Here you can find an archive of my interview Thursday night on The Jim Bohannon Show regarding The Last Superstition. It begins roughly one-third into the broadcast. We had a vigorous exchange, though I think we ended up talking past each other to some extent. And then there was the caller who wanted to turn the discussion into a debate about the Rapture, with Jim to all appearances happy to oblige. I thought it best at that point to sit back for a while and let them go at it.
TLS on radio
by Edward Feser
Comments (6)
I actually listened a bit last night. I was driving to the supermarket to fill my car up before I head back to Texas, and lo and behold, there was Ed on the radio!
I thought Bohannon was missing your points, largely because he thought his background beliefs about the nature of knowledge, science, etc. were "just obvious" and not a proper subject of philosophical interrogation. Like many in our culture, he lives off an inherited capital that is the product of the hard work of an intellectual patrimony for which he can give no account. For this reason, he believes what he inherited grows on trees or is in the air.
Nice work.
Frank
Posted by Francis Beckwith | May 1, 2009 10:45 AM
Why don't talk show hosts actually read a book before they interview the book's author?
You did an admirable job, Dr. Feser, of responding to the various questions and confusions of those you interacted with. 'Would that I had as much patience and charity as you showed.
Blessings,
Steve
Posted by Steve T | May 1, 2009 1:34 PM
This interview exemplifies perfectly that the modern world does not just scorn God, it scorns all of philosophy. Dr. Feser now has to convince people that certain problems are primarily philosophical in nature and not empirical. On this point, I think there should be at least a few atheist philosophers or unbelievers who are willing to defend him on this. As of now, people are implicitly questioning the concept of philosophy itself. Any thought that does not admit of either empirical demonstration or irrational inspiration (art, poetry, etc.) is seen as ludicrous. The more I listen to modern atheists and others, the more I see that the very idea of the idea is at stake. The whole world is a machine that just is, and science is a tool to help us do what feels good. That seems to be the philosophy of the 21st century. All thought that is more abstract than the physical sciences is in danger. As people become more "open minded" the knowledge that our minds possess decreases in leaps and bounds.
Posted by Edward | May 1, 2009 8:46 PM
Edward:
Yes. Great comment. Order and structure are difficult. They require work. Collapse is easy.
Posted by Kristor | May 2, 2009 1:59 AM
Why do you guys think the Pope wrote Veritatis Splendor and Fides et Ratio?
Some guys, ahead of the curve types, long ago saw the intellectual dry rot spreading through the West.
Posted by Dan | May 3, 2009 3:40 PM
Of course once the Iranians get the bomb, and a cascade effect of nuclear proliferation happens across the world of mohammad, ----------------- we'll all be pleading with God to be "raptured!"
We're all going to see horrors..................
Posted by Dan | May 3, 2009 3:42 PM