Red Letter Philosophy: Recent Episodes
Red Letter Philosophy
Both café and classroom; equal parts philosophy and faith, Red Letter Philosophy is a show about life and ideas. The finest spirits, from full-bodied saints like Augustine, Anselm, & Thomas Aquinas, to intoxicating intellects like Blaise Pascal or G. K. Chesterton, are on tap every week.
Join Soz (professional philosopher) and Mot (amateur philosopher) for weekly refreshment, as they drink in the insights of red letter philosophers.
Where is God? How is the distance between God and man to be measured? In this episode we conclude a series of episodes on Divine Hiddenness. However, this is not your mother’s academic discussion. God, evil, life, pinball, drinks, and a wee bit of reverie await you, dear listener. Come and enjoy the show.
When we experience evil, or silence from heaven, can any answers, any consolation, be found in philosophy? In this episode we consider this question in the light of D. Z. Phillips.
When we experience evil, or silence from heaven, can any answers, any consolation, be found in philosophy? In this episode we consider this question in the light of C. S. Lewis.
The world can seem a silent and indifferent place in the face of suffering and confusion. Where is God? Why should God, as some tell us, be in a whisper? Why should God dwell in secret places? In this episode we take up The hiddenness of God, the Deus absconditus.
As we continue recovering from being under the weather, we bring you one of our Easter favorites. On this holiday episode of Red Letter Philosophy we ask the question, what’s so good about Good Friday? We also discuss the frame or boundary that is Holy Week. In the words of Peter Kreeft, “it takes boundaries to make anything interesting. If a picture didn't have a frame, it would trail off into vague, boring everything-ness. Life's most dramatic moments are her two frames: entrance and exit, beginning and end, birth and death.”
This St. Patrick’s Day finds us under the weather. Rather than miss the day, we offer/bring one of our St Patrick’s Day favorites. Is St. Patrick’s Day a celebration of the Irish; Irish history, Irish storytelling, Ireland herself, or is St. Patrick’s Day a celebration of a saint and of the one who molded the saint? We couldn’t decide. So, on this episode we offer you both one of Ireland’s finest sons and her greatest saint. We offer for your listening pleasure The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde.
In this episode we contemplate the problems of silence and unbelief through the eyes of Jean Paul Sartre and Frederick Nietzsche. Do these two great atheist philosophers agree, fundamentally, with the great Christian philosophers? Take up and listen.
Every once in a while Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday fall on the same day; this episode is for such days. Love and death are visitors from another world, doors in the wall of the world. Join us as we contemplate love and death.
After a three month hiatus, Red Letter Philosophy returns. The boys pick up their discussion of the problem of silence and the problem of unbelief. In particular, they look at an intriguing argument from famed author, Andrew Klavan.
Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day: a trinity of holy and deathly days. In an increasingly secular age, these days become excuses to indulge the appetites: hedonism & ghoulishness. However, these days are days of profundity and depth when seen in the correct light. Join us as we contemplate mystery, death, and spirit in this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
Do we live on a silent planet? Are we merely insignificant specs of dust adrift in an indifferent cosmos? Or do we have reason to think otherwise? We’re on the road and searching for answers; join us, will you?
Do you struggle with belief? Are you disturbed by the apparent silence (or indifference) of the universe? If so, then this is the episode for you. Join us for a discussion of belief, silence, and much more in this first episode of season six.
The Grand Canyon is a place where the veil between this world and the next world grows thin; a place where we learn to take life, but not ourselves, seriously. In this episode, we look again at the death and spookiness that surrounds the canyon.
In this episode, we continue our contemplation of a mystery. We began, two episodes ago, with G. K. Chesterton and his comment about seeing in “the light of the supernatural”. In the last episode we continued our musings with Peter Kreeft and his comments about the sea within. Now, we come to Thomas Howard and his comments about perception & reality.
The Summer of the supernatural continues. In this episode we revisit and refresh a pervious episode, The Sea Within. Perhaps the supernatural isn’t so far from the natural; perhaps what we call natural is supernatural from a certain point of view.
Approximately five years ago we posted our first episode. The episode was, and is, titled, Life Is A Pigsty. In this episode, we reexamine, and elaborate upon, that first episode. Morrissey, Chesterton, & the messiness of life, on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
In this episode of Red Letter Philosophy, we bid farewell to season five. We’ve been on a metaphysical journey through Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and contemporary philosophy. What conclusions can be drawn from our journey? Will we make it back home? “Tune in” and find out.
Is it, as Freud said, that we are projecting our fathers onto the face of God, or is it that we project our inner knowledge God onto the face of our fathers? Do our desires and expectations come from a higher place? In this episode of Red Letter Philosophy, we explore the relationship between fatherhood and reality. Take up and listen.
Is it that nothing means anything or that everything means everything? Two myths, two ways of understanding life and the world; the culmination of Augustine, Pascal, and our season: on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy. Take up and listen.
St. Augustine’s wrote that “Amor meus, Pondus meum”; My love is my gravity. Perhaps our search for what truth and reality is not only an intellectual search? Perhaps the heart can have reasons of which reason knows nothing? In this episode we take up these questions.
The essence of Motherhood: a metaphysical question. Motherhood is surely many things, but if it is anything, it is also surely a kind of life, a life of prayer. A mother is one who raises her mind and heart to God on behalf of her family, and that is something worth noting and celebrating.
Hume, contrary to popular belief, never intended to destroy belief in God. He only meant to destroy a certain conception of belief, and belief in God. In this episode we contemplate Hume’s criticism of, and argument for, belief in God.
The English philosopher and mathematician, W. K. Clifford, famously wrote that, “It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” Clifford’s approach to belief has come to dominate the way many intellectuals approach matters of belief, especially belief in God. In this episode we argue that Clifford neglected his Hume. Hume’s approach to belief and God shows Clifford’s ethic to be vacuous and incoherent. Take up and listen. Hume, belief, and God on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
In honor of Holy Week, this week’s episode is devoted to the mystery of faith. In keeping with this season, we contemplate this mystery with a Modern philosopher, Blaise Pascal. Enjoy.
Philosopher Peter Kreeft wrote that David Hume was, “the most formidable, challenging, and difficult to refute skeptic in the history of human thought. His logic is powerful.” In this episode we taste the fruits of Hume’s empiricism. Have the empiricists helped us to overcome radical skepticism? Are we closer to touching the true, the good, and the beautiful?
Is St. Patrick’s Day a celebration of the Irish; Irish history, Irish storytelling, Ireland herself, or is St. Patrick’s Day a celebration of a saint and of the one who molded the saint? We couldn’t decide. So, on this episode we offer you both one of Ireland’s finest sons and her greatest saint. We offer for your listening pleasure The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde.
David Hume was the last of the great British Empiricists. He is the empiricist, nay, the philosopher of the Enlightenment, outside of perhaps Kant, who has exhibited the most influence over contemporary philosophers. He was also a party guy. Join us as we drink in some Hume and find out why he was (and is) such a big deal.
Bishop George Berkeley was one of the three great British Empiricists. His view, Esse Est Percipi (To be is to be perceived), is as infamous as Descartes’ view, Cogito Ego Sum (I think, I am). In this episode we imbibe the thoughts of one of the most peculiar philosophers of all-time. Drink up!
Philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote that, “the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.” In this episode we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day by contemplating the heart. In particular, we read and reflect upon H.P. Lovecraft’s poem, "A Garden".
John Locke was first of the great British Empiricists. Locke, and the empiricists who came after him, rejected the philosophy of the rationalists. In this episode, we uncork the empiricists, and drink in their philosophy. Truth, reality and Locke, on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy.
Why is there something rather than nothing? This is a perennial philosophical question; a question taken up, perhaps most famously, by the Enlightenment rationalist, Leibniz. Leibniz and God, on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
Meet G. W. F. Leibniz. Leibniz is known as the last “universal genius”. What does Leibniz have to say about truth and reality? Is he worth imbibing? In this episode, we take up these question. All aboard the Red Letter Express.
What does it mean to believe? Is belief a virtue? This week we celebrate Christmas by pondering Christmas belief. In particular, we ponder these questions aboard The Polar Express.
17th century philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, wrote, “nothing exists from whose nature some effect does not follow.” Spinoza, a philosophical child of Descartes’, sought to draw out the logical implications of Descartes’ philosophical revolution. Monism, pantheism, and Spinoza on this week’s episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
What is ultimately real? According to Descartes, reality is composed of two substances, mind and matter. Why did Descartes think this? More importantly, why should we care? In this week’s episode, we take up these questions.
Is gratitude a virtue? Gratitude is not listed among the four cardinal virtues. Gratitude is not listed among the three theological virtues? Should it be among the virtues? Does the Thanksgiving holiday get overlooked? A series of questions and reflections on the Thanksgiving holiday on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy.
In this episode, we continue to contemplate Descartes’ response to the challenge of nominalism, doubt, and radical skepticism. In particular, we ponder a piece of wax. Does a piece of wax hold the key to understanding knowledge, reality, and God? Descartes and the meaning of it all, on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy.
The Red Letter Express resumes its journey. After their encounter with Ockham, our hosts are in search of answers. They are offered Cartesian Delight - the philosophy of Rene Descartes. Does Descartes have the cure for what ails our hosts? Rationalism, Skepticism, and Descartes on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy.
The Red Letter Express resumes its journey. After their encounter with Ockham, our hosts are in search of answers. They are offered Cartesian Delight - the philosophy of Rene Descartes. Does Descartes have the cure for what ails our hosts? Rationalism, Skepticism, and Descartes on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy.
This Halloween we invite you to sit with the Clive, procurer of libations facilitator of seekers and wanderers. Clive recites and reflects upon the poetic musings of H. P. Lovecraft. He warns us to be wary of what the moon brings. Happy Halloween.
This Halloween we invite you to sit with the Clive, procurer of libations facilitator of seekers and wanderers. Clive recites and reflects upon the poetic musings of H. P. Lovecraft. He warns us to be wary of what the moon brings. Happy Halloween.
The Red Letter Express makes its first unexpected stop. Join our hosts as they try to make sense of their predicament. Was the train derailed or is this a minor inconvenience? The insights of Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas run into the challenge of nominalism and William of Ockham.
The Red Letter Express makes its first unexpected stop. Join our hosts as they try to make sense of their predicament. Was the train derailed or is this a minor inconvenience? The insights of Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas run into the challenge of nominalism and William of Ockham.
In this episode we join our hosts as they reflect upon the practical insight of Plato, and especially Aristotle. The Red Letter Express chugs along peacefully allowing our hosts to contemplate the nature of change and relationships. All aboard!
In this episode we join our hosts as they reflect upon the practical insight of Plato, and especially Aristotle. The Red Letter Express chugs along peacefully allowing our hosts to contemplate the nature of change and relationships. All aboard!
The Red Letter Express presses on. In this episode, we temper last episode’s discussion of Parmenides and Heraclitus with a shot of Plato and Aristotle. What is the one among the many? What is the being in becoming? What is the reality behind a world of appearances? In this episode we imbibe responses from Plato and Aristotle. All aboard!
Join us as we embark on a journey. Invited by a man with no name to a destination unknown; we travel. In this inaugural episode, we encounter two ancient spirits, namely, Parmenides and Heraclitus. All aboard the Red Letter Express.
Peter Kreeft once said that “it takes boundaries to make anything interesting”. But summer is not only a boundary. What is it that draws us to it? What is it that we seek? Join us as we attempt to unpack its essence, in this final episode of our summer series.
Peter Kreeft once said that “it takes boundaries to make anything interesting”. But summer is not only a boundary. What is it that draws us to it? What is it that we seek? Join us as we attempt to unpack its essence, in this final episode of our summer series.
Enchiladas and French fries? Socks and sandals? Bad taste, and the aesthetics of Summer, on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
This Summer, between seasons, we're talking about why we love Summer. Something in the imagination binds together the things of Summer. Last episode we contemplated the sounds of the Summer. This episode we imbibe the Cinema of the Summer. Join us as we contemplate one of the great movies of Summer, “Jaws”.
This Summer, between seasons, we're talking about why we love Summer. Something in the imagination binds together the things of Summer. Last episode we contemplated the sounds of the Summer. This episode we imbibe the Cinema of the Summer. Join us as we contemplate one of the great movies of Summer, “Jaws”.
Two Summers ago, we reviewed Bruce Brown’s movie, The Endless Summer. The film captured our desire, and our need, for Summer. Summer is a season, a foreshadow, and for some, a way of life. Its literal meaning is in its metaphor. This week we kick off the Summer season by imbibing the sounds of the Summer. In this episode we contemplate The Beach Boys and Philosophy.
What do President John Adams, Bishop Fulton Sheen and the 4th of July have in common? And why should you care? Pull up a chair and celebrate the birth of the United States with some philosophical fireworks and an unusual brew of philosophers.
In this episode we close out season four. What conclusions can be drawn, what similarities can be observed, amongst our four philosophers? Join us for one last round with Blaise Pascal, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.
G. K. Chesterton wrote that, “God chooses ordinary men for fatherhood to accomplish His extraordinary plan.” In this Father’s Day episode we contemplate the significance of the ordinary (ordinary men) and the dulness of the extraordinary (extraordinary men).
In this episode, we conclude our discussion of Wittgenstein, the Villain. In particular, we discuss the question, “does Wittgenstein illuminate or obscure our understanding of God?”
As we come to the end of our series on Wittgenstein, we look at an intelligent challenge to a Wittgensteinian understanding of life and language. Is Wittgenstein a hero or villain? In this episode we look at a charitable and intelligent argument for Wittgenstein, the villain.
G. K. Chesterton wrote that, “if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. […] If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change.” In other words, if want to remember something, if you want others to remember something, then you cannot leave it alone. You must remember. In this Memorial Day episode of Red Letter Philosophy, we look at the thoughts of three philosophers on the nature and importance of memory.
Wittgenstein wrote that, “whereof one cannot be speak, thereof one must be silent". Elsewhere he wrote that, “What can be shown cannot be said." In this episode we examine what some call the later Wittgenstein. Take up and listen as we contemplate the the Wittgenstein, the mystic.
Perhaps the idea most associated with Wittgenstein is the idea that life is a collection of “language games”. Wittgenstein was a gamer. In this episode of Red Letter Philosophy we explore the enigmatic concept of language games; in the process we discover how an obscene gesture altered the course of philosophy.
In this episode we pay homage to Motherhood. We look at G.K. Chesterton’s claim that, “our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women… to keep common-sense in the world." We add to our list of motherhood’s virtues: the source of common-sense.
Does philosophy entail skepticism? Does philosophy lead one to solipsism, the belief that one cannot know the world outside one’s own head? In this episode we look at one of Wittgenstein’s most well known arguments, the private language argument. We explore Wittgenstein’s refutation of radical skepticism and the possibility of solipsism.
Passionate, profound, intense, divisive: words used to describe arguably the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein. In this episode, we begin to consider the life and philosophy of Wittgenstein. Was he an intellectual hero or villain?
On this holiday episode of Red Letter Philosophy we ask the question, what’s so good about Good Friday? We also discuss the frame or boundary that is Holy Week. In the words of Peter Kreeft, “it takes boundaries to make anything interesting. If a picture didn't have a frame, it would trail off into vague, boring everything-ness. Life's most dramatic moments are her two frames: entrance and exit, beginning and end, birth and death.”
C. S. Lewis wrote that, “Looking for God - or Heaven - by exploring space is like reading or seeing all Shakespeare's plays in the hope that you will find Shakespeare.” In this episode, we look at an obscure essay of Lewis’ titled, “The Seeing Eye”. In it we contemplate a theme that runs through the whole of Lewis’ oeuvre, namely, that our Post-Modern world has ears but can’t hear, has eyes but cannot see.
In this episode we discuss a profound insight given to us by the great C. S. Lewis. According to Lewis, we have one kind of experience looking at something and another kind of experience looking along something. Lewis wrote that, “it has been assumed without discussion that if you want the true account of religion you must go, not to religious people, but to anthropologists; that if you want the true account of sexual love you must go, not to lovers, but to psychologists.” In this episode, we exam this Modernist claim.
Today we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with one of Ireland’s most thoughtful sons, Oscar Wilde. In this episode, we contemplate Oscar Wilde’s answer to the question, “why do we celebrate St. Patrick's Day?” Take up and listen as we discuss an Irish vision of truth, beauty, goodness.
Previously, we discussed C. S. Lewis’ contention that myth transcends thought. In this episode we look at the fact that incarnation transcends myth. C. S. Lewis wrote that, “The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact.” Religious belief has a foot in both the concrete and the abstract; the empirical and the rational; the mythical and the factual. Until this is understood, the deepest truths will allude us.
C. S. Lewis wrote that, "What flows into you from the myth is not truth but reality (truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is), and, therefore, every myth becomes the father of innumerable truths on the abstract level." What beauty is to love, and goodness is to happiness, so truth is to reality. C. S. Lewis, truth, and reality: on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy.
It’s Valentine’s Day! St. Valentine's Day can be a stressful time for a lot of people, apparently. Those in relationships don't want to disappoint, those not in relationships are depressed. If you don't believe us, then look up something called “Galentine's Day”. Today we contemplate C. S. Lewis’ claim that we should not take love too seriously. If we do, then we do violence to our humanity. Lewis wrote that, “ It is not for nothing that every language and literature in the world is full of jokes about sex.” Love, laughter, and Lewis, on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
C. S. Lewis wrote, “This is our dilemma—either to taste and not to know or to know and not to taste—or, more strictly, to lack one kind of knowledge because we are in an experience or to lack another kind because we are outside it.” Today we begin a five part deep-dive into the the thought of C. S. Lewis. We begin with one of his great essays, “Myth Became Fact.”
The Modern and the post-Modern age is one of Dogmas unrecognized, consequences ignored, and paradoxes unseen. These are all confusions due to a disordered or absent eye for the empirical. Join us as we imbibe the insights of G.K. Chesterton one last time.
In this episode we look at Chesterton’s contention that common sense, or sanity, involves reason, but not reason alone. Chesterton wrote that, “the madman is not the man who has lost reason. The madman is the man who has lost everything except his reason." What it means to have common sense: on this week’s episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
Happy New Year! In this episode, we make an argument: New Years, if it is to be meaningful, must be seen in the light of the Christmas season. Cut out of its context, it is shrouded in deep black; its face and its form concealed. Identity, destiny, and the New Year: on this week’s Red Letter Philosophy.
Merry Christmas! This week we reflect upon the second greatest Christmas story of all time, namely, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”. Why do Advent and Christmas lend themselves to ghost stories? In a ghost story something seemingly insignificant happens. However, after the experience the world looks differently, feels differently. So, it is with Christmas. One, like the three wise men who came to visit Jesus, cannot have the encounter and return home unchanged.
G. K. Chesterton wrote that, “if disease is beautiful, it is generally someone else's disease. A blind man may be picturesque, but it requires two eyes to see the picture. And similarly even the wildest poetry of insanity can only be enjoyed by the sane.” How do we measure sanity in an insane world? And why should we care? On this episode of Red Letter Philosophy, we explore a philosophy of sanity.
G. K. Chesterton wrote that, “thoughts and theories were once judged by whether they tended to make a man lose his soul… all modern thoughts and theories may be judged by whether they tend to make a man lose his wits." From where do we begin, when we begin? We must agree to begin somewhere, if we are to talk and discover what is true, good, and beautiful. In this episode we look at Chesterton’s suggestion that we begin with sanity and madness.
Between Halloween and Christmas sits Thanksgiving Day (for Americans): Overlooked and under-appreciated. Join us as we drive the streets of “London” and contemplate the importance of Thanksgiving. We discuss the importance of food. Food, we conclude, feeds more than the body alone. In this episode we dine on Chesterton, Hemingway, and Oscar Wilde. Cheers!
What has gone wrong? What’s the problem with the world? In this episode we begin a fascinating walk with the late, great G. K. Chesterton. Chesterton may be the Plato to Pascal’s Socrates: original, compelling, poetic, philosophical, mystical, and prolific. Welcome to Pub Redd.
“You must wager. There is no choice, you are already committed”, wrote Blaise Pascal. In this, our final episode devoted to Pascal, we contemplate Pascal’s most influential philosophical essay, namely, The Wager. Does it make sense to wager that God is real? Does it make sense to wager on the life of belief? Pascal wrote, “learn from those who were once bound like you and who now wager all they have.” God, belief, and Pascal’s Wager on today’s Red Letter Philosophy.
What is the appeal of Halloween? Is it candy? Is it parties? Is it scantily dressed women? Is it fantasy? Perhaps its appeal can be attributed to something else? In “The Tomb”, H.P. Lovecraft wrote that, “There is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal." Perhaps the appeal of Halloween lies in our intuition that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal, between nature and super nature. In today’s episode we contemplate that reality which lies beyond the delicate physical and mental veil of our prosaic materialism. Plus, a ghost story.
Pascal wrote that, “the whole cause of a man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” He also wrote that, “being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things.” In this episode, we look at why we find it so hard to sit quietly in our rooms; we look at why we decided to not think about such things; we look at why our lives are lives of diversion - and why this is spiritually dangerous.
In our day, have we sacrificed wisdom for science? Understanding for calculation? Mystery for problem solving? Perhaps this is partly why we have eyes but cannot see, and have ears but cannot hear. On today’s episode of Red Letter Philosophy we contemplate the mystery of reason and reason’s impotence.
In this episode we continue our contemplation of Pascal, The Wise. Is it true that “curiosity is only vanity”? Is it true that “a trifle consoles us because a trifle upsets us?” Are our troubles fundamentally spiritual in nature? All this, and more, in this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
Blaise Pascal was a scientist, philosopher, and mystic. He was one of the most profound thinkers to have ever lived. One cannot read Pascal and come away unchanged. In this episode we hope to prove that.
Summer’s almost gone. Throughout the Summer we have talked life, logic, and love. This week we sum it all up with a laugh. “They” say life imitates art; or is that art imitates life? Either way, this week we look at the spirits of the age as depicted in popular culture. We give you The Office and philosophy.
Ideally our hearts and minds align. But, unfortunately, on this side of the veil these two faculties of perception are often divided. One of the spirits of our age seems to be the spirit of feelings or psychology. In this episode we dialogue about the elevation of feelings and their disastrous consequences.
Some politicians, professors and activists talk about the “right side of history”. This idea is loaded with assumptions about the nature of history. Does history have meaning? Does it have a meaning beyond the actions of individuals? What is it? Pull up a chair, have a drink... let's talk.
We continue our discussion of the spirits of the age. In this episode we discuss the notion of “lived experience.” Is the idea of “lived experience” coherent? Is there only “my truth” and never the truth? Are we imprisoned in a solipsistic reality of our own making? No, no, and no. Pull up a chair, have a drink, and contemplate life and meaning with Red Letter Philosophy.
What do the American Revolution, Patrick Henry, and Harry Potter have in common? Does the spirit of Patrick Henry endure or have we, like Harry Potter and the mirror of Erised, fallen into a dreamy and paralyzing hope? Get the answer to these questions and celebrate the American Revolution on the annual 4th of July episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
We’ve ditched the usual format for the Summer. in this, the inaugural episode of our “backstage” shows, your intractable hosts, Soz and Mot, ring in the Summer by discussing life, logic, and the spirit of the age.
“This is the end, beautiful friend” - James Morrison.
All endings may be deaths, but not all deaths are endings. And so it it is with this episode. We say goodbye to season three and our focus on beauty. We will always incorporate beauty into our episodes, but it won’t be our focus after this episode. So, today we discuss love, beauty, and death. Three doors in the walls of the world.
Marcus Aurelius may have been the only philosopher-king in history. In today’s episode we contemplate the fatherly advise of the philosopher-king. What does it mean to be a father? What does it mean to be manly? Why does it matter? These questions and more on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
In this, the penultimate episode of season three, we finish our discussion of Kant’s philosophy of beauty. In this discussion, we come to see that through the contemplation of beauty, our powers of perception are deepened. We come to see that not all of reality can be captured in utilitarian and materialist terms.
In this episode we honor those who died in military service to their country. We reflect upon the thoughts of Pascal, who said “When I consider the brief span of my life… I take fright and am amazed to see myself here rather than there… Who put me here? By whose command and act were this time and place allotted to me?” Today we reflect upon the sacrifice of our beloved dead. Today is For the Fallen.
A few episodes ago we put out a show titled, “What Aquinas Said”. In that episode we laid out Thomas Aquinas’ understanding of beauty. Aquinas was the greatest Medieval philosopher. In today’s episode we contemplate what the greatest Modern philosopher, Immanuel Kant, said about beauty. With Kant we may have a change of approach. From Plato to Aquinas we talk about beauty, but in Kant we talk about aesthetics - or taste.
Welcome to our second annual Mother's Day episode. Join us as we meditate on the meaning of motherhood through poetry and prose. To quote G.K. Chesterton: “How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe?" How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No. A woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.”
In this episode we finish pondering an insight of Gene Simmons’, namely, that there is a difference between what tastes good and good taste. What does it say about our world that there is a difference between good and bad taste? What does it say about us? Come with us as we enter the realm of the objective but immaterial.
Discussions of beauty, especially in our day, are often discussed in terms of taste. Taste, it is assumed, is a purely subjective thing. However, in this episode we contemplate a proposition proffered by Gene Simmons, namely, that there is a difference between what tastes good and good taste. Dig it.
The title of this week’s episode comes from the title of a book by Bishop Robert Barron. C. S. Lewis wrote, "This is our dilemma - either to taste and not to know of to know and not to taste.” In this episode we seek to bridge knowledge and taste by contemplating the architecture of the great Gothic cathedrals. In this contemplation we come to understand Thomas Aquinas, whom we met in the previous episode, more clearly.
“Then a shriek went up like the world’s last cry
From all nations under heaven,
And a master fell before a slave
And begged to be forgiven.”
So wrote G. K. Chesterton. A poetic reflection upon the meaning of Easter, on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy. Happy Easter.
In this episode we ask an empirical question: as we encounter beauty in this world, do we notice any patterns? Are there characteristics that all, or most, beautiful things posses? We take up this question with the greatest of Medieval philosophers, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Integrity, harmony, and clarity: this week on Red Letter Philosophy.
Escaping enslavement by the Irish, Patrick returns to his former captors, not for revenge; but liberation. Some reflections on St. Patrick on today’s special episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
Beauty, we have learned, cannot be completely subjective. She resists attempts to reduce her to material phenomena and scientific analysis. In today’s episode we make explicit what has been implicit in our previous episodes, namely, the argument from beauty.
In this episode we continue our elucidation of beauty. We discuss Plato’s view that love then is a ladder between the ideal and the material, between God and man; evidence of another world, a higher reality.
Valentine's Day marks a time or season; a time for love. One of the earliest soliloquies on love comes from Socrates. In one of Plato's great dialogs, The Symposium, Socrates gathers with some friends for a dinner party - really more a drinking party. They contemplate the nature of love. In today’s episode we contemplate the beginning of Socrates’ soliloquy on love.
Beautiful women, beautiful days, beautiful plays: The manifestations of beauty are many. But what is it that makes all beautiful things beautiful? What is the one among the many? In this episode we contemplate the nature of beauty with the help of Plato’s The Symposium.
In episodes 8 & 9, we looked at what the nature of beauty says about us (philosophical anthropology), and what the nature of beauty says about the world (something moves behind the scenes). In this episode we encounter the greatest philosopher of all time, Socrates, as we seek the true nature of beauty.
In our last episode we laid out the thesis that we need beautiful things, even more than we need things with a use. In this episode we see that the light of beauty illuminates more than he whom it shines upon. Beauty not only strengthen us against the world, the flesh, and the devil, but can transform us; allowing us to see more than meets the eye.
The demon Screwtape, in C. S. Lewis’s book The Screwtape Letters, says, "Music and silence—how I detest them both!” In this episode we look at how the Christmas season stands for those things the demons hate, namely, silence and music. It's the music of Christmas, the logic of Christmas, the Logos, that the demonic noise is meant to drown out.
From Aristotle to Camus, wisdom has taught us that our destinies are related to our identities. Our pursuit of beauty reveals a truth about our natures (our identities), namely, that we are not animals.
It is science that is beautiful, not beauty that is scientific. This is why beauty cannot be found in a test tube (as we discussed in the previous episode). In this episode we look at the nature of beauty and confront one of the deep paradoxes of philosophy, namely, that there is nothing more useful than the useless.
In this episode we celebrate Thanksgiving in the light of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The story of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles is reminiscent of the stories of Flannery O'Connor and the Coen Brothers. Their sorties are often violent, taking a sober look at the human condition and evil. But there is a moment in the story when grace - the the hand of God - breaks into one’s life. Gratitude, Thanksgiving, and Del Griffith: on today’s Red Letter Philosophy.
In this episode we look at attempts to explain beauty away scientifically and evolutionarily. We ask the question, what is it about beauty that sets it apart? What is it about beauty that makes it a special kind of special? We suggest that it’s an awareness of something that cannot be captured in a test tube.
Beauty is strange; being both objective and subjective. Our experience of beauty suggests that not everything real can be understood scientifically. Beauty cannot be found in a test tube, and yet it is objective. Perhaps Plato is right? Perhaps the experience of beauty is key to perceiving another reality, a higher world?
Is there any evidence that we survive death? Today we examine that question through the work of ICU physician Lauren Bellg. Happy Halloween.
Is there art that makes one deeper? Is there is art, or faux art, that makes one shallower? In other words, Is there a high culture? Join us as we discuss beauty and why it matters in this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
Is Chesterton right when he says that, “Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere?” Join us as we walk to the edge of the line in this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? Can beauty be a completely subjective thing? Beauty and meaning explored in this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
On September 11th, we remember the individuals who died, the individuals who were maimed, the individuals who suffered. But we should also heed the words of Pascal, we should not avert our eyes from the radiant light of evil. On today’s show we discuss the mystery of evil.
Could you give a reason, an explanation, or a description to illuminate your intuitions regarding art and beauty? What is it that makes something beautiful? What is it that makes something artful? Why does it matter? Art, beauty, and the meaning of life on this episode of Red Letter Philosophy.
In 1966, Bruce Brown created a film titled, “The Endless Summer”. The film has been called charming, uncomplicated, and strange. Brown's movie continues to fascinate and puzzle decades after its release. It is not political. It is not trendy. It is existential (in the best sense). We can all relate to surfers like Mike Hynson and Robert August, and film maker Bruce Brown, because they throw off the fleeting cares of the world and seek out the perfect wave: The Endless Summer.
The Grand Canyon is a place where the line between life and death, the line between this world and the next world, grows thin. The Grand Canyon is a reminder that life is serious business. Don't take yourself seriously, but take life very seriously. In this episode we contemplate a compelling Summer read: “Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon”.
Since at least the time of Plato, and almost certainly before that, some of the greatest and most insightful thinkers have been convinced that there is more to this world than meets the eye. G. K. Chesterton wrote that, "The human house is a paradox, for it is larger inside than out." In other words, things are not always what they seem. The world within may be more vast than the world without. In this episode we explore the Sacramental nature of surfing and how it reveals that things are not always what they seem.
The sea without and the sea within, like mind and body, or reason and imagination, presents us with two realities. And if Kreeft is right, neither can be reduced to the other, but neither do they exist separately. This makes our world much stranger than we may realize.
Peter Kreeft, in his second book on the sea and surf, writes that, “the sea herself is the most poetic thing on earth (except perhaps a woman's face), and a breaking wave is the most poetic thing on the sea, and riding it is the most poetic thing you can do with it.” In this episode of the Red Letter Philosophy we continue to ponder the sea without and the sea within.
Thomas Sowell, writes that, “the American Revolution was not simply a rebellion against the King of England, it was a rebellion against being ruled by kings in general. That is why the opening salvo of the American Revolution was called 'the shot heard round the world.” Join us today for a brief reflection on the meaning of the 4th of July.
Summer is upon us. Time for a little relaxation: the beach, the breeze, and a good book. Philosopher Peter Kreeft writes that, “a typical book on the sea will tell you what causes storms, but it will not tell you what causes our fascination with storms. They can tell you how the wind raises waves. But they don't tell you how the waves without raise waves of wonder within.” Join us as we contemplate the sea within.
This episode is not a usual episode. Think of this as more of an announcement. Permanence is the illusion of every age, and so it is for us. We are changing the name of the show.
We’d like to propose something radical this Father's Day. Perhaps, fatherhood (and motherhood, for that matter) are not social constructs. Perhaps fatherhood is written into the fabric of reality? Join us today for a reflection on Father’s Day and Fatherhood.
“The truth is that people who worship health cannot remain healthy." In our day there are few ideals higher than health. Mental health, bodily health, environmental health. If Chesterton is right, it is a sign that we have become sick; we have forsaken the soul for the body; we are yoked and woke, but not awake. In this episode we sum up the second season and look ahead to the next.
Karl Marx wrote, "religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." For Marx, everything is to be understood in terms of material (economic) forces. But what if religion can't be understood in this way. If your hypothesis distorts the very thing it is intended to illuminate, then your hypothesis becomes profitless. In this episode we look at the futility of utility one last time.
There are those, this very day, who would take your freedom from you; for your own good, of course. In a moral universe, there are competing values, and you can't have all values equally. Wars begin in conflicting ideas and values. This is why we memorialize our beloved dead. The next time you sit at a corner cafe, sipping lattes, in the cool breeze of Spring, remember someone gave his life for that privilege. He never got married, never had children, never grew old, so that you could.
We have need to be mindful and remember those who fought and died and made possible what we take for granted. Because permanence is the illusion of every age.
G. K. Chesterton wrote, “take away the supernatural and what remains is the unnatural.” When we lose an appreciation for “the useless”, we lose the ability to see, and to hear, what is close to us; what should be apparent becomes obscure. In this episode we look at the concept of prayer; because to understand prayer is to understand friendship, music, and art. It is to understand those things that matter most in life.
G. K. Chesterton wrote: “How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone?” Today on ASF, a rumination on the importance of mothers and motherhood.
We need food. We need water. Food and water feed our bodies. If Aristotle is right we need friends; friends who are “useless”. They are the most valuable of friends. But what does friendship feed? Friendship does not feed the body. Perhaps our need for friendship, perhaps this highest expression of virtue, reveals that there is more to us than can be measured in a test tube; there is more to us than the body.
“Friendship is a necessity”, wrote Aristotle. This is especially true in trying times. But not all friendships are worth pursing and maintaining. Who are your friends and why does it matter? These questions (and more) explored in today’s episode.
The greatest of all paradoxes is celebrated in Easter. In Easter a symbol of death becomes a sign of life. An instrument of torture becomes the signature of hope. Easter reminds that If you want to live forever, you must die. If you want to be first, you must make yourself last. The only way up is down. Happy Easter.
When we hear the word useless we may think of the word "worthless". But a useless thing can also be priceless. Beauty, friendship, worship, love: these things are useless. What does it say about us that we need useless things? There is something strange about us. What does it say about the world we live in that it is filled with useless things? There is something strange about it.
Very few philosophies are all darkness or all light; most are a mixture. If a philosophy was darkness though and through, no one would take it seriously. Or would they? This week we look at a philosophy that is more darkness than light; a philosophy that is, perhaps, the dominant ethical and aesthetic philosophy in the world today. Today we examine the futility of utility.
St. Patrick’s Day tells us that there is a will in the fabric of the world. Perhaps there is leprechaun in the green of the tall grass. Perhaps there is a Banshee's scream in the howl of the wind. Thoughts on drinking, religion, and fairytales in today’s episode.
What, if anything, does sexual desire reveal about who we are and what is best in life? Our guest today is the greatest philosopher of the Enlightenment, and one of the most influential philosophers of all time, Immanuel Kant. Join us as we explore the “cans” and “Kants” of sex.
Should we allow ourselves to be moved by the vicissitudes of life or should we seek to have a "stiff upper lip?" In other words, are you a Stoic or Hedonist? Cat or dog? Snob or slob? All that and more in episode XII of A Strange Fire.
“This is our dilemma - either to taste and not to know, or to know and not to taste", wrote C. S. Lewis. Such is the nature of love. Love , it seems, cannot be captured by philosophy, for "love is wiser than philosophy", wrote Oscar Wilde. C. S. Lewis, Oscar Wilde, and the virtue of love on this episode of A Strange Fire
Pain and fear may break a man. But not all pain and suffering end in affliction. Sometimes pain and fear can end in happiness. Pleasure, pain, and happiness: the subject of this weeks episode of A Strange Fire.
The gods know too much to ask questions. The beasts know too little to ask questions. We, therefore, are neither gods nor beasts Suppose a person's goodness or excellence is tied to their function? What then is our function? What is then is our good?
We all want to be happy. However, happiness can be an ambiguous word. For example, in today’s age, being happy is often equated with feeling happy. But is how we feel who we are? Or is true happiness, and the true mirror of ourselves - our heart, our soul - best reflected not in our feelings, but in our actions? Join us, as Aristotle provides some answers.
Christmas breaks upon us, and everything changes. What was unknown is made known, what was mythic becomes historic. Come explore the reason for the season. Merry Christmas.
What is it at which all things aim? What is it that is desired for it’s own sake? What is the virtue of virtues and the good of all goods? We finally arrive at an answer to central question of the season, and to one of the most important questions of life: What is best in life?
Two questions that cannot be separated: Who are you? Where are you going? Today we learn from a barbarian and a philosopher that our identities and our destinies are intertwined. You cannot discuss the good without discussing the existential. So, who are you and where are you going?
In his book, "Pensees", the great Blaise Pascal reflected on the brief span of his life, of any of our lives. He wrote, “I take fright and am amazed to see myself here rather than there; there is no reason for me to be here rather than there, now rather than then. Who put me here? By whose command and act were this time and place allowed to me?” To understand the fright at the heart of this question is to understand why we have a Thanksgiving Day.
Nietzsche wrote, "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how”. Today we discuss what it is that makes life meaningful. What could be more important?
Albert Camus, philosopher and novelist, once wrote that there was only one genuine philosophical problem: suicide. Camus wrote that, “Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest . . .comes afterwards." Are we, like the mythic Sisyphus, condemned to a life of futility, or is the futility of life itself a myth?
What is it about Halloween? Is it the candy and dressing up? Is it trick or treating in a decorated neighborhood? Is it parties? What is it about the dark imagery, the witches, the vampires, and of course, the ghosts that make Halloween alluring? Is there anything of substance behind this attraction to Halloween? We argue in the affirmative. H. P. Lovecraft, wrote, “Men of broader intellect know that there is no sharp distinction betwixt the real and the unreal; that all things appear as they do only by virtue of the delicate individual physical and mental media through which we are made conscious of them.” Today we contemplate Halloween and ask the question, “But is it real?”
If morality cannot be reduced to culture or emotion, then what is it? Perhaps it is simply a subjective thing. But there’s a problem with this. In the words of Jordan Peterson, “we cannot invent our values, because we cannot merely impose what we believe on our souls.” Perhaps what makes us uncomfortable is that the moral seems unavoidable. It surrounds and makes sense of our intellectual (or spiritual) lives, much like Co2 surrounds and makes possible our biological lives.
We can wrap our minds around a reality that is seemingly purely physical. When one thing causes another, we are dealing with something objective and material. Things, objects can be weighted and measured. We are also familiar with psychological realities. When we speak of the psychological we are dealing with the subjective and immaterial. We are dealing with feelings, desires, and motives. But when we speak of the moral, we are not dealing with something purely physical, and yet we are not dealing with anything purely subjective. We are dealing with something objective and immaterial.
This week we confront a reality - a law, to use Lewis' language - that is unavoidable, yet can be disobeyed. We contemplate a reality that presses upon you as much as gravity, but cannot be measured and weighed by any instrument of science; a reality that gives life to our culture and our families, but is not reducible to either of them.
Something in this world, but not of this world.
The British Empiricist, David Hume, wrote: "reason alone can never be a motive to any action of the will”. If Hume is right, and the thing that separates us from the beasts, our ability to reason, is not enough to help us navigate the the chaotic seas of life, then to what or whom should we turn?
Episode Bibliography:
David Hume - A Treatise of Human Nature
Filled with amazement and terror by this apparition of a horseman in the sky - half believing himself the chosen scribe of some new Apocalypse, [he] was overcome by the intensity of his emotions; his legs failed him and he fell.” So goes the classic take of a moral dilemma by Ambrose Bierce. This week, as an illustration of our discussion last week, we present for your consideration A Horseman in the Sky.
Episode Bibliography:
Ambrose Bierce - A Horseman in the Sky
http://astrangefire.com
In our thinking and in our doing we presume that life is meaningful. We believe our decisions matters. We believe our lives matter. We assume there really is a right and wrong and that it's all going somewhere... somewhere that matters. In short, we believe that life is not futile. This season we explore and draw some conclusions about the existential and the ethical.
There is a story we’re telling with our podcast. It’s going somewhere. We love stories, we need stories, because stories are about life. We have used other stories to help tell our story: The Lord of the Flies, The Ring of Gyges, Plato's Cave.
One story we’ve referenced a lot during season one is the story of a Cimmerian of a forgotten age; the story of not a mere man, but a barbarian, a barbarian named Conan. Philosophical insights, life lessons, and fun abound as we reflect upon the great Conan The Barbarian.
Season 1 is a wrap. As we prepare for the 2nd season, we have a couple of slightly different episodes for you.
What we’ve been trying to communicate philosophically - that life is strange, and in the strangeness we come to see what can't normally be seen, and hear what can't normally be heard - can be communicated in other ways. So, this week we want to introduce you to the strange through music. John Keats wrote “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”. In that spirit, we give you The Smiths, Morrissey & Philosophy.
This world, this material reality before us, is like a cave. It's not an illusion. It's real, but it is not ultimately real. There is something above and beyond it. Appearance doesn't always match reality. There is more to this life than what can see with the eyes of the body. We are strange people in the glow of a strange fire.
Our world is a spooky place. Consider that we live in a universe, not a diverse. The things of the world must have something in common. What is it? Life is movement. When you don't move, you die. But the movement of your life . . .are you progressing? Or are you regressing? But how can you know you are progressing, if you don't know something that is not changing? There is mystery all around you.
July 4th is Independence Day in the United States. Whether you are American or not, and most of humanity is not, the story of the American revolution is a strange one: mysterious events, inexplicable timing, improbable outcomes. Today we recount and ponder some of the strangeness surrounding one of the only successful revolutions in history.
Sometimes things are not what they seem. Sometimes life is strange. The realization that appearance does not always mirror reality, or that appearance does not exhaust reality is ancient, ancient yet contemporary. It may, perhaps, be the fundamental realization of all religion, science, and philosophy.
Today, besides being Independence Day in America, is the premiere of the third season of the Netflix show, Stranger Things. In this bonus episode we celebrate Stranger Things and explore one of its central themes. Enjoy.
Beware the myths, the narratives, about you; for they may enlighten our minds and sharpen our perception of the world, but they may also darken our minds and dull our perception of the world.
Fame? Fortune? Frivolity? What would you give, and what would you do, to possess these things permanently? What price would you pay?
What if the health and wealth of the outer woman came at the price of the health and wealth of the inner woman? What if the pleasures of the outer man came at the price of the inner man?
In this sequel to last week's episode, we sit at the foot of the greatest teacher of all time, Socrates, as he argues for the reality and value of the inner man and inner woman (i.e. the soul).
Come listen to an echo of one who comes after Socrates; one who will say, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?"
Are we evil by nature? Are we good by nature? Or does our nature, if we have a nature, lie somewhere between good and evil?
Suppose you were given a ring - a ring that made you invisible before God and man. Would you continue to act justly? If you wouldn't, what does that say about you?
Come, jump in the fire with the podcasters Strange, as we explore evil, human nature, and reality.
What to do with evil? (Fight it? Deny it? Flee from it?) How to understand it? (Is it real, is it illusion, or is it something else entirely?) How to know what follows and what doesn’t follow from its presence in our lives and in our world? (God is real? God isn’t real?)
"Is he (God) willing to prevent evil, but not able? then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? then whence evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” - Epicurus
In this episode we look at whether or not there is any wisdom in Epicurus.
If you can’t generalize, you can’t see patterns in life, and if you can’t see patterns in life, then you can’t be wise. In this episode we explore the nature of wisdom.
Identity, content, origin, destiny: who are you? What are you composed of? Where do you come from? Where are you going? Four questions, four ingredients in the making of a meaningful life. To know where you’re going is to know who you are; your destiny and your identity are linked. The ethical and the metaphysical made one. Join us as we show how philosophy can be therapeutic.
The philosopher seeks truth and reality. Truth is articulated, reality is experienced. But what if there is not a reality? What if there are realties? This world is material and objective, but there is another world. There is another reality. The reality of the objective and immaterial. This week we explore the different ways in which something can be real, and why it should matter to you.
Jack & Kate & Hurley & . . . Chesterton?
Not all who wander are lost wrote J.R.R. Tolkien. But it is also true that not all who are lost wander.
Are you lost? Do you know where are you? Do you know where are you going?
If you wander, why are you not wandering? If you wander, what do you hope to find?
In this episode we explore the philosophical significance of one of life's most meaningful questions, namely, where are you?
Show bibliography:
G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man, St. Ignatius Press.
What can philosophy teach us about the importance of being mindful? How can philosophy help us to understand the meaning of life? Life, language and the meaning of it all: Episode VIII of A Strange Fire.
Life is a comedy to those who think and a tragedy for those who feel. Celebrate the season of St. Valentine with Ambrose Bierce, for those who think, and Edgar Allen Poe, for those who feel.
Reality is experienced, truth is comprehended and articulated. Without truth we cannot talk about reality. But the road to and through truth is treacherous and full of temptations. In this episode we continue on the strange road that leads to the truth, for those with ears to hear.
You can’t have it all. Every action, every choice you make carries a consequence. For in life, everything comes with a price. What prices are you paying?
A guiding light amidst the darkness. In this episode we explore the virtue of thinking, and the folly of stage-one thinking. Life is strange, not irrational.
Life is strange. All of it. In this special Christmas episode, we examine the life of George Bailey.
There is war in the night, no one knowing whom he strikes. All depends on the philosophy of light.
Clandestine forces pushing you, pulling you; ever present in your life. But it's not more knowledge that will open your eyes to their presence, it's wisdom. An episode for those with eyes to see.
Men plot, God Laughs, so goes a Yiddish saying.
Philosophers might say we find ourselves at an epistemological disadvantage. We know our experiences and machinations can be more about appearance than reality. We can be mistaken about what we've seen and what we've heard. How else do you explain unrequited love? It is not without reason that Shakespeare wrote:
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And therefore, is wing’d Cupid painted blind” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
But let not your hearts be troubled. Life may be messy. It may be difficult, if not impossible, to see all ends, but it does not follow that the darkness about us is complete and total.
Stay tuned.
"Life is a Pigsty. And if you don't know this, then what do you know?" ― Morrissey
“For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” ― J. R. R. Tolkien