Important new book which I will be reviewing later. For now, here’s a four minute summary of some of the themes:
http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170225/experts-are-enemy-in-our-know-it-all-culture
THE DEATH OF EXPERTISE
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Category Archives: Intellectuals
CONSERVATIVES IN ACADEMIA
Nicholas Kristof is a self-described “progressive” who goes where the evidence takes him. With a son who is headed into a lifetime of scholarship, this got my attention:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/a-confession-of-liberal-intolerance.html?_r=0&referer=
CHRIS MOORE
Our youngest son, Chris, is planning on a career of scholarship and teaching at the university level. He has majors in classics and philosophy. Here is a picture of him a few weeks back getting early admittance into Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Texas.
CAN INTELLECTUALS BE TRUSTED?
True brilliance on display:
CRUCIAL DISTINCTIONS
It seems we are living during a legitimate epoch change. I reviewed a book on this topic and here is terrific summary of the issue:
CRISIS OF DOUBT: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Here is my interview with the author. Between radio, TV, and text, I have interviewed well over 100 people. This was one of the most meaningful for me:
IS JESUS GOD?
The man in the picture is biblical scholar and agnostic, Bart Ehrman. His story of leaving the Christian faith is well-known. His books are widely read and vigorously debated.
In my own correspondence with Ehrman I found him quite candid about doubt. He admitted that how one chooses to look at the evidence for the Bible’s reliability greatly influences what conclusion one comes to. For one scholar who came to a wholly different conclusion than Ehrman:
PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS
I have the privilege (and pleasure) to interview many leading thinkers, writers, and leaders. One was Jean Bethke Elshtain (1941-2013). She wrote my favorite book on Augustine. She was a highly regarded scholar with a clear moral compass. Her insights always paid big dividends.
This essay which The Wilson Quarterly just published is one of the most significant I’ve read in a very long time:
http://www.wilsonquarterly.com/essays/why-public-intellectuals