The Pugcast

Tom returns to the big topic of technology and addresses the rapid changes to our conceptions and interactions with its impingement upon reality. Glenn and Chris jump into the topic with Tom by supplying various insights into how the riches of Christian wisdom and virtue provide a path through the thickets of changes which allows us to use and relate wisely to the increasing impingement of technology in all aspects of our lives.

This week, the guys discuss pilgrimage. Glenn summarizes the early history of pilgrimage, noting both the practice and the arguments against it even in the early church. From there, the guys discuss more of the history of pilgrimage and talk about whether there are “thin places” made somehow holy by long centuries of prayer, or alternatively, made evil by great evil done in them in the past.

Today Chris introduces the guys to Christopher Lasch and a chapter in his book, The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy. The chapter is, The Soul of Man Under Secularism. In the chapter Lasch riffs on Oscar Wilde’s, The Soul of Man Under Socialism. Wilde believed that Socialism would free people from the responsibilities of property and manual labor so that they could pursue the development of “personality”. If that sounds self-indulgent and unrealistic, that’s because it is. But that is remarkably similar to the way so many young people and tech gurus think in our time. The pugsters use Lasch and Wilde as a basis for reflection on the loony character of our time. Tune in and join the conversation!

In today’s show Tom introduces themes from Paul Tyson’s book - 7 Brief Lessons in Magic. In the book, Paul defines classical ways of seeing reality beyond the reductive naturalism of our modern way of thinking. Unpacking these classical ways, Paul engages magic and enchantment, and the ways in which they related to meaning, value, and other realities which modern reductionism cannot make intelligible within the narrow confines of its worldview. Glenn and Chris join in with various aspects of the classical vision and the distinct Christian worldview. 

With Halloween merch already showing up in stores, it’s a good time to do a Pug take on vampires, so this week, the Pugsters riff off an article by John Schuler looking at the implicit philosophical ideas in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. They start off with a discussion of the difference between modernity and the “old centuries” before moving on to scientism, the nature of evil, natural and artificial symbols (in Schuler’s terms), meaning, natural law and the supernatural, and a bunch of other rabbit trails suggested by the article.

Article Referenced:

Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses:

Today Chris introduces the "Metaverse"--what's that? you may ask. According to Wikipedia it is: "...the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet." Or as Robin Phillips in a recent blog post at Salvo put it, "Imagine that the relationship between the real world and the internet becomes so porous that it is impossible to tell which is which." Regardless of whether or not the masters of the universe in Silicon Valley can pull it off, the very idea that something that further blurs the distinction between Reality and virtual reality would be a good thing says a lot about the people who make the technology that we rely on everyday. It also says something about our society as well, and the philosophical undercurrents that are moving beneath it. As you can imagine the guys have a lot to say about it--and their big concern is idolatry.

Article referenced:

Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses:

Tom introduces a classic debate between Truth, reality, and language and the removal of language from truth and reality (sophistry). He engages the ancient debate and sees similarities between it and today's deconstructive tendencies and political use of language to manipulate people. Chris and Glenn bring into the conversation many insights which help illuminate the sinister aspects of sophistry and their ever present danger in undermining the relation of truth and language.

Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses:

This week, the guys look at the idea of heroes. Back in Homer’s day, “hero” was almost synonymous with the heavily armed and armored warriors that were the subjects of the Iliad, and not just the big names like Odysseus, Achilles, or Ajax. They exemplified the warrior virtues: prowess, toughness, courage, loyalty, and honor, understood as recognition and deference by others. The Middle Ages saw a major change in this largely under the influence of Christianity: humility, generosity, protection of the weak, and the like became part of chivalry, the warrior code. Today, in films ranging from The Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones and The Green Knight, these virtues are ignored, inverted, or deliberately downplayed or distorted as unrealistic and untrustworthy. The guys reflect on what this means about our culture and the loss of nobility of character even as an ideal in our cultural imagination.

Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses:

In today's show Chris presents an article that was published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), entitled, Darwinian Conservatism Versus Metaphysical Conservatism. The article is something of a departure for ISI, but it addresses a significant debate within conservative circles--can Darwin's evolutionary theories be used to support conservative social ethics, and conservative politics. The author, Larry Arnhart, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northern Illinois University says yes--the Pugsters--as you probably can imagine--say, No! Chris, Tom, and Glenn are strong advocates of Metaphysical Conservatism, and they endeavor to defend it during the course of the show.

Find the article here:

How emancipatory views of history draw upon yet distort Christian views of teleology in history. The guys discuss Hegel, Marx, Wokeness, liberation theology and more.