The Pugcast

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.

The guys are back in the seventeenth century again, looking at the beginnings of challenges to biblical authority. Progressive thinkers of the day starting with the Jewish philosopher Spinoza attacked Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch as a way of undermining orthodox Christianity: since Jesus referred to Moses as the human author of the Law, if Moses didn’t write it, then either Jesus lied or he didn’t know. Either answer would challenge the idea that he was God incarnate. After discussing Spinoza, the guys turned to a debate on Mosaic authorship between French Catholic scholar Richard Simon and Remonstrant scholar Jean LeClerc. This debate, largely forgotten today, triggered a sharp movement away from historic Christian theology into liberal Christianity by thinkers such as John Locke.

You may have heard feminists say, “The personal is political”—but are they right? Is the relationship between a mother and her child really a political relationship—or is it something else? In today’s show the guys discuss what else relationships like this could be. The term that they use is “pre-political”. Along the way the guys discuss the Kuyperian doctrine of “sphere sovereignty” as well as the Roman Catholic social doctrine of “subsidiarity” among other things. Enjoy!

In this episode Tom returns to the topic of Meaning in History (a three show aim) by looking at ways Modernity  rejected classical Christian understanding of history and meaning and developed alternatives which borrowed from Christianity while introducing radical alternative notions which still impact us today, often unwittingly. This show has the guys discussing Vico and Herder, along with many other important themes.

Jumping off another suggested topic from our faithful listeners, the Pugsters talk about the medieval guild system. The guilds were a way to protect customers and, with export goods, the reputation of the city by guaranteeing the quality of products. They also guaranteed a level playing field for producers. Along with their economic role, the guilds performed social and spiritual functions, with the process of mastering your craft seen as a metaphor for the process of spiritual growth. Glenn clears up a lot of misconceptions about the guilds and the Middle Ages in general, and the guys talk about the quality of medieval craftsmanship vs. the disposable world created by industrialization and consumerism.