Modernity The Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries was a major ‘paradigm shift’. It defined the ‘Age of Reason’ which was implemented as modernity. Now humanity understood the logic of cause and effect. No longer was some capricious divinity… Read more ›
The Enlightenment led to a new human capability to understand and harness scientific processes and then to re-configure, engineer and apply them in technology. This was a huge acceleration in a very long term process. Without some technology, we would… Read more ›
We don’t ever live entirely alone, but always in some relationship with others. Some of our relationships are close, some more distant, and in some cases we might only know about someone, rather than knowing them ourselves. Our relationships can… Read more ›
When we think of cruelty, we usually think of extreme cruelty. But cruelty is more subtle and pervasive in human behaviour. Kathleen Taylor in her book `Cruelty – Human Evil and the Human Brain’ defines cruelty as `unjustified voluntary behaviour… Read more ›
The Christian religion makes much of its doctrine of the Trinity. So much so that the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church defines it as ‘the central dogma of Christian theology’. This is despite the fact that the word ‘trinity’… Read more ›
Perhaps cynicism is sometimes necessary. Perhaps we are unwise to trust, to believe, to have positive expectation, to hope, to take things at face value. Perhaps the truth is negative, and what we are told is untrue, what is presented… Read more ›
Stephan Hoeller’s book ‘Gnosticism – New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing’ is a very readable, interesting and comprehensive account of the content and history of Gnosticism. It is also very relevant to the contemporary renewed focus on… Read more ›
By André Comte-Sponville, originally published as ‘Quelle spiritualité en 2050 ?’ in Le Monde des Religions, September – October 2012 In 2050, I will be 98 years old. That’s to say, in all likelihood, that I will no longer be.… Read more ›
