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Arthur Schopenhauer

22/10/2010

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While I'm in the mood for dismissing eminent German philosophers based on what I've read in the TLS (see below), here's what I think of Schopenhauer.  According to Christopher Jannaway (TLS, 15 October p17)
‘Schopenhauer’s philosophy is highly idiosyncratic and deeply flawed…But it played a vital role in the transition from the eighteenth century to the twentieth, in the destabilizing of trust in religion, progress, rationality, the conscious mind, human difference from the animal world, and the very meaning of our existence’.
It's not, one might have thought, a legacy of which to be proud.  The adjective 'vital' is an interesting choice.  'Regrettable', 'lamentable' or 'deplorable' would seem more fitting. 

There's a review of a biography of Schopenhauer in the same issue.  There is no doubt that his philosophical views closely reflected his personality which raises the question, why are clever people so impressed by the elevation of character flaws into a philosophy?  Schopenhauer was no angst-ridden teenager, from whom such outpourings might be excusable, though certainly not to be taken seriously.  Perhaps writing in German helps?  Don't get me started on Nietzsche...





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Martin Heidegger

22/10/2010

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In the TLS in October there has been a debate on the extent of the philosopher Martin Heidegger's Nazi-ism and how far this affected his philosophy.   I tried to follow this, I tried to understand what Heidegger's philosophy amounted to.   I had no success.  He is acknowledged to be very hard to understand, but even sources favourable to him seemed unable to explain why he should be thought of as a great philosopher other than by mentioning the names of other philosophers.  I have an innate suspicion of such obscurity (or is is obscurantism?).

Anyway, it is clear that Heidegger was a Nazi, and in more than terms of just having a party-card in order to keep his job and promotion prospects.  He was an enthusiast and while that enthusiasm may not have lasted (though this is by no means clear), he was also unrepentant.

From this I conclude that if your system of philosophy, ingenious though it may be, does not provide you with the understanding to see through the intellectual and moral claptrap that was the worldview of Nazi-ism, then it is probably not worth pursuing.
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Radical faith

12/10/2010

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"The Christian Gospel is radical in ways no-one thinks about, since we even define 'radical' in terms of the world. It is unbelievably radical to say that we as a group are called to serve the poor, the hungry, the downtrodden, and that those who keep them that way can do nothing that can harm us in any real way, so forget about them.  Martyrologies are full of people whom God supported through the tortures of those who oppose the Gospel. Sure they died, miserable deaths in many instances, but that's all they can do to us, and Christ gives us the victory, so what odds about that?  I know this is incredibly pie in the sky for a 45 year old man, and no doubt if called to it my courage and faith wouldn't be nearly as strong as they are in front of a computer but what's wrong with a little idealism?"
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It seems to me...

12/10/2010

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"It seems to me that conservatives, especially Evangelicals, don't consider themselves in the palm of God's hand, but in the prisoner's box of God's courtroom".  Ford Elms (on the Thinking Anglicans website)
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    What's here

    A quick look at the 'blogosphere' shows that the nature of the medium means it is all too easy for a 'blog' to convey the impression that its compiler is, at best, self-indulgent and verbose, and at worst, a narcissistic bore.  Religious blogs are by no means immune from this.

    However, while I shall try to avoid sharing my each and every passing thought with you, there is a use for a space for shorter, more ephemeral pieces of writing, and on this website, that's here.   These pieces are likely to be frequently revised, sometimes rewritten and occasionally removed.

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