God and the Philosophers: A Newsletter from James K.A. Smith
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Sympathy for the Fool: O.K. Bouwsma on Anselm
March 13, 2021
O.K. Bouwsma’s essay, “Anselm’s Argument,” is vintage Bouwsma: playful yet deadly serious; delightfully idiosyncratic yet provocatively incisive; irreverent,...
Anselm's endeavor: on his so-called "ontological argument"
February 27, 2021
Anselm, an Italian who became the Archbishop of Canterbuy from 1093 to 1109, was a monk who bequeathed to philosophy what came to be described as the...
Paradox is the Passion of Thought: Kierkegaard's "Philosophical Fragments"
February 13, 2021
When it comes to the question of philosophy's relationship to God, I suggest there are two very different traditions or postures--two different threads that...
The Allure of God: Aristotle's Final Cause
January 23, 2021
The animating thesis of this newsletter is a question asked by Heidegger: "How does the deity enter into philosophy, not just modern philosophy, but...
"A spiritual intrigue wholly other than gnosis": A brief introduction to Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas
January 9, 2021
On the rare days when I lament the fact I don’t teach in a PhD program, it’s mostly because I would love the excuse to teach an in-depth seminar on Emmanuel...
Plausibility is a Moving Target: Reconsidering Aquinas
December 26, 2020
When I was an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo, I took a number of philosophy courses “across the river” (as the philosophers at the university...
Advent Edition: The Most Fascinating Philosopher of Religion You've Never Heard Of
December 12, 2020
I have the privilege of teaching in a rather storied department. We sometimes like to boast that Philosophy at Calvin College (now University), a smallish...
The I(nte)rruption of the Cogito: Descartes' Meditations II and III
November 28, 2020
A prefatory suggestion: If you haven't done so, it might be worth taking a few minutes to read Descartes' Meditations I-III. But not essential. When we...
Faith and Reason in Descartes' Meditations
November 14, 2020
Welcome to the first instalment of "God and the Philosophers," a newsletter project I've been contemplating for a while. Since many people associate me with...
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