Two men at a table, each pointing a finger at the other. Between them, an open book that nobody is looking at. The entire "burden of proof" in one image. "The burden of proof is on you!" There. The debate is over. My interlocutor has just uttered the magic formula. He can now cr…
Read more →A man searching for his keys under a streetlight, in a circle of light. Far away in the darkness, the keys gleam. The entire epistemology of the slogan in one image. There are phrases that function like passwords. You utter them, and doors open: the door of intellectual respecta…
Read more →Crumpled scraps of paper, and gigantic shadows. The entire history of contemporary anti-theism in one image. "What if I'm wrong? What if, somewhere, in some corner of the multiverse, there's an argument so devastating that it would pulverize in one blow all of classical metaphys…
Read more →An empty gothic cathedral, an open coffin in the middle of the nave, and a pot-bellied man slumped on his phone. The entirety of New Atheism summarized in one image. I have a confession to make, and it will surprise you: I miss New Atheism. Not its conclusions, obviously. Not it…
Read more →The strings are dangling. You just have to pull. "How do you write stuff like that without tripping over your own feet? The debates on evil, the Euthyphro dilemma, the First Cause, theistic evolution, the ambient anti-metaphysical mood... it makes my head spin. They're not right…
Read more →A rubber duck sitting in a cup of hot chocolate, surrounded by a sketch of Aristotle's four causes. Because if an acorn can become an oak, surely it can become a duck. Apparently not. "But what's the point of a final cause?" Again? Not that the question is stupid (it isn't), but…
Read more →A praying chimp in a Gothic cathedral. Monod would call it absurd. Thomas would say the chimp is right. Darwin would note the chimp was selected for it. I recently listened to a debate featuring Kenneth Raymond Miller AGAINST creationism. For those who don't know him, Miller is …
Read more →Attempt #247 at empirical observation of the Ipsum Esse Subsistens. Result: still nothing. The peer reviewer suggests trying a different instrument. Thomas Aquinas suggests trying a different plane of reality. "Come on, the Big Bang obviously proves Creation, doesn't it?" I get …
Read more →Take that, divertissement! "Oh yeah, Pascal, he's the guy who says you should believe in God just in case? Like some kind of metaphysical life insurance?" If I had a euro for every time someone trotted out this grotesque oversimplification, I could fund a critical edition of the…
Read more →I promise, this isn't at all how I picture the serpent. He's even less impressive in my head. "Buy now, pay later! Satisfaction guaranteed! Immediate results!" If you've ever seen an advertisement in your life (and if you haven't, where do you live, I'm moving there), you'll rec…
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