The Nathan Jacobs Podcast

Sign up for Jacobs Premium: thenathanjacobspodcast.comIn this postscript to his anthropology and ethics series, Dr. Jacobs examines why people experience discomfort when confronted with moral assessments that challenge their preferred behaviors or beliefs. He draws parallels between objective aesthetics and ethics, arguing that humans possess default intuitions about justice and fairness that create psychological tension when their actions conflict with moral reality. Dr. Jacobs discusses the problems of confirmation bias and social pressure in ethical reasoning, advocating for beginning moral inquiry with foundational metaphysical questions rather than applied ethics. The episode concludes with practical considerations for personal ethical development, distinguishing between philosophical assessment, political implications, and pastoral guidance in the gradual cultivation of virtue.All the links: Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastWebsite: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs00:00:00 Intro 00:01:24 Objective aesthetics 00:05:25 The human yearn for justice 00:15:39 Resisting confirmation bias 00:23:26 Analyzing at level 4 00:26:59 The cognitive minority 00:36:52 Deciding how to live00:40:19 Politics and morality 00:43:06 Forming in virtue 

We dive once more into the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity. This time, Dr. Jacobs tackles the nature-grace divide. He’ll trace how Augustine's anti-Pelagian framework created a nature-grace divide in the Latin West, where human nature is seen as inherently incapable of pleasing God without supernatural assistance. In contrast, the Eastern tradition maintains that humans as icons of God possess a natural connection to divine grace through the image-archetype relationship. The analysis covers how these differing anthropologies lead to distinct understandings of total depravity, synergy, and the relationship between creature and Creator.All the links: Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastWebsite: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobsAcademia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs00:00:00 Intro00:01:22 Recap & roadmap 00:10:08 The Pelagian controversy00:15:55 Hierarchy of loves00:20:22 Augustine's pursuit of truth00:28:19 Adam & Eve (original sin)00:35:45 The root of total depravity00:40:02 Divine volunteerism00:51:09 Monistic views emerge00:54:40 Medieval "faculty psychology"01:08:22 Imago Dei (Image of God) nuances01:11:30 Divine essence and energies01:23:36 Insights from Plato01:29:50 Man as icon of God01:39:14 Grace in the Christian West01:54:48 The faculty psychology problem02:12:40 Doctrine of the Logoi02:25:40 Idiosyncratic teleology02:30:52 Wrapping up the series

Dive into the complexities of LGBT ideology as dissenting views clash with cultural fundamentalism. Explore historical perspectives that separate personal inclinations from identity, revealing shifts in moral understanding. Examine how ancient Greek philosophy influences modern ethics, especially on contentious topics like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. Challenge traditional morals with insights from various philosophical frameworks, emphasizing the importance of societal stability and family structures in today's discussions.

In this fourth installment of our series on Ethics & Anthropology, Dr. Nathan Jacobs traces the evolution of Realism from ancient philosophy through John Locke and even Woody Allen, asking what this tradition missed about the true nature of reality. How does Christianity reframe the conversation on Realism, and why does it matter for ethics, anthropology, and our understanding of the world?Please Like and Subscribe! Follow Dr. Jacobs and his work: X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastSubstack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

In this third installment of our four-part (or 5-part 😬) series on Ethics & Anthropology, Dr. Nathan Jacobs explores Moral Philosophy and the enduring debate over Providence vs. Chaos in the history of philosophy and metaphysics. Is history guided by a divine hand, or is it nothing more than accident and chance?All the links: X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastSubstack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs

What happens when morality is unmoored from its metaphysical foundations? In part two of the Anthropology series, Dr. Nathan Jacobs traces the slow unraveling of moral philosophy—from its classical roots in virtue and teleology to its modern preoccupation with utility and consequence.All the links: X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastSubstack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs00:00:00 Intro 00:05:22  Pagan philosophy and human polarities00:35:38 Augustine and the Nature-Grace Divide00:55:06 Medieval faculty psychology: intellect and will01:04:52 From Medieval Scholasticism to Modern Philosophy01:11:56 The rise of empiricism and materialism01:29:46 The empiricist challenge to Providence 01:41:18 Contemporary culture's nominalist foundation01:47:53 The hedonistic definition of happiness 01:52:47 Modern anomalies in historical perspective 02:02:05 Passion over reason 

Dr. Jacobs explores how ancient pagan philosophers understood human nature and the good life, examining key thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to the Stoics and Epicureans. The discussion covers metaphysical dualism, the nature of the soul, and competing views on happiness and virtue. This is a series on anthropology, part 1 of 4. 00:00:00 Intro 00:07:04 Metaphysical dualism00:09:25 Empedocles 00:10:33 Plato 00:14:29 Pantheism 00:15:03 Heraclitus 00:18:52 Evil is a privation or distortion 00:22:13 The human experience of polarity 00:27:24 Four levels of discourse 00:33:46 Manichaeism & Gnosticism (extreme metaphysical dualism)00:37:15 Plato & Socrates’ nature of the soul 00:54:35 The body and the afterlife 01:00:27 Epicureanism 01:08:31 Happiness and pleasure 01:14:43 The ethics of the stoics 01:37:29 The ethics of Plato and Aristotle 

Sign up for Dr. Jacobs’ course Intro to Philosophy: https://myprofer.com/   📚 Click “Join as a student”   📚 Fill out registration    📚 Verify your email    📚 Navigate to “Course Registration” in the side menu   📚 Find 180 Introduction to Philosophy    📚 Auditors can register immediately    📚 For college credit, fill out the long form and wait for approval before registration   📖 $175 audit     🎓$400 college creditDr. Jacobs examines how different traditions understand the Eucharist, transubstantiation. consubstantiation, and real presence. He explores the Orthodox concept of the divine energies through communion and discusses how Eucharistic participation connects to broader questions of transformation and cultural renewal, and how to harness the transformative power of the Eucharist. All the links: X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastSubstack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs00:00:00 Intro 00:02:58 What is transubstantiation? 00:11:57 What is consubstantiation? 00:18:29 The problem with transubstantiation 00:23:40 The problem with consubstantiation 00:32:02 Memorialist, reformed, and real presence views00:35:30 Imbibing the energies of God 00:44:49 The doctrine of resurrection 00:52:21 Transelementalism 00:58:39 God communicates holiness 01:02:13 Problems with evidentialist apologetics01:13:52 Transformation of culture01:22:33 Why don’t we see more transformations? 

Sign up for Dr. Jacobs’ course Intro to Philosophy: https://myprofer.com/   📚 Click “Join as a student”   📚 Fill out registration    📚 Verify your email    📚 Navigate to “Course Registration” in the side menu   📚 Find 180 Introduction to Philosophy    📚 Auditors can register immediately    📚 For college credit, fill out the long form and wait for approval before registration   📖 $175 audit     🎓$400 college creditDr. Jacobs explores the foundations of Eucharistic doctrine, examining the most prominent sacramental views, and the relationship between Christ's divine and human natures. The discussion covers divine attributes, divine simplicity as understood by the Eastern Fathers, and the Incarnation. This episode establishes the groundwork for understanding Eastern versus Western approaches to sacramentalism.All the links: X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QSApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcastSubstack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs00:00:00 Intro 00:07:58 Various views of the Eucharist 00:13:20 Christ’s divinity, humanity, and the Eucharist00:23:44 What are divine attributes? 00:46:49 The Eastern Fathers on divine simplicity01:00:47 The Incarnation 01:07:36 Alchemy, transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and real presence

Dr. Adam Dell, a clinical psychologist and author, dives into the fascinating intersection of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and the teachings of the Eastern Church Fathers. He shares insights on psychological flexibility and how ancient wisdom can enhance modern therapy. The conversation highlights the importance of confession, personal identity, and the role of mindfulness in overcoming self-sabotaging narratives. Dell also critiques the limitations of secular therapeutic practices, advocating for a deeper spiritual connection for true healing.