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Finitude and Wonder: Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Anthropology
No full textThesisThis thesis traces the development of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s anthropological thought across three works: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Philosophical Investigations, and On Certainty. In the Tractatus, Wittgenstein articulates an understanding of the human being as a creature whose very existence is founded on language. Then in the Investigations, Wittgenstein adopts a more refined and naturalistic view of the human being as a relational creature shaped primarily by the linguistic practices of its community. Finally, in On Certainty, Wittgenstein strikes at the heart of the mystery of being human, that is, being a creature inescapably rooted in dependence and trust. Particularly with its inclusion of On Certainty, this thesis argues for a holistic understanding of Wittgenstein’s philosophy as it pertains to living a deeply human life filled with wonder. Read especially against the backdrop of his life and personality, Wittgenstein’s philosophy reveals itself to be more than a theory about language, but rather an existential work informed by a deep anthropological concern
In Pursuit of Human Flourishing
Full text linkDissertationThe work of this thesis begins with a rather obvious observation: bad things happen in this world. Very many bad things happen, very often. More specifically, people do bad things to other people, and to themselves. There are a great many people who have invested their lives in addressing varying kinds of harm within human existence, in varying expert ways. Within the messy business of thinking about bad things that happen, however, what has emerged as especially perplexing and vexing to me is the problem of the ordinary ways in which people of relatively good will do personal violence to the people around them in the world. There are of course many contexts of moral education addressing the problems of human interpersonal activity, and many contexts designed to equip people with principles and skills to be responsible human beings. Given that people of good will typically already have some form of moral code to guide their behaviors, and already have some form of moral identity to animate a desire to do good, what can be done about the problem? How are people who already have a desire to do good and a sense of what the good is to approach the reality that they actually at times do harm?
Further, how are they to be helped to do otherwise? This is the problem that this thesis will address – a difficulty that we will refer to as the problem of personal violence
Decreation
No full textMaster's thesis"As described above, any introduction to Simone Weil that foregrounds the events of her extraordinary life at the expense of her ideas is, in my view, insufficient. That is not to say, however, that her personal experiences ought to be ignored. In fact, it would be unwise to attempt to divide her personhood from her philosophical and mystical ideas. According to Marie-Magdeleine Davy, Weil is “essentially paradoxical, even contradictory” but she “nevertheless presented in herself a perfect unity.” This unity is not merely true in the sense that apparent contradictions in philosophy can be reconciled, but also in that the apparent political and mystical division of her life and commitments are bound together. In Davy’s description, “from whatever angle you look at her, from the intellectual, the religious or social, she is entirely a whole.” Despite this, scholarship on Weil often approaches her from one of two directions: either the socio-political or the mystical and religious. Seminal texts like A Truer Liberty: Simone Weil and Marxism partition her thought into categories like “Liberty,” “Oppression,” and “Power,” and minimally engage with her mystical theology. This kind of categorization is not without its uses; for one, it allows scholars to engage with individual concepts in depth while leaving behind the aspects of her thought more peripheral to their concerns, but partitioning the mystical and political into distinct categories can too easily allow scholars to disregard their interconnectivity.
Annual Report (Institute for Christian Studies)
No full textAnnual Report, Institute for Christian Studie
(Abschiedsrede): “My Brilliant Career"
No full textExaugural address"I am living proof that some very unlikely souls come into their own in the academy. I came into the world as an RH-factor baby in Tokyo, Japan at a time when that was still a life-or-death thing. At a certain point in my first week my body shut down. It took a while for the nurses to catch this and call in the doctors. It took a little while longer to restart my heart, and then longer to find blood donors, on the off chance . . . I am grateful for off chances.
Created Beautiful: On LGBTQ Christians in the Church with Eric Van Giessen
No full textAfter an extended break, we're back! And we're planning to bring you some more regular content again in the new year.
In today's episode, ICS President Ronald A. Kuipers talks with our guest Eric Van Giessen about their respective histories in the Christian Reformed Church and their responses to the CRC's recent synod vote to affirm the 2016 Human Sexuality Report. Along the way, they explore alternative avenues of Biblical interpretation, Eric's autoethnographic research into Queer faith communities, and some tools for having more productive conversations on difficult topics.
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You can find more about Eric's research and other projects on his website at www.ericvangiessen.com.
You can also check out the original Queerly Faithful Zine, which contains the poem Eric read among many other creative contributions, at www.queerlyfaithfulpress.ca/zine.
You can also find the article mentioned in this episode published this past June on Broadview magazine’s website at www.broadview.org.Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu
