins "did more harm than good" for their cause (because many early proponents of Darwinism did not understand it would eventually involve the overthrow of all reason). We remind them that images like the "March of Progress" were also fake, phony and full of lies! *Stealing the Devil His Due: Asked for his best evidence "that evolution is real'', Prosanta Chakrabarty, Ph.D. misappropriates the name of God's Tree of Life, makes false claims about the evolutionist's "Tree of whatever", and ignores, or misrepresents the mountain of anti-evolution evidence accumulating in the Real Science world of genetics! *Everything Makes Nonsense: Flatow dusts off Dobzhansky's old saw that "nothing in biology makes sense without evolution." But that was proven false at least a decade ago by The Late Great Bob Enyart himself! *The Evolution of "Evilution": Is it just me or does Ira slip into the "Richard Dawkins" pronunciation of "Evilution" every once in a while? Regardless! His assertion regarding "neutral" evolution doesn't hold up according to his otherwise fellow travelers over at Quanta Magazine, and is being absolutely dunked on by Real Science researchers and their studies of cave fish adaptation at ICR. Trading Biology for Non-Binary: The only thing more pitiful than listening to an NPR host trying to align science, gender ideology and creepy weird sex stuff, is hearing a full professor, (and father of two girls) go along with it. Please just let the humiliation end!

Featuring four of the biggest names in philosophy and biology Unbelievable presents the second part of “The Mystery of Existence” a riveting debate showcasing the intellectual prowess of four eminent figures in the realm of biology and philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity). The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. The second part of this special debate discusses what is the origin of life? Why is there something rather than nothing? This remarkable two-part series is a collaboration with The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast and has been made possible, in part, by the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham. Hosted by Ruth Jackson of Unbelievable and presented by Jack Symes of Panpsycast, this Unbelievable special 'The Mystery of Existence' offers profound insights and perspectives on origins and meaning. If you missed the first part of this enthralling debate, titled "Why is there something rather than nothing?" be sure to catch up here {Hyperlink FOR PREVIOUS WEEK's SHOW] The Global Philosophy of Religion Project: http://global-philosophy.org Philosophers on God (book): http://amzn.to/3K4enjy Talking about Philosophy: http://talkingaboutphilosophy.com Richard Dawkins: http://richarddawkins.com  Jessica Frazier: http://bit.ly/jessicafrazier  Silvia Jonas: http://silviajonas.com  Jack Symes: http://jacksymes.co.uk  Richard Swinburne: http://bit.ly/richardswinburne  Philosophers on God (book): http://amzn.to/3K4enjy Talking about Philosophy: http://talkingaboutphilosophy.com  The Global Philosophy of Religion Project: http://global-philosophy.org  Support: http://patreon.com/panpsycast • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

On this ID The Future, we're pleased to share Daily Wire host Andrew Klavan's recent interview with Dr. Casey Luskin. Klavan loves science, but he smells a rat when famous scientists like Richard Dawkins use their displaced authority to make proclamations about science's relationship with religion. So after reading Luskin's recent Daily Wire article about progressives and their long history of banning intelligent design from the classroom, Klavan invited Luskin on his show to help his viewers better understand the theory of intelligent design and the reality of the evolutionary paradigm. Luskin starts with the meanings of evolution and the questions that guide intelligent design researchers. He cites plenty of examples of design from biology and cosmology. Klavan then asks how badly people get censored for considering design perspectives in their work. Luskin explains, using the case of physicist Eric Hedin and his treatment at Ball State University as an example. Luskin rounds out the conversation by explaining how intelligent design uses the scientific method to detect the hallmarks of design in both living systems and the universe at large. "Science never gives us, under any conditions, absolute certainty," Luskin notes. "What it can allow us to do, though, is we can use the methods of historical sciences to infer the best explanation for a given situation given what we know about how the world works." Source

GET MY FREE INSTANT POT COOKBOOK: https://www.chefaj.com/instant-pot-download ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MY LATEST BESTSELLING BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1570674086?tag=onamzchefajsh-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=1570674086&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.1GNPDCAG4A86S ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: This podcast does not provide medical advice. The content of this podcast is provided for informational or educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health issue without consulting your doctor. Always seek medical advice before making any lifestyle changes. Welcome to Straight Talk with Dr. Doug Lisle airing LIVE the first Tuesday of every month at 11:00am PACIFIC time on The Chef AJ Broadcasting Network. Sign up for Dr Lisle's Webinar: https://truetolife.us/ To submit a question please sign up at https://www.chefaj.com/ Dr. Douglas J. Lisle, Ph.D.is the co-author of The Pleasure Trap available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1570671974?tag=onamzchefajsh-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=1570671974&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.1GNPDCAG4A86S Dr. Doug Lisle is an evolutionary psychologist and co-author of The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health and Happiness. He and his colleagues (Jennifer Howk and Richard Seidel) have developed a revolutionary method for approaching life challenges and improving self-confidence and self-esteem. They describe their approach as Esteem Dynamics — an approach with clinical insights derived from evolutionary psychology. Central figures having major influence on the development of Esteem Dynamics include Richard Dawkins, John Tooby and Leda Cosmides, David Buss, Robert Trivers, Steven Pinker, and Geoffrey Miller. All of these individuals are considered world-leading theorists in evolutionary theory and human psychology. Somewhat surprisingly, insights from these trailblazers has yet to reach mainstream clinical psychology, and thus major advances stemming from some of the world's greatest thinkers have yet to be systematically applied to problems of helping people improve their lives. Esteem Dynamics is the first such effort, and weds Dr. Lisle's 30-years of clinical experience to the deep insights into human nature only recently available via evolutionary psychology. Dr. Lisle received his undergraduate education from the University of California, San Diego. He completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Virginia, and was then appointed Lecturer in Psychology at Stanford University. His research and clinical interests include health and wellness, self-esteem, relationship satisfaction, the treatment of anxiety and depression, the genetics of individual differences, and optimizing achievement motivation. In addition to his work with Esteem Dynamics, Dr. Lisle lectures widely on health and wellness. Dr Lisle is available at selected days and times for a one-to-one, personal phone consultation: https://booknow.appointment-plus.com/7qtzn1bv/ To join the Living Wisdom Library: https://esteemdynamics.com/living-wisdom-library/

"In God We Trust" foisted on school children, company settles religious discrimination lawsuit, court rules Connecticut can enforce vaccinations for school children, AI in the military, Muslims stab gay man to death in NYC, new song tops Christian music charts, and we've had it with Richard Dawkins.

In episode 7, Teresa Morris and Will Wright discuss how virtue is the mean between excess and deficiency. They talk about how virtue relates to spiritual life. Teresa explains Plato's analogy of the Cave, Mumford and Sons, G.K. Chesterton, and Dr. Peter Kreeft are brought up. This conversation has a few tangents, but all of them are worthwhile. Give it a listen! Listen to episode 7 and then join us as a free or paid subscriber here at https://gooddistinctions.com/Rough TRANSCRIPT of the Video:Will Wright:Welcome back to Good Distinctions. I'm Will Wright.Teresa Morris:and I'm Teresa Morris.Will Wright:And good distinctions are...Teresa Morris:the spice of life.Will Wright:So today, Teresa, we are talking about virtue. I'm glad that you're with me because I don't have a lot of it. I'm working on it, but I would like to grow in virtue. So hopefully this conversation will be helpful to everyone that's watching. So let's dive right into it. First of all, let's define what is a virtue.Teresa Morris:Hmm. I wish the answer was as simple as just being able to give what is a particular virtue or what is the overall definition of virtue. I will give the definition of virtue that I tend to think is maybe the best one. And then perhaps we can kind of talk about why people have different opinions on why that may or may not be a good definition. So virtue was initially proposed by Aristotle and Aristotle essentially said that virtue is a habit of excellence and that it's a mean between two extremes of excess and deficiency. So his proposal was that people should be trying to live a virtuous life and where virtue falls, if you think about kind of like a line, virtue falls right in the middle. and you want to be oriented towards this kind of middle ground and you're not trying to fall to one of the other sides of excess or deficiency. So you don't want to be too much of something but you also don't want to be lacking in something or deficient in something. So virtue is kind of that middle ground of excellence that we're trying to cultivate.Will Wright:So we could say in Medio stat Virtus, which is Latin. I don't know why I know the phrase in Latin. Aristotle spoke Greek. Anyway, it means in the middle stands the virtue, right? And so that's what we're getting at. I think it's hilarious when asking a philosopher anything because you're gonna get a very philosophical answer. No, it was very beautiful. And I'm excited to unpack that. I would just like to offer. I guess the theological answer would be what's in the catechism, right? So the virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to the good.So I'm not thrilled with that definition as like the end all be all. I don't think it includes exactly what you mentioned of excellence as being the mean between excess and deficiency. But I think we should start by unpacking that real quick. So It's habitual, which means it's a habit.It's something that we have to do. And it's something that we have to habituate and make part of our routine, something that we need to practice. Later, I think we'll definitely talk about the difference between the theological virtues and the cardinal virtues and moral virtues, because there's a huge distinction to be made there. But putting a pin in that, habitual. So it needs to be habitual, but it also needs to be firm. Right, it's not wishy washy. You can't just... You know, you're walking down the road and you see a kid walking towards the street and there's a car coming and you go and you reach out your hand half-heartedly, grab the back of their shirt and say, hey, don't do that. That doesn't make you a brave person. That doesn't make you courageous. That makes you basic borderline minimum human.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:You're not a monster.Teresa Morris:Yeah, right.Will Wright:So good for you. You know, everybody's, well, I didn't kill anybody. Like that's not a very good metric for whether you're a good person or not. But anyway, so it needs to be firm. It needs to be something that you practice every day. You wake up and you say, I'm gonna be courageous today. If there's an opportunity where I need to practice courage, I'm going to. And then disposition, so disposing ourselves towards the good, which ultimately is God, and being in accordance with natural law and the eternal law.Teresa Morris:Yeah, I think something that is is helpful about the concept of virtue is, you know, what you're saying is that it's a habit. It's a really hopeful view of morality. It's a really hopeful view of building character because it's saying that we have the capacity to improve upon ourselves. So sometimes people are like, well, I'm just not built that way. Or I'm just like not a good person. Or I'm not given when other people are given, which may or may not be true, right? Like we're all given different gifts. We're all given different upbringings that can dispose us to different virtues or not. but the proposal that virtue is a habit inherent in that idea is that you have this capacity to work on yourself and build up this habit. So it's not something that you're just gonna wake up and you're like yeah today I'm gonna be courageous and you're just gonna automatically be that way. It takes practice and it's something that requires intentionality and eventually it becomes our natural mode of being. So spoiler alert for Nicomachean ethics at the end of Nicomachean ethics, Aristotle is asking this question of like, well, how do we even get here, right? That if we can say, here's this list of virtues that we have determined are important to strive for. How do we get from point A to point B? Point A saying, I see that this is a good thing. Point B being this is integrated into my life. And what he says is you have to surround yourself with virtuous people and learn through imitations. So if I find in myself a lack of something where I'm like, I just wish that I was more honest, or I wish that I was more courageous, or I wish I understood chastity better. It's not that I have to white-knuckle my life and just force myself into those things.Will Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:What I should do is I should say, who do I know that lives these well. Who do I know who's really courageous? Who do I know who's really honest? Who do I know who lives chastity beautifully? And I look at how they're living and I just kind of imitate them. It's kind of like how children learn, right? It's like when we're teaching children how to speak, we're like, say, da-da, and then we're trying to get them to imitate it. That's how humans just naturally learn is we're given a model for something and we kind of like act it out until we can do that. So It's, I love the concept of building virtue as a habit because it connects us to community and it says you're not supposed to do this on your own. This idea of becoming a good person isn't solitary. You're not doing this in isolation. You do this by imitating the people around you. And it takes time because habits take time to build and that's okay. It's not something that we should feel discouraged about which I think sometimes in ethics or in just the process of becoming a good person. it's easy to get discouraged because it's like, oh my gosh, I failed again. I woke up and I made this decision to be this way and I missed the mark and virtue ethic says that's okay. Habits take time to build just like anything.Will Wright:And we will mess up. And it's not just about aiming for the good, it's about the reality that God is the greatest good and that we're in a relationship with Him. And so, when we encounter good, whether it's in ourselves or in someone else, we're encountering the spark of the divine, we're encountering the image of God in that. And so, it's not... Like you say, it's not just picking ourselves up by our bootstraps and white-knuckling it. We're not Pelagians. The Pelagian heresy is that we can will ourselves to heaven, that we don't need grace. Well, that's a huge lie. Of course we need grace. But grace builds on nature. It perfects nature, as St. Thomas says. So if that's true, and it is, then by surrounding ourselves with good people, good friends and allowing God to show us to those people. Right? Saying like, Lord, I need better friends. Like lead me to them.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:And then allowing him to sort of put these people in our lives. At least that's been my experiences. I have these people come into my life that I never would have gone out of my way to find. And I mean, even I know we talked about this in Episode One, but like how I met, how I found myself moving from North Carolina to Phoenix was very unexpected. Well, now I know all these wonderful people. And I have a bunch of wonderful friends in North Carolina as well. And it's just beautiful. The Lord has led me through this different pathway and journey. And I know these people have made me better. But in the past, when I've had some friends who didn't always live up to virtue, didn't always have the same orientation as me towards the good and towards what is true and beautiful, I felt myself sliding backwards because I really believe that we can't be stagnant. There is no stagnation. We're either moving forward or we're moving backwards. And that's just a function of the fact that we're alive and in time. Right.Teresa Morris:Right.Will Wright:Right, the good, the virtue. So, right, if we have good friends, they will lift us up, which is what you were saying. And I think there's... lot to be said about grace building on nature and allowing God into that mix. So it's not all or nothing. I think that's kind of what I wanted to get at is for anyone listening who's thinking, okay, well, it's a habit that I need to firmly dispose myself towards. So it seems like I need to put forth effort. But then you're saying, well, it's not something that you just white-knuckle. Well, okay, then how do I do it?Well, I think it's this mystery of synergy. Between God acting and giving us grace and us cooperating and responding to that grace.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm, definitely. And I really like what you said about how the people that you surround yourself with really affect us and that. one of the prayers that we can pray is, Lord, give me people in my life who are going to aid in my flourishing because he wants that for us. And that flourishing is something that was really important for the Greeks, this concept of eudaimonia, which is virtue is oriented towards that, that it's not existing for its own sake, it's not even existing for this consequence in society, it's existing for our own flourishing. And... that we do become like the people we surround ourselves with. Even in social psychology, people talk about how you become like the five people you spend the most amount of time with, which is why it really matters who you choose as friends. It matters who you choose to marry because you're going to become like those people. It's why I love teaching because I want to be like my students. I think that they're wonderful and I want to be more like them for the most part. And so we can't let ourselves be unaffected by the people that we are surrounded by and so that it's possible to change and to become like the people that were surrounded by. IWill Wright:It reminds me that there's a narrative to our lives that God is writing ultimately. And then there's a meta-narrative that we all fit into. There's one true story. One of my friends is a filmmaker and he talks about this a lot, that all good stories exist within the one true story, the story that God is writing, this meta-narrative, which is exactly the opposite of postmodernism. that there actually is meaning and that we can plug ourselves into that. But I've also heard, especially those who follow Carl Jung, especially like Jordan Peterson, for example, talks a lot about how we play this set of games over time. And it's really a rehearsing of behaviors to play the meta game or the meta narrative. And that's how, like what you were talking about with the kids watching. other people and figuring out how to play the game, so to speak. And he doesn't mean that in a cynical way. It's just how do I navigate my life? How do I navigate interpersonal relationships with others in an effective way where I will be flourishing?Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:And that idea of you eudaenomia that you brought up, would it be would it be acceptable in your mind to equate that? And I've made this I'll go ahead and say I've made this case. So feel free to push back. that eudaenomia, that true real blessedness, that true lasting happiness is synonymous with what Jesus is talking about in the Beatitudes.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm. I would say so. And I think ultimately that concept, I mean like everything is fulfilled in the beatific vision, right? That like all of these ideas of happiness, flourishing, excellence are ultimately fulfilled in our experience of an encounter with Christ. And that helps us then having this sense of, oh, this is the ultimate vision for our lives. This is where ultimate fulfillment is coming from. Helps us then. orient all our other actions towards that type of excellence to say like this is this is the primary goal and So it helps order all those other things. So I would say that the Beatitudes are an orientation towards virtue and excellence because it's not just Here's here are the things that you can't do. It's not just a list of behaviors It's an orientation towards goodness and an orientation towards excellence. And I think that's what You can say this about virtue from a philosophical sense, or you could say this about virtue in a theological sense, which I think could be attributed to the Beatitudes, like you're saying, that it's not this question of what should I do, which can be a really stark view of doing ethics or just living your life, of what should I do or what should I avoid? And here's this list of things that I can and can't do, but it's who do I want to be? What type of person do I want to be?Will Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:And I think that's what. eudaenomia offers, I think that's what the Beatitudes offers, it's this proposal for what type of person do you want to be and it's an orientation of the heart and it's an integrated vision of how to act. It's not just I'm going to will this thing and just you know do this because I feel like I have to but it's a movement of the heart towards something good and something excellent.Will Wright:Dr. Peter Kreeft has a brilliant lecture on this, where he talks about the Beatitudes and he brings up the concept of eudaenomia, but he also brings up GK Chesterton's biography of St. Francis of Assisi. And he says that it's the line about coming out of the cave, walking on your hands, seeing the world hanging upside down and understanding dependence when we know the maker's hand, comes from an encounter with God in which we turn all of our expectations on our on its head, which is really what Jesus is saying in the Beatitudes. These are these are nuts, really. first look at them they go, what are you talking about, blessed are to the poor in spirit? I don't want to be poor in spirit, I want to be rich in spirit.Teresa Morris:Right.Will Wright:But what it's saying is no you need to be humble, you need to empty yourself in order to be filled with God. And then he walks through Peter Crave walks through the rest of the Beatitudes and shows how it's an inversion of a lot of the things that we think we want, like conquestTeresa Morris:Right.Will Wright:of nature, freedom from pain,Teresa Morris:Yeah.Will Wright:et cetera. So it's really fascinating. Incidentally,Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:Mumford and Sons the Cave is, you know, that exact line from the Chesterton biography of St. Francis of Assisi, and it's awesome. So go listen to the Cave, everyone.Teresa Morris:it's such a good song. I also thought for the longest time before I read that work by GK Chesterton, that he was talking about Plato's cave, which is my heathen philosophical viewpoint of the world,Will Wright:HaTeresa Morris:Which you can kind of say that it's both, but it really is much more the sense of Christ turns everything upside down and has, you know, this proposal of paradox for the way that Christians should live their life.Will Wright:But why couldn't it be Plato's cave?Teresa Morris:It could be. It can be both, I think. I think they're really, yeah, I mean, you walk out of the cave and you're shocked at how the world looks. You're like, oh my gosh, all these things that I thought were just shadow, like there's actually a real flower. There's a real this. And it feels like the world is upside down because it's not shadow, it's real.Will Wright:Alright, professor, I think it's time. I think we need to take the time rather to explain the cave analogy. Just a little bit, just a little bit, because people listening, I'm sure not everyone has been exposed to this. Not everybody's read the Republic. So what have you got?Teresa Morris:Okay, yeah, so there's this famous analogy in Plato's Republic where the Plato's Republic is trying to determine what it means to be a just person and it's doing that by giving this analogy of what it means to have a just city and a just city is this analogy for a person and in that he talks about uh he gives this analogy of what it means to to live a good life and what it looks like to finally understand what a good life is and to experience it. So that everyone is born into this cave and they're facing the back wall of the cave. So you're just looking at this blank wall and you're in chains and the sun is behind you on the outside of the cave. So everything that you're seeing is just a shadow. So like a dog walks by and you see a shadow of a dog or a tree is growing, you see a shadow of a tree. A bird flies by, you see a shadow of a bird. And that's what you think the world is, because that's all you're ever exposed to. And then at a certain point, someone breaks out and they leave the cave and they go outside and the sun is illuminating everything and they realize, oh my gosh, this thing that I thought was a dog, this shadow is actually a dog, this tree is actually a tree and this bird is actually a bird. And you're experiencing everything in reality and it's so much better and so much more intense than what the shadows were. And that's kind of the experience of doing philosophy is your... experiencing the really real. And so then that person goes back into the cave and they're trying to tell everyone about it and they're like, oh my gosh it's so much better out there, I promise. And you would think everyone would be like, yeah, that sounds great. Let's go. And what they actually do is they say, no, you're crazy. I don't actually want to experience that. And they stay in the cave and they actually end up killing the philosopher. So it's really not a great look for philosophers because it's sort of a sad ending. But it's this idea that reality is worth experiencing, that truth is worth experiencing and encountering, even if you're kind of put to death for it, that it's worth standing for truth, even if everyone around you doesn't think that that's worthwhile. So in the song, the reason when I was first listening to Mumford was actually my freshman year of college when I was first studying philosophy and I heard that song and I was like, this is Plato's cave. It's this experience of walking out of this cave and the world is opposite of what you thought it was. It's so different than what you had thought and it's so much better. than what you had ever dreamed it could be. And that's, I think, life of virtue and truth that can be experienced just through kind of morality and philosophy, but even more so, exponentially more so, is that experience of a life with Christ, where all of these natural inclinations or desires that I have that I could make an argument for justifying and saying, well, I can reason my way to that, this is how I should act. Christ says, sure, but I'm actually going to propose something that might maybe even seem unreasonable to you. That is really crazy. That is, you know, you should totally humble yourself and you, you know, so all these things Christ proposes is this world flipped upside down.Will Wright:Well, and how prophetic in a sense when I'd never thought about it in this context, but Jesus is wisdom incarnate. He is the word. He is the logo. So of course he was put to death, right?Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:He is like, he's coming into the cave and saying, yeah, all those shadows aren't real. Let's have the real thing, which I think you're reading of the cave. The song is very much in line with what St. Augustine would have thought. I mean, he was a big fan of Plato. He saw the world of forms as heaven as being in the mind of God and So How does that this might be a little bit tangential, but I think it's worthwhile How does that transition from that transcendence of Plato to the more eminent philosophy of Aristotle? How do you get from Plato who's the teacher to Aristotle who's the student because there's usually In the sense that you have that famous painting of Plato pointing up and Aristotle pointing down. So what's that about?Teresa Morris:Yeah, I think that Aristotle, you know, Aristotle kind of rejected this concept of the forms that were just participating in these ultimates that Plato really was proposing. And that I think upon an initial reading, in a lot of ways can sound like Christianity in some senses, which is why I think Augustine really took to that. Aristotle was a bit more focused on what does this mean for human behavior. and that he saw a tension between a proposal of absolutes and forms, and that there's a bit of a disconnect between saying here's just these objectives that we're looking at, and he was struggling to find the in-between, this kind of virtuous mean between well you can say that you know there's a there's an objective virtue or there's objective goodness, but what that looks like for an individual person might be different from person to person. So for example, he thought that there was a truth in saying, there's objective goodness, there's objective beauty, but the way that you and I are going to engage with those things is going to be different. So what it looks like for you to be courageous, we can say courageous or being courageous is a mean between. the excess of recklessness and the deficiency of cowardice. But how that's lived out in my life and your life might be different or how you might be courageous in a particular situation is going to need to be different from me. So an example of this is like, if I need to talk to, if I need to be courageous to a boss and I need to stand up for myself in a work setting, what courage might look like for me is going to be different than what it would look like for you in a work setting standing up to a boss. So it might be courageous for me to write an email standing up for myself, whereas for you, that might not be courageous. The courageous thing would be to walk into someone's office and have a conversation. So AristotleWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:saw more of a nuance, whereas Plato was much more hard-lined in these forms and were just participating in these objectives. And Aristotle kind of saw that there was a difference in how those things were lived out from person to person. So I think his sense of human behavior. and looking at individual human behavior and the cultivation of virtue in the individual, kind of accounted for, yeah, the distinct way that people can live their lives in accordance with these objective truths.Will Wright:which we would see as being in accordance with the natural law, which is our participation in the eternal law in reality as it is. SoTeresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:I don't, I don't see a huge gap in retrospect. Like obviously if you're thinking through it as Aristotle, without the light of Christ to fill in the gaps.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:I mean, I could see the, the world of forms, for example, as being in the mind of God, butTeresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:God is simple, like divine simplicity, that he doesn't have parts and pieces and attributes. He is. Period. Right? He is, He exists as essence is existence. So if that's the case, then our participation in those perfections is a participation in reality as God made it. And ultimately in him, because in him, we live and move and have our being. So I think ultimately there their views are reconcilable, at least in my mind, to a large extent, because they show us that there is a standard, there is an objective reality. But then, I don't know, I'm kinda like, I'm thinking through this as we go, but it seems like the way that you explained Aristotle seems very subjective or relativistic. And I know that that's not true. So how would you respond to somebody who maybe is moral relativist at heart, who's who hears what you say and say, see, it's different, it's completely different. So stop trying to compare me to you and there is no standard.Teresa Morris:Yeah.Will Wright:So how would you respond to that?Teresa Morris:Yeah, I would say that there's a difference between when we're talking about goodness in a metaphysical sense, which I think you could say that Plato is kind of, when he's talking about the forms, he's kind of talking more about metaphysics and, you know, what is goodness itself, whereas Aristotle is focused on the cultivation of goodness within a person and that he thinks those two things are distinct and that they're not opposed to each other, but what it looks like to choose the good in terms of action is different than what goodness is. in this metaphysical sense. So he does think that virtue is more than just fulfilling certain roles, or it's just doing what I personally think is good. He does think that it's the acquiescence of a person towards something objective, that there is something outside of myself that I'm trying to achieve. I'm trying to be. courageous or I'm trying to be honest or whatever. And it's something beyond myself that I'm trying to then orient myself towards. So he doesn't think that the individual gets to decide what the virtue is, but that the individual gets to decide how to get there. And so he is in no way saying that society should be composed of individuals who get to determine. what is good or what virtue is because the consequence of that is just moral and coherence in societyWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:that we can't have that and Aristotle is not proposing that. But what he is proposing is that it's not insignificant how an individual's heart and will is formed to be a good person in society. That it really does matter who the individuals are. It's not just follow these set of rules. that it's a transformation of the person. So in that sense, it's subjective because it's a subjective way of living out these objective virtues. But it's not subjective or relative in the sense that you get to determine what that is. It's just that for you, how you're living it out is subjective because you personally have free will and you personally have to choose it.Will Wright:because it pertains to you as the subject. So what's the difference between subjective and relative? Because I feel like these are often conflated,Teresa Morris:they are.Will Wright:usually by people who are not moral relativists, usually people who say there is only objective truth.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:And I met more than one person who claims this. And at first I thought to myself, well, that's absurd. Of course there's subjective truth. But then as we got talking more, I was more and more confused and I wasn't sure of myself and I was like, well, maybe it is just objective truth, but it's objective for you. Like preferences, for example, like is it true that I like pepperoni and bacon pizza? Yes. Is it true that is the only pizza to like? No. So it doesn't matter because for me, I love pepperoni and bacon pizza. And so that seems subjective in that I, the subject like this certain type of pizza. But if somebody else is looking at that and whether they know it or not, if they make that claim, you know, Will likes pepperoni and bacon pizzaObjectively, are they correct? Yes.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:So that seems like an objective truth.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:So I thought that was a pretty darn good argument. I didn't have a response to it. So I'd love to know.Teresa Morris:Yeah.Will Wright:I'm not a philosopher. I'm not an ethicist. So...Teresa Morris:Yeah,Will Wright:what do you say?Teresa Morris:I think that we use the term objective truth way too freely. And I think that there are objective truths and personal preferences being true in the moment isn't an objective truth. We can say right now it is objectively true. that you like your pizza however you like it. But that's not an objective truth because objective truth is unchanging. SoWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:something that is in this moment objectively true isn't an objective truth because that could change. Whereas objective truths are unchanging. So I think weWill Wright:I love that.Teresa Morris:Use that term way too freely. And I think that if we just say, we're going to reserve the term objective truth for things that are unchanging, it actually frees us to then distinguish between things that are. subjective and they can be subjectively true and something can be true and not be an objective truth. So I think that the difference between, so I think that's important. And then the difference between subjective versus relative. Subjective just means it pertains to the subject. So things that pertain to the subject can change, right? My preferences can change. But that's different than saying something is relative. Something is relative just means like It's just relative to the person and there's nothing objective that will ever be responded to. So it's just what's true for you and that's different than what's true for me or what you think is good is fine. You know, what makes you happy or what you think is beautiful or whatever is totally different. It's relative. We don't need to agree. There's no common ground. When we're talking about subjective, I really think that when we speak about the subject, it's a really sacred thing. And this is the philosophy of personalists, the philosophy of JP2. which is that the subject matters, and the subject really matters to God, that it's not just, I'm just an iteration of a human, and I just amWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:an iteration of flesh and blood, and I'm just equally loved and here I am existing, it's that God uniquely loves each of us as subjects. And Augustine actually, I think in some ways, is the first personalist in this sense because he talks about the subjective nature of the mind. that when we recognize in ourselves a desire to know other things, it leads us towards something objective, right? That I crave beauty or I crave truth, and that leads me to something objective. I go towards something else. But when the mind begins to think of itself, it's already arrived at the answer. So there's something subjective there. Nothing else can touch my mind. It's my own. And so the subject just refers to the person, the subject. and the subject can encounter something objective. The subject could choose to be relative, but those two things are totally distinct. That relative is more a concept, if you would think of like relative in relation to other people, thatWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:it's just something I think about in terms of society. Things are relative, we can't agree on anything, and there's no common ground, there's no foundation, where a subject is personal. It's what is my experience. of being oriented towards objective truths.Will Wright:I think a lot of the times we use the term relative in directly when we're talking about morality, that it's moral relativism. So one of the things that you mentioned was that objective truth doesn't change ever. I love that, it's very helpful. So how does that square up? And again, maybe this is tangential to our virtue conversation, but I think, I like it, we're gonna keep going. So how does that square up with like scientific truths? things that are observable in nature. For example, the acceleration due to gravity is such here on earth because of the mass of the earth and yada, right?Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:If we go to a different planet, gravity is gonna be a little different.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:But those are still scientifically observable things if the mass, and really what we're saying is that the force exerted because of mass and the electromagnetic. field and all the other things that go into the, I am not a scientist, so I'm way out of my depth here, but my understanding is that the coefficients related to physics exist in such a way as to hold all things together here, but that in some far-flung part of the universe, those coefficients might be totally different, and they might even change. So it seems like a lot of the things that we observe in nature are subject to change. And of course they are because of like entropy and matter being created, not created, it's neither created nor destroyed, but it's changed. So with all of that change, of course there's gonna be a change in composition and like eventually everything's gonna, I guess explode, I don't know, or just drift further apart and go and be frozen. There's all kinds of different theories, but how do we square objective truth when we're not talking about morality with something like a scientific fact because it seems like a lot of people today being scientific See, you know all these things that we learn by science that's truth that's fact But it based on what you said about objective reality not changing that seems to not mesh up at all if that makes senseTeresa Morris:Hmm. I guess I just would not, maybe this is too simple or reductionistic of an answer, but I just don't have a problem in saying that scientific facts don't need to be categorized as objective truths. And I think it goes back to, I really tend to lean towards saying something is objectively true versus an objective truth. And I just think that perhaps they're just far fewer objective truths than maybe we think that there are. And perhaps all of those things just are things that are true in relation to God, right? That like who he is and who we are in front of him. I am a created being. That's an objective truth. That's never going to change. I am loved by my creator. That's an objective truth. That's never going to change. My creator is love itself. That's never going to change. So I think that objective truths have to do more with the nature of God and who we are in relation to him, whereas scientific facts, we can say, are facts that are currently objectively true. And that leaves room for those things to change. And I think that the tendency to identify those as objective truths is a product of the enlightenment, that the enlightenment really pushes us to only trust things that are proven and to say that something that is proven is an objective truth. And I think you can say, yeah, I can prove that this is objectively true, but that might not be true in 200 years, or it might not be true on Mars. And we can alter those things, right? What has been considered true in science 500 years ago, we're like, oh, shoot, that's not actually true. Or it's true in one circumstance and not in another. Or even just saying, you know, 50 years ago, humans can't survive on Mars. That was an objective truth. And that is going to change where it will be true to say that humans can survive on Mars. And so there's that area of scientific fact. I just don't think that we need to say that those are objective truths. I think we can say some things are objectively true and that leaves room for that to change, but we don't need to make them harden fast eternal truths.Will Wright:No, absolutely. And the reason I brought it up is because I have met so many people who are so entrenched in scientific thought, that they think there really is no other source of truth,Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:which is perhaps a product of the Enlightenment. I think it's even further back than that. But it seems like there's this deep sort of abiding sense that philosophy doesn't matter. And especially metaphysics. I mean, I've spoken to people who I went to college with, for example, who call themselves moral relativists, accept that label. One has a PhD in public health, which I think, you know, like, it would be really important for you to understand philosophy or metaphysics, but he rejects metaphysics. Like he said that in a conversation one day, he said, I don't believe that metaphysics exists.Teresa Morris:HmmWill Wright:I said, well, I don't believe that you exist. Conversation over. No, just kidding. No,Teresa Morris:This is all fakeWill Wright:it was just really hard to wrap my head around that because if we don't have good first principles, if we don't have good philosophical groundings, then there's gonna be things that we see in science where science just becomes completely relative. And I will use thatTeresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:word relative because it says, well, this is what I think. And so I'm just sort of gonna manifest the simulation of that. It'sTeresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:like looking at the wall of the cave and saying there's the reality and the shadows. So these things, like you said, that were created beings that were loved by our creator, those are unchangingTeresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:objective facts. The fact that I'm a man and you're a woman, for example, never going to change. We can try to change it. We can scientifically make all these things. This is why I think that the transgender ideology is so insidious. Is not because. of individual people sort of trying to hoodwink someone. I don't think that's the case at all. I think that they've lost the mooring of philosophy so long ago, I guess not that long ago, 10 years maybe, five, 10 years. But without that philosophical foundation, what's to stop somebody from saying, well, I feel like this, so I'm going to be it. And so I have a lot of compassion for that. I don't have a lot of compassion when it comes to some of the practical concerns that come from, especially related to children, but also adults when it comes to cross-sex hormones and genital mutilation and all these other horrible things that are happening, I think that's inexcusable. But I wonder, because I think this all pertains when we talk about virtue is, how do we approach something like that and push back in a way that's not horribly rude. We don't want to be rude, right? But we also can't back down from something that's important because I've heard a lot of people put it this way. I've heard a lot of people say, well, why do you care so much? You know, it's not it's not you. So what does it matter? And then the other person generally will respond in some iteration of, well, because I care about truth. I just feel like there's something seriously missing from that conversation. There's a huge disconnect between the two.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:So anyway, we're probably gonna get this video pulled off of YouTube, but continue.Teresa Morris:Yeah, well I think that the one of the big pieces that's missing from all of these conversations, whether it's a conversation about morality or scientific advancement or any type of medical intervention or whatever, or just the lack of virtue in general in society, is that we've lost a sense of looking to the telos of a thing. So we have removed this teleological view of the world, which is this question of what is something made for? What is it oriented towards? And when we take that away, then really you do provide this permission to do whatever you want, because you're not oriented towards anything, and you don't know what you're made for. So if we are able to return to this teleological vision of humanity, where we recognize where we are. So even just saying, you know, here we are in 2023, what has worked for morality in the past isn't going to necessarily work today. Like it is okay to say we do need a new vision for how to integrate these objective truths. But the truth of what it means to be human has not changed and what human beings are oriented towards has not changed. But I think we've really lost that. And I thinkWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:I think that was something that the Enlightenment really just rejected was this sense of teleology and you know we're not really oriented towards anything so as long as I can prove that it exists in this moment then that's all that really matters. So this question of what is the goal and what is the purpose of every human being that exists and even to go further and to say that there is a goal and a purpose of every person because some people don't even believe that. And so asking that question first and foremost. And then when it comes to these questions of, you know, medical interventions and transitioning and whatnot, I think it's, you know, some people really are, they really care about truth and the integration of truth in society and the capacity for society to take truth seriously, even just to, you know, be able to put something in front of another person and trust that they're gonna acknowledge that that's there, right, that we've kind of lost this sense of, are we even looking at the same thing? ItWill Wright:Yeah.Teresa Morris:seems like we're not even able to acknowledge that. And that's an important, that's really important to return to a society that can acknowledge that truth exists and that we can agree on it. But also I think perhaps the part that's missing that I think this concept of virtue gives is this sense of, yeah, I care about truth, but I care about my fellow man because we belong to one another. That I'm not an isolated person, I'm made for community, I'm made for relationship. So what is causing an ache in another person, this question of, you know, Who am I? Right? Which is thisWill Wright:Hmm. Fundamental.Teresa Morris:any struggle, right? Yeah, that all of us have this question of gosh, who am I? Am I made for something? What am I made for? I want to know it. And there are all these horrible answers that society gives of, oh, well, maybe if you change this, you'll have this answer and you'll know who you are then. And so I, yes, I care about truth, but I think the deeper response is I really care about the integration of truth in the hearts of my fellow man.Will Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:And I want them to have an answer to this question of who am I and an answer to these struggles. And there is an answer, but what's being proposed to them is so flawed. And if we're able to say, actually this answer is present in your being, thatWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:it's ingrained in your being, you don't need to alter who you are to find this answer that it's already ingrained in your existence. which is a return to metaphysics, I think we would maybe get farther in society because just saying we care about truth, that's good, but it doesn't then look to, okay, but there's still all these people struggling to integrate it. So I think that when we really care about truth, we're also caring about the people who are hearing the truth and able to integrate it into their lives.Will Wright:Well, in a postmodern world where words only have meaning in relation to the words around them, to say, well, I care about what's true, you can have so many providers, whether it's through cowardice or through actually believing this stuff, to say, well, when I have a patient come to me who says that they are actually in point of fact, a man, even though they are biologically a woman, I have to affirm that that's truth. That's their truth. That's what they believe. And so I take them at their word. Now, nowhere in medicine or psychology since its inception have we ever accepted only what the patient says as the criteria for diagnosis, but leaving that aside, and that's a huge problem, but leaving that aside, it's so easy to sort of play this word game. So I think everything you say, I'd absolutely... excuse the pun, I would affirm that. But how do we reintroduce metaphysics into the conversation? Cause I think that's the crux of what you're saying. And I agree. That's what's missing is how do we help people see that there is an objective reality and that things do have an ontological basis in the world. I guess I should, okay, what's ontology? Let's start there. WhatTeresa Morris:Yeah.Will Wright:is an ontological reality? Ontology is one of my favorite words and it's like a will write drinking game with my friends.Teresa Morris:How many? Take a shot every time. Yeah, ontology refers to being. So an ontological view of the world is referring to the being of things. And so the fact that humans are a different type of being than God is, I have a different ontology.Will Wright:and fun words like quiddity.Teresa Morris:so, look at you.Will Wright:I love, I love, I love scholastic terminology. It's fun. Just means..Teresa Morris:It is fun.Will Wright:.. whatness, right? Like what is it? Anyway.Teresa Morris:Yep.Will Wright:Yeah. Super important though. It's cause if we don't know what a thing is, how can we even talk about it? So in a world where the majority, not even the majority, I won't make that claim where a lot of people are rejecting philosophical principles and metaphysics. How can we talk about anything in an intelligent way? So anyway, sorry for that digression, so going back to that first question I asked, how do we reinsert metaphysics back into the conversation in an intelligible way?Teresa Morris:Yeah. Well, what's interesting is like I kind of think metaphysics is sneaking into Social consciousness a little bit if you look at this movement of spirituality You know even just like new age things people are recognizing that there's something beyond the physical going on Even though their answer to that, you know, like astrology or whatever is incorrect There is this desire that people are recognizing in themselves that they're more than just the physical world and that there's something to being human beyond just my physical reality. And I think that's a really beautiful and a really hopeful thing that people are kind of getting into these, really spiritual views of the world. Even if you just look at psychology, psychology is so big right now on how the body retains memories of our experiences. There's something metaphysical to that. where there's something beyond what I'm currently experiencing that my body might be remembering and physically encountering that isn't actually happening to me right now. That's a crazy proposal, but that's in a lot of modern psychology, which just brings us back to this idea that there's something beyond myself. There's something beyond just the fact that I have a body. So I think that... that desire to understand the world in a metaphysical sense, that desire to know that there's something beyond just this is already really present in social consciousness. And I think that's very hopeful. So I think taking that desire, helping people name what that is, right? It's not just like, oh, I want to be able to predict my life three months from now, or I think it's fun to ask people what sign you are. but that there's actually a true desire where that's coming from and saying, name that desire. What is it? What are you really seeking? And once people can name it, then we can kind of start proposing a true response to it. But I think that metaphysics, that view of reality is already sneaking back in. I think you can only stay stuck in a purely materialistic viewpoint for so long before the human... gets tired of it and says, I know there's something more. And so that knowledge and that seeking is already present. And I think that we can just say, okay, yeah, cool. That's great. You're there. You're recognizing this desire. Let's name that and let's orient ourselves to perhaps a more fulfilling answer.Will Wright:Well, even the new atheists who were so popular in the late 90s, early 2000s, like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, have gone completely relativistic at this point. I mean, Richard Dawkins being a quite adept biologist, a horrible philosopher. I mean, the God delusion is full of ridiculous things.Teresa Morris:Oh yeah, it's so bad.Will Wright:My favorite one in that is when he says that, I mean, because I mentioned divine simplicity earlier. He gets God completely wrong because he says, look at all the biodiversity. So God must be the most complex being there is. And it's like, no, you're going the wrong way, homie. You go the other direction. He's the most simple being. And that's just basic metaphysics, but he can't wrap his head around it. But now a lot of the things he's putting out there are just completely relativistic. And so I think you're dead right on that. Like you can't live in that materialist naturalist view without doing severe harm to your mind. And I mean that in a very real sense, I mean that literally. Because if we look, like you were saying with the psychological research recently, there's been a lot of work in neuroscience towards what is consciousness.Teresa Morris:Right?Will Wright:And they've made little to no headway over decades because they never will, because the mind is bigger than the brain, come to find out. So it's fascinating that from a scientific standpoint, it's sort of affirming what we've always held. Like for example, the hylomorphic reality of body and soul, that we are more than just our bodies and that our mind is more than just our brains. It's more than just chemicals firing. Cause with the new age things, I have some students who would wear crystals and things like this. And I had a conversation with one girl one day, If you're listening to this, you know who you are and you know, I love you She was like, well, you know, they give off energy.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:And the girl next to her goes, that's b******t. You know what she said? Anyway, she was like, that's ridiculous. No way. Come on, the rocks. And I'm like, Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing. And she was like, well, I feel different when I'm, I feel like there's forces around me that are working on me and doing different things in my life. I'm like, yeah, those might be demons. So can you be careful?Teresa Morris:Yeah, be careful.Will Wright:It's not always demons, but there are supernatural forces at work. Angels and demons do exist.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:Um, you know, God is real and actually trying to reach her heart. Um, so I told her, I said to her that night, uh, I said that night, I want you to go home and I want you to take off the crystals and just ask God to be present to you in a way that you'll understand that's it. And then just, just maybe lie in bed and just be ready to, to listen. And, uh, she came back a couple of days later and, um, We're back in class in his guitar class, so we weren't doing much of anything. And whatever. Anyway, we wereTeresa Morris:Shout out to Guitar Class.Will Wright:it's a great class. They learned so many things about guitar, but it afforded us time to talk. Anyway, so she didn't have all of her crystal stuff on, andTeresa Morris:Hmm.Will Wright:I was like, what? What's going on with that? And she said, well, God talked to me, so I... I think I shouldn't wear these crystal things anymore because they'reTeresa Morris:I guess.Will Wright:probably not good for me and they're probably just rocks. And I said, that'sTeresa Morris:Aw.Will Wright:awesome. But then that led to another conversation about, you know, the Catholic church teaches what is true. And then the girl who was saying that it's ridiculous that rocks have energy was saying, well, I'm only really Catholic because my parents are Catholic. And how do I know that any of this is true? Everybody else has different religious beliefs. But anyway, all of that to say.Teresa Morris:Good question.Will Wright:in these great conversations, what never came up was the idea that God did not exist. What never came up was the idea that the supernatural didn't exist. Well, that's huge. And so, just to affirm what you were saying, I'm seeing that as well, especially with the teens, is that the idea of atheism is just completely foreign to them. Now, whether that's a pseudo-like neo-paganism, or new age stuff, whatever. I find that very optimistic and heartening as well, because the Catholic Church is really good at evangelizing pagans.Teresa Morris:Yeah,Will Wright:It's kind of our thing, it'sTeresa Morris:historically,Will Wright:what we do. SoTeresa Morris:yeah.Will Wright:I think we need to step it up on that. And like you say,Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm.Will Wright:propose the truth, give words to what people are already experiencing. I love that approach. Because if we just keep fighting... I mean, basically we'd be fighting the culture war until we die.Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm. Right.Will Wright:Um, which I'm not sure what you think about this, but I, I find the culture war to be completely tedious.Teresa Morris:Yeah, and largely unaffected. LikeWill Wright:Hmm.Teresa Morris:I think that we're not really making a ton of headway on it. And it's also, it can I think lead to a lot of naval gazing. We can talk about this at a different time, but I think it can become,Will Wright:No,Teresa Morris:we've become out own gods. I think, if we just are like, yeah, our mission in life is to engage in the culture war, it's like, well then that's about me and how I'm. I'm changing the culture and it's not about, am I actually trusting that Christ can transform someone's heart and actually propose Christ to them and not just constantly be battling sets of ideas and whatnot. But yeah, I think it's so true, I found this as well in teaching younger generations that it's so fascinating because I feel like when I was being taught in high school, there was this huge battle against atheistic ideas. And it's just, we don't really have that now. That there really is, they have this sense of there's something beyond themselves and they are very spiritual. And I think that that's, yeah, it's super hopeful. And even the idea that, you know, like she has these rocks, like she wants something. physical like Catholicism understands that too. That's why we have the Eucharist because Christ is like I get that you guys need physical things like you guys really thrive being able to touch something like you're embodied persons and you know God knows that and he doesn't discount that and how he encounters us so even that you know I think there's something sweet in you know people who want to you know be touching crystals and stuff that there's this sense of yeah I'm embodied and my connection to the divine is somehow through something physical too. And the Eucharist gives that response that, yeah, that's okay. That's actually a really beautiful desire and Christ meets that desire. Yeah,Will Wright:The Catholic, uh, thinker, Louis Bouyer, I paraphrasing him because I don't remember the exact quote, but he said that if the church is only invisible, then that's not the church. And I, I love that because it shows just how embodied Catholicism is, whether it's the Eucharist or whether it's sacramentals or beautiful churches, uh, or God awful modernist concrete buildings that still have the mass offered in them. Um, you know, that's showing that embodiment can go both ways, but it's, it's so utterly true that we are body and soul, uh, like Peter Kreeft says, we're in sold bodies or we're embodied souls. Either way you slice it. We have both. Right. Um, he also makes the interesting, uh, sort of a realization that if we are bodies without souls, then we're zombies. And if we're souls without bodies, then we're ghosts.Teresa Morris:It does, yeah.Will Wright:So, you know, I don't want to be a zombie or a ghost. I'd prefer to be a full real life human being.Teresa Morris:Person, yeah.Will Wright:So practically, tangibly living this out, just kind of returning to this idea of virtue as the mean between two extremes. Let's, because we're nearing around an hour. So let's end by walking through practically with a couple of examples, what this would look like. But before we do that, I just want to make one caveat on the theological virtues, because I think that's really, really important distinction for us and a lot of people don't understand this. The theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity are God's life dwelling within us. We receive them as an indwelling in baptism. Before baptism, they're working around us because God is wooing us to the sacraments. He's drawing us to himself, but we receive them in our soul. as an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in baptism and then amplified and elevated in confirmation But those gifts of faith to know the faith to know the things of God what is revealed hope to the sure and certain hope of heaven if we are Friends of God and doing what he says following his commandments as Jesus says and then charity Which is the only one that will remain in the end is the very love of God the glue that holds all things together the ground of being itself Faith, hope and charity are not something that you and I can grow in on our own. We cannot practice them like we do the rest of the virtues. They are a gift to be used or squandered. And the way that we increase in them is by asking for more of them. So if we use those gifts that we've been given of faith, hope and charity well, and we ask God for a greater share in His divine life, and we're living life for virtue, then He'll give us more faith, hope and charity. And this can keep going forever. And this is the growth in holiness. But the other virtues, the cardinal virtues so-called, because cardine means hinge in Latin, so all the other virtues hinge on temperance, justice, fortitude, and prudence. And those four cardinal virtues sort of are something that we can work on. We are able to intentionally enter into them daily, habitually, firmly. Disposing ourselves to the good and working on them and all of the moral virtues Sort of come underneath those. So like for example justice has a sub virtue, which is piety which has another sub virtue, which is patriotism or Love of father and mother so like the cardinal virtues are here and then all the moral virtues sort of branch off from those So I feel like that's super important to just at least mention is the theological virtues. We can't grow in them on our own We receive more of them, we ask for more of them. But when it comes to the cardinal virtues and the moral virtues, let's just walk through a couple of examples of those. So generosity, for example, what would the excess and deficiency of generosity be?Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm. Yeah, so again, like generosity is this mean between two extremes. So it's like this middle ground. So the access of generosity would be, you know, giving way too much of your time, having no boundaries, giving, giving too much of your time or your belongings or whatever. And, and, and yeah, being overly giving the deficiency would be like scrupulosity, like you're not giving anything, you're being stingy. And so you want this middle ground of an adequate understanding of what you can give and giving adequately from that place. One thing I do want to mention, even as I'm talking about this, it's easy to talk about excess and deficiency by saying an excess is too much of something, a deficiency is not enough. But when we're looking at virtue as a mean between these extremes, the mean, it's the same concept as in math where it's an average of something. And if something's an average, you cannot max it out. So you can't actually have too much of an average. That doesn't make sense. So I'm using these terms of like, you're being too generous, you're not being generous enough. But if you're actually virtuous, it's not possible to be too virtuous because you're already in the realm of a mean. So it's actually not possible to be too generous or too courageous or too kind that if you actually are in a place where it's no longer generosity, it's not actually that it's too generous, it's something else entirely.Will Wright:Well, and that goes back to what you were saying about it being a subjective instantiation of virtue, right? That it's going to depend on the circumstances. So to give a little bit more flesh to the generosity thing, if I have $10 that I'm making on a given day and I owe $5 to pay my bills and house my family and I have to pay $2 for food, obviously this is like pre-Biden's America. Um, sorry, was that too political? Anyway. let's say inflationTeresa Morris:Timestamp.Will Wright:before terrible inflation anyway. So $5 for housing, $2 for food, and then I've got $3 leftover and say I give $2 of that to the church for tithing and $1 to feed a homeless person who I see on the way home. That would be well ordered because I'm paying my bills. I'm fulfilling my duties as afather and husband, right? Now, if I'm going home and I, take my $10 and I give all of it to that homeless person I encountered on the way home, that's not generosity. That's that'sfoolish. Thatwould be the deficient. That would be the excess, right? It's nolonger generosity, because I'm actually not fulfilling my duty to my family.Teresa Morris:Right.Will Wright:I'm not paying my bills, which are just I'm not feeding my family, which is my obligation. So I think that that's theright way to look at it is what you're saying is that That's no longer generosity. That's something else entirely.Teresa Morris:Right.Will Wright:That's extravagance in a sense.Teresa Morris:Yeah, which then goes back to this point about what type of person do I want to be? It's not just this set of rules of this is what I should do in these circumstances. It's who am I, right? So if someone is a father and a husband, there are certain duties that come with that. And so it's not just, you know, whereas if that was me, you know, if as a single person, I have more capacity to, you know, give to people in need because I don't have these corresponding duties to the type person that I'm currently called to be. So again, it is the subjective sense of things, but when you're subjectively living it, you have to look at who am I called to be in this moment or in this season of my life and what are the duties that come with that. I think another example that I love giving, which I think is kind of fun is, I think it's Aquinas talks about pleasantness being the virtue corresponding to like playing games. or sports, which I think could also be sportsman-like conduct is sort of the virtue. And so if you have too much of that, if you're in excess, that would be something like being a pushover. You're not actually competing and it's not really fun because you're just letting people walk all over you and you're not really being competitive, you're not trying. The deficiency of that would be something like unsportsman-like conduct or being a bully and your entire goal is just to dominate. and to win and you're not actually engaging in healthy competition. So that's a fun one too if you just think about playing a sport or being in competitions at work or whatever that's fun and you know when it's pleasant and you know when you're like I just don't want to be around this person. This has become something else entirely. We're not actually engaging as persons andit's no longer pleasant because people aren't being, aren't conducting themselves well. So that's also a fun one.Will Wright:Yeah, there's a lot of moral virtues. There's actually quite a few. So we can go through 18 of these and still not be done. So I think we've kind of hit the main points. But as a kind of final thought, I would just say, you know, because there's so many, we can't intentionally focus on all of them.So what's the best strategy to grow in virtue? Because it needs to be something that's intentional. We're striving for excellence. But we also don't want to go to the access of even that, right? Of wanting to grow in virtue. This idea of, I guess that would be fortitude, maybe even prudence, temperance. Really it's all of them, justice.Teresa Morris:Two million.Will Wright:I mean, all the cardinal virtues come into play in what I'm suggesting here. So what's a, what's a practical way that we can move forward in a life of virtue?Teresa Morris:Mm-hmm. One of the things I always talk to my students about when I'm first introducing this idea because it can it can seem either overwhelming or super exciting where you're like, oh my gosh Yeah, I really want to be a virtuous person and then it can become sort of a self-help thing where it's like I got to change my whole life and you know, I'm gonna be I'm gonna dominate I'm gonna be like the best virtuous personWill Wright:Be the best version of yourself... Sorry... Hate that phrase. Anyway, we're not talking about that right now. I feel like every conversation video I'm dunking on some famous Catholic person. I'm sorry, Matthew KellyTeresa Morris:We l

Join Stu Burguiere as he unravels the controversy surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris' claims about Florida's slavery curriculum. This episode of "Stu Does America" contrasts Harris' statements with Governor Ron DeSantis' defense, shedding light on the ongoing debate about the teaching of history in schools and its implications for the 2024 election. Then, CBN's Dan Andros joins to discuss Nancy Mace and Richard Dawkins, of all people. And Stu explains why you should or should not hate our current Supreme Court. TODAY'S SPONSORS:   JASE MEDICAL Go to http://www.JaseMedical.com and enter code “STU” at checkout for a discount on your order   REAL ESTATE AGENTS I TRUST For more information, please visit http://www.RealEstateAgentsITrust.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Christian street preacher gets hauled away by cops while drag queens in lingerie dance for dollars from kids in Wisconsin - this is the world Richard Dawkins and his ilk wanted, so why is he so upset it isn't the enlightened utopia he thought it would be? Plus, Chicago's new mayor gets totally confused about what "mob action" means when asked about teens looting a 7-Eleven, thinking that the teens are being called "baby Al Capones." And finally, an Oregon breast cancer patient loses treatment for not bowing before her doctor's pride trans flag.Guests:Shawn Carney | President & CEO, 40 Days for LifeRiley Lewis | Producer, Tipping Point with Kara McKinney & OAN PodcasterAngela Morabito | Spokesperson, Defense of Freedom InstituteRichard Stern | Director, Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, The Heritage Foundation

The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. Why is there something rather than nothing? Further still, how did we come to exist in a world with such precise laws of nature and complex creatures? As we shall see, how we answer these questions determines everything: from the meaning of our lives to the secrets of our futures. This week Premier Unbelievable presents a two part show event entitled “The Mystery of Existence” opening with the perennial and mind teasing question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”. We have teamed up with our friends at The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast to create a riveting two-part show made possible in part thanks to the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham. Featuring four of the biggest names in philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity), the show asks the question, Why is there something rather than nothing?”  The debate is presented by Unbelievable's Ruth Jackson and hosted by Panpsycast's Jack Symes. The Global Philosophy of Religion Project: http://global-philosophy.org Philosophers on God (book): http://amzn.to/3K4enjy Talking about Philosophy: http://talkingaboutphilosophy.com Richard Dawkins: http://richarddawkins.com Jessica Frazier: http://bit.ly/jessicafrazier Silvia Jonas: http://silviajonas.com Jack Symes: http://jacksymes.co.uk Richard Swinburne: http://bit.ly/richardswinburne • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Longtime atheist activist and mentor Woody Kaplan has died. (0:15) — The #1 Christian album in the country belongs to drag queen Flamy Grant. (4:00) — Richard Dawkins used his new podcast to promote more transphobic lies. (13:20) — A Catholic school expelled a boy to retaliate against his outspoken mother. (59:31) — A lawsuit could block Oklahoma's taxpayer-funded Catholic charter school. (1:11:06) — SPONSOR: Factor, America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit. Head to factormeals.com/friendly50 and use code friendly50 to get 50% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hour 3 of A&G includes the weakness of the latest Trump indictments, some "news you can use" regarding nano-plastics, Richard Dawkins tackles the pronoun game and Joe reads "a letter to Navy Joan".  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 3 of A&G includes the weakness of the latest Trump indictments, some "news you can use" regarding nano-plastics, Richard Dawkins tackles the pronoun game and Joe reads "a letter to Navy Joan".  Stupid Should Hurt: https://www.armstrongandgetty.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introduction This episode features Jack Symes in conversation with four of the biggest names in philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity). With over six-hundred people registering for tickets, we were absolutely overwhelmed by your support; thank you to everybody who came along! A very special thank you to our Patrons and the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham for making the event possible. We hope you enjoy the show! ‘The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. Why is there something rather than nothing? Further still, how did we come to exist in a world with such precise laws of nature and complex creatures? As we shall see, how we answer these questions determines everything: from the meaning of our lives to the secrets of our futures.' Contents Part I. The Debate Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links General The Global Philosophy of Religion Project, University of Birmingham. Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence (Bloomsbury, 2024). Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene (book). The Blind Watchmaker (book). The God Delusion (book). Outgrowing God (book). Flights of Fancy (book). www.richarddawkins.com www.richarddawkins.net Jessica Frazier About (webpage). Reality, Religion, and Passion (book). The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies (book). Hindu Worldviews: Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality (book). Categorisation in Indian Philosophy: Thinking Inside the Box (book). BBC In Our Times: Hindu Creation (podcast). History of Philosophy without Any Gaps (podcast). Silvia Jonas Silvia Jonas (website). Silvia Jonas: Research (website). Ineffability and its Metaphysics (book). Richard Swinburne The Existence of God (book). Is There a God? (book). More books by Richard Swinburne.

In a recent interview, professor Richard Dawkins admitted that religion plays an essential role in human flourishing despite its inherent falsity. The claim is far from unique. Social psychologists like Jonathan Haidt continue to point to the societal benefits of religion while maintaining a naturalistic perspective. In this episode, we dive into the role of religion and consider why we're often hardwired for suspicion on this topic.

Introduction This episode features Jack Symes in conversation with four of the biggest names in philosophy: Richard Dawkins (representing science and atheism), Jessica Frazier (on Hinduism), Silvia Jonas (speaking on Jewish philosophy), and Richard Swinburne (defending Christianity). With over six-hundred people registering for tickets, we were absolutely overwhelmed by your support; thank you to everybody who came along! A very special thank you to our Patrons and the Global Philosophy of Religion Project at the University of Birmingham for making the event possible. We hope you enjoy the show! ‘The origin of our universe is the greatest mystery of all. Why is there something rather than nothing? Further still, how did we come to exist in a world with such precise laws of nature and complex creatures? As we shall see, how we answer these questions determines everything: from the meaning of our lives to the secrets of our futures.' Contents Part I. The Debate Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links General The Global Philosophy of Religion Project, University of Birmingham. Philosophers on God: Talking about Existence (Bloomsbury, 2024). Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene (book). The Blind Watchmaker (book). The God Delusion (book). Outgrowing God (book). Flights of Fancy (book). www.richarddawkins.com www.richarddawkins.net Jessica Frazier About (webpage). Reality, Religion, and Passion (book). The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies (book). Hindu Worldviews: Theories of Self, Ritual and Reality (book). Categorisation in Indian Philosophy: Thinking Inside the Box (book). BBC In Our Times: Hindu Creation (podcast). History of Philosophy without Any Gaps (podcast). Silvia Jonas Silvia Jonas (website). Silvia Jonas: Research (website). Ineffability and its Metaphysics (book). Richard Swinburne The Existence of God (book). Is There a God? (book). More books by Richard Swinburne.

It is typically entertaining when two popular intellectuals get into a public spat. Recently, Canadian psychologist and YouTube star Jordan Peterson called out the famous British biologist Richard Dawkins with an “I told you so!”   After Dawkins complained on Twitter about New Zealand elevating traditional Maori stories to the same level as Western science, Peterson retorted, “Welcome to the world of post-humanism, sir. A world which you sadly helped birth. … [I]t wouldn't surprise me at all if the woke polytheistic neopaganists destroy science faster than they destroy Christianity.”   On one hand, Dawkins is right that the whole genius of “Western” science is that it isn't just Western. But, as Peterson not so gently noted, Dawkins has spent his career tearing down the religious foundations upon which Western science is built. Without God and all that His existence implies, there is no solid ground for saying that any knowledge, scientific or otherwise, is true for everyone. 

Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to Frank Turek author of “I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist” about the collapse of the New Atheist movement; Richard Dawkins admitting that religion may be necessary for a flourishing society; the failure of atheism in providing a sense of purpose and meaning; what prominent atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris overlooked; how only religions like Christianity and Judaism can protect a society from the worst elements of radical Islam; the spreading of social justice and woke culture in America's churches; the case for intelligent design as a part of the story of evolution; how morality always ends up being legislated; Jordan Peterson's utilitarian view of religion; and much more.