Emma•ism

In this episode, the correspondence that lead to St. Augustine’s penning of City of God is analyzed. Marcellinus and Volusian (with whom Augustine has this letter exchange) ask questions that really indicate society’s intellectual and moral conditions in Late Antiquity and during the beginning of the fall of Rome. The title of this podcast refers to a joke about the City of God being a “doorstop of a book” and it’s fitting for the podcast too because it is almost twice as long as the normal Emma•ism episodes!

In this episode, censorship is discussed. The progressing limits to free speech is hindering society’s intellectual and moral development. This new wave of censoring media is the beginning of the end of education and the beginning of the era of indoctrination.

In this episode, Stoicism is discussed. The pursuit of knowledge is almost always a trial-and-error process.

In this episode, perfection and beauty are discussed. The question, “do people designate things as beautiful because of their experience, which is subjective, or is the notion of what is beautiful have its source in God?” is discussed. St. Augustine is also connected in relation with this topic.

In this episode, isolation’s impact on an individual is analyzed. The Existentialist point of view on loneliness is applied. Finding meaning in life is integral to navigating physical loneliness.

In this episode, modern “reposts” are discussed. The implication of this trend and its effects on the analytical muscle of humanity are analyzed. Is the Repost Culture hindering our societal development by its restriction of general discourse?

In this episode, the three promises of philosophy are discussed. They are (1) therapy, (2) freedom, and (3) cosmological consciousness. They are evaluated in a modern sense to emphasize how we are no longer treating philosophy as a way of life and how we should change to treat it in that way. This episode is inspired by Villanova University’s Dr. Paul Camacho.

In this episode, the American Identity Crisis is identified, analyzed, and attempted to be reconciled. This is done with analysis of John Dewey’s “Individuality In Our Day.” Also, the assessment of what a religious system has that the American system lacks is discussed.

In this episode, the relationship between free will and fate is explored. An attempt to reconcile the mutually exclusivity of their nature is made through an analysis of the relationship between temporal beings and a divine ruler.

In this episode, the difference between living and existing in discussed. Baseline existence is a requirement for life, and philosophically speaking, living is an extension of existence. To live is a conscious choice that human beings make. The current pandemic sheds some light on the difference between the two.