The Narthex

Trying to figure something out? Something really important? More often than not, Aristotle was doing just that. He usually began by noting the insights of the wise on the problem at hand. Noticing that they were often at odds, he next tried to figure out what was promising in each…

Change is a constant, with mixed results. But so, too, is a grim stasis, a permanent condition in this Vale of Tears. With regard to change, the players surely change. In St. Augustine’s time, the Roman Empire still held sway, though invaders from the North stormed its borders and sought…

Of giving interviews, as with making books, there is no end. But interviews, whether in the air or on earth, are easier on trees. Even so, provocatively important interviews can lead to books. Here’s an example. Vatican News recently excerpted an interview that Pope Francis gave to Italian newspaper La…

“Thought blockers,” I call them. Right, left, conservative, reactionary, and progressive, they get in the way of the real discussion of real issues. They are elastic terms that could mean just about anything or almost nothing. Still, my caveat is prudential rather than absolute. So, I’m going into the deep…

Within the Octave of Christmas, a Feast of Life, a New York Times (A1, Dec. 28) headline read, “Assisted Death for the Mentally Ill Divides Canada.” This March will bring the Government’s decision. No mention in the Times, of course, of killing. Instead the piece speaks of a “practice,” a…

The Declaration Fiducia Supplicans, signed by Pope Francis, calls for our close attention. Its overarching context is the Church’s wealth of blessings, each a gift of God’s love, and their place in the economy of grace. The most frequent, and liturgically grounded, blessing comes at the conclusion of the Mass.…

It’s a recognized conundrum in what’s called “social decision theory”: believe it or not, in a series of straight up or down votes (as with referenda), the majority can be in the minority in a majority of cases. Check out Anscombe’s Paradox. Here’s another conundrum. In a state-wide or national…

The L.A. Times, a newspaper that I love to lambaste, seems to have a crack in its “wokeness wall.” A fresh editorial headline announces that “Students lose when colleges trade humanities for STEM” (Nov. 26). But wait! Science, tech, engineering, and math programs (STEM) now rule the academic roost. Is…

Even in her nineties Rena Poulos, Inglewood’s restauranteur of renown, would ask paper-reading patrons, “Any good news yet?” These days would she even bother to ask? For my part, as a mid-septuagenarian, I’m attuned to the folly of youth. My own daughter hasn’t registered to vote, even though she could…

Neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky recently captured a headline in the Los Angeles Times. “Humans lack free will, says Stanford scientist” (10-22-2023, B1). The subtitle drives home the point: “Decades of study lead to claim that virtually all behavior is beyond our conscious control.” So contends Sapolsky, the winner of a MacArthur…

Imagine a protest in which activists chant, “What do we want? Free publicity! When do we want it? Now!” Easy enough, right? Isn’t it already the subtext of many demonstrations? Or imagine a political campaign soliciting money chiefly in order to solicit more money. Again, easy enough. Isn’t it the…

So often does Pope Francis speak of mercy that some wonder whether mercy has become an unconditional and universal absolution. It is not. Definitely not. Whatever his limits might be, Francis’s words about abortionists and arms merchants are anything but exculpatory. Indeed, St. John Paul II’s encyclical on mercy, Dives…

“Philosophy begins in wonder.” So says Aristotle in his Metaphysics. Reflecting on this text, St. Thomas teaches that a goal of metaphysics is to establish the truth about the first and universal causes of things. If we achieve this goal, he writes, “there should be no wonder because the causes…

Classical literature, unlike today’s invasive shlock, offers us a legacy of rich moral reflections. Two related instances come to mind. Both make insightful judgments about our sorry attempts at self-deception, both personal and societal. In his haunting novella The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886), Leo Tolstoy points out how often…

There’s no vacation -- etymologically, “empty time” -- in politics. Nor even “holidays,” though our holidays are far removed from true holydays. So, yes, I’m on the campaign trail again. Dianne Feinstein, California’s very senior senator, has reached the tender age of 90 and won’t be running again. Why not,…