Advertise on podcast: The Moral Imagination

This episode of The Moral Imagination Podcast is a lecture I gave on Escaping the Technocratic Paradigm at a conference on Social Engineering the Poor. My main argument is that the dominant way that we have addressed poverty and other social problems throughout the world has been based on a mechanistic vision of the person and society – a “technocratic paradigm.” This technocratic vision has led to attempts to scientifically manage people, which not only failed to deliver on its promises, but has caused injustice, weakened families, and the natural communities where people flourish. Inspired by the success of industrialism, the assembly line, advances in science and technology, and especially the military victory of World War II, the idea was that we could use the state and social policy to do incredible things. We won the war. Let’s now use our energy, political and economic power, social engineering, and technology to “win the peace.” My argument is that this dominant, technocratic paradigm fails because there is no technical solution to the problems of evil, sin, suffering, poverty, and death. The technocratic paradigm fails because it is based on a mistaken vision of the human person, a simplistic view of society. It is based on erroneous visions of justice, a lack of regard for the family as the fundamental unit of society, a degrading of the importance of economic opportunity, and failure to practice solidarity, subsidiarity, and charity properly understood. Ultimately it reduces poor people to objects to be managed, rather than seeing people as protagonists with freedom and capacity. OUTLINE I divided the talk into 4 main sections: First, I set out the idea of the technological society and technocratic paradigm. The term technocratic paradigm can be found in the encyclical Laudato Si from Pope Francis where he writes, also quoting the theologian Romano Guardini and There is a tendency to believe that every increase in power means “an increase of ‘progress’ itself”, an advance in “security, usefulness, welfare and vigor; …. as if reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from technological and economic power as such. He argues that our “immense technological development has not been accompanied by a development in human responsibility, in values and conscience.” This echoes the work of C.S. Lewis, an early critic of technocracy in his book The Abolition of Man and his novel, That Hideous Strength, and the writings of Benedict XVI, especially in from Jesus of Nazareth and Spe Salvi Second, I give various examples of the technocratic paradigm in practice including: * Architecture * Education * Agriculture and Monoculture * Family and Marriage * Healthcare * Genetic Engineering * Euthanasia * World Economic Forum Vision * Behavior Modification * Transhumanism With a specific focus on how technocratic poverty alleviation programs have cause harm including * Urban Renewal * The loss of intergenerational wealth * Welfare and Policy Programs * Public Housing * Foreign Aid * UN Millennium Goals * Population Control Programs Third, I set out some of the key attributes and characteristics of the technocratic paradigm and the technological society * Scientism and Philosophical Materialism * Plastic Anthropology – person has no essential nature, but is simply malleable * Myth of Progres * Utility and Efficiency as Higest Values * Primacy of the Technical * All problems are ultimately technical problems * If it is technically possible it is material possible * The shift from Charity to Humanitarianism * Denial of the Transcendent + Utopian Ideology Fourth I contrast the technocratic approach with a non-technocratic, decentralized, and specifically Christian approach to thinking about society and addressing poverty focused on seven key principles: * Christian anthropology. What does it mean to be a human person? * the family as the fundamental unit of society – and fundamental economic unit. * Charity as opposed to humanitarianism. * Justice – legal, commutative, and distributive * The principle of Solidarity, * The principle of Subsidiarity * Eschatology * I argue that the problem of the technocratic society is not simply a policy program or a technical problem, but it’s actually a philosophical and a theological problem rooted in errors of metaphysics and specifically eschatology. As Benedict XVI writes in Spe Salvi paragraphs 25 and 26 25. What this means is that every generation has the task of engaging anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs; this task is never simply completed. Yet every generation must also make its own contribution to establishing convincing structures of freedom and of good, which can help the following generation as a guideline for the proper use of human freedom; hence, always within human limits, they provide a certain guarantee also for the future. In other words: good structures help, but of themselves they are not enough. Man can never be redeemed simply from outside. Francis Bacon and those who followed in the intellectual current of modernity that he inspired were wrong to believe that man would be redeemed through science. Such an expectation asks too much of science; this kind of hope is deceptive. Science can contribute greatly to making the world and mankind more human. Yet it can also destroy mankind and the world unless it is steered by forces that lie outside it. On the other hand, we must also acknowledge that modern Christianity, faced with the successes of science in progressively structuring the world, has to a large extent restricted its attention to the individual and his salvation. In so doing it has limited the horizon of its hope and has failed to recognize sufficiently the greatness of its task—even if it has continued to achieve great things in the formation of man and in care for the weak and the suffering. 26. It is not science that redeems man: man is redeemed by love. This applies even in terms of this present world. When someone has the experience of a great love in his life, this is a moment of “redemption” which gives a new meaning to his life. But soon he will also realize that the love bestowed upon him cannot by itself resolve the question of his life. It is a love that remains fragile. It can be destroyed by death. The human being needs unconditional love. Suggested Additional Reading Jacques Ellul: The Technological Society Augusto Del Noce: The Crisis of Modernity Romano Guardini: The End of the Modern World: Power and Responsibility Iain McGilchrist: The Master and His Emissary James C. Scott: Seeing Like a State For a good introduction to Del Noce listen to my podcast interview on Del Noce with Carlo Lancellotti who translated his work into English Jaron Lanier: Ten Arguments to Delete Your Social Media Right Now Benedict XVI: Jesus of Nazareth and Spe Salvi C.S. Lewis The Abolition of Man and That Hideous Strength Ismael Hernandez Rethinking Charity You can also read my forward to Re-Thinking Charity here Eric Voegelin: The New Science of Politics Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America Photo Credit: Simon Scionka Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with John Johnson, founder and CEO of Patmos Technologies. We discuss some of the philosophical and theological dimensions of AI, the error of reducing the person to consciousness, the nature of personhood, the problem of commodification, and possible implications of artificial intelligence on human identity freedom, and morality. One Note: This podcast was recorded before Pope Leo XIV released his encyclical, Magnificent Humanity which is why we don’t refer to it. A key theme we discuss the importance or embodiment in understanding the human person. We discuss the dangers of data centralization, behavior modification, the alignment problem in AI. John also shares some of his insights on how he built his company, Patmos to provide services in a “parallel” economy that respects individual agency and freedom and tries to bypass the alliance between the state and big tech. We discuss a number of things including: * The error of viewing the person in terms of digital technology and AI * The limitations of “consciousness” in understanding personhood * The importance of the body in understanding our humanity * Artificial Intelligence and the Alignment problem * The philosophical underpinnings of transhumanism * Artificial Intelligence versus different ways of knowing —including inarticulate rationality and connatural knowing. * Theological reflections on digital technology and artificial intelligence. * Behavior modification generally and especially for vulnerable populations. * The risk of AI and centralization of data * John also shares insights from the Prodigal Son and the Book of Revelation Key Themes Outline Section 1: Introduction & Context 00:00 – 08:50 * Introduction to John Johnson - founder and CEO of Patmos Technologies * The rise of technocracy and its implications for individual freedom * The alliance between the state and big tech as a structural problem Section 2: Patmos Technologies & the “Parallel Economy” 05:46 – 12:06 * Patmos was built as a direct response to technocratic challenges * The goal is to provide services in a “parallel” economy that respects individual agency and freedom * Johnson’s insight: it is possible to build outside the dominant tech ecosystem Section 3: The Nature of AI & the Human Person 12:06 – 32:22 * The error of viewing the person through the lens of digital technology and AI * How to think about using a tool versus subordinating ourselves to a tool * Consciousness alone is insufficient for understanding personhood * The error of mechanistic visions of the person * Aquinas on the intellect and the soul * The importance of the body in defining our humanity * AI versus different ways of knowing — including inarticulate rationality and connatural knowing Section 4: Moral & Theological Dimensions 34:44 – 49:22 * The body and transcendence in technology * “The Beast and the Lamb” — AI’s moral implications drawn from the Book of Revelation * Transhumanism and its quest to redefine humanity * Eschatological aspect of transhumanism * The human intellect: how we understand knowledge and love * Theological reflections on identity and agency Section 5: Commodification of Persons & the Convenience Trap 56:27 – 01:05:22 * The risk of the self being commodified through convenience * The Prodigal Son as a parable about substance and value — what we give away and what we lose * Behavior modification as a key tool of technocratic control, especially for vulnerable populations Section 6: Data, Decentralization & Soft Digital Power 01:05:22 – 01:15:39 * AI and its limitations in replicating human interaction * The dangers of centralizing data * On soft digital power — control exercised without overt force: * Decentralization as a practical and principled response Section 7: The Anthropological Battle & Carving Out Space 01:18:26 – 01:22:43 * AI and technology represent an anthropological battle — a contest over what it means to be human * The alignment problem as both a technical and moral challenge * The need to carve out intentional space for humanity within a technological world Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

This is a talk I gave at an Acton Institute conference in Rome on the Human Person, AI, and the Digital Revolution in December 2025. The talk focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence and the digital revolution on the human person and and specifically how we understand ourselves. Photo Credit: Chat GPT — Prompt - MMM While there are many benefits to digital technology, artificial intelligence is amplifying many of the negatives impacts on how we understand the person. It has led to a mechanistic vision of the human person and reductive vision of reason, freedom, emotions and more. Some of the problems I address include: * Understanding ourselves through the computer * Digital Bureaucratization * Denigration of the Body * Commodification of Persons * Surveillance * Behavior Modification * Transhumanism — AI, CRISPR, and designer babies I conclude with a response of philosophy of the person that is not filtered through computer analogies, but grounded in the vision that being is good, matter is good, our bodies are good - not accidents - but constituent of who we are, and with richer concept of reason, intelligence, emotions, and our social nature, and with agency and grace. A key element of digital revolution is Claude Shannon’s work on information theory in which he discusses Noise and Signal: The Gospel and Christian vision of the person is the signal in the midst of so many distortions about the nature and destiny of the human person. Outline and Themes The Nature of the Digital Revolution * The Digital Revolution is not a single phenomenon; we are still in its early stages, and it is hard to predict what will happen. * It has produced: * Increases in productivity * Medicine * Education * New industries and faster, broader globalization * Mobile and satellite telephony, bypassing landlines, especially impactful in the developing world * De-materialization (“10 things to one phone”) * There are many positives but there are also trade-offs – “with the invention of the car, comes the car crash” Key Distinctions Distinction 1: Technology vs. the Technological Society /The “Technological Paradigm” — Pope Francis) Technology is what human beings create. We are called to complete creation. Technological Paradigm is a Worldview * Whatever can be done is permissible * All problems are technical problems Many dominant technology platforms are infused with secular, materialist, and transhumanist values, producing addictive products and harmful behaviors, often despite known negative effects. As noted in Pope Francis Encyclical Laudato Si’, technological power has not been matched by growth in responsibility, values, and conscience. (Guardini) Distinction 2: Critiquing technology ≠ rejecting technology or innovation, penicillin or hospitals; nuance is required. Technology is not neutral and shapes us for good or ill. Distinction 3: There are some who worry about apocalyptic scenarios – “If anyone builds it, everyone dies.” Others reject these outright. Since no one can successfully predict we can talk about positives and negatives without affirming either position. How AI and Digital Technology Shape our Self-Understanding Distortion of the Person (Starting with Consciousness) * AI exacerbates the problem of understanding ourselves through the analogy of our creation: we see ourselves through the machine. * This is not new: in the Industrial Revolution, mechanistic ways of understanding the person, the family, the economy, and society fueled the idea that everything could be planned and social engineered. * In many discussions of AI, the human person is approached beginning with consciousness—not reason, freedom, embodiment, social nature, or the image of God—so we interpret the person through the lens of the computer: man through machine. Contrast this to Catholic philosophy of the person which begins with the person as: * “an individual substance of a rational nature, created in the image of God,” with reason seeking the good, true, and beautiful; free will; embodied and “made out of the dust”; born into families and cultures—our bodies are not an accident of our personhood. * We are not simply consciousness driving around in a body; as St. Thomas Aquinas says: “I am not my soul.” * Only a small part of brain activity is actually conscious; yet AI discourse often equates consciousness with personhood and reduces reason to discursive ratio, ignoring intellectus. Reductionism in Thinking and “Intelligence” * Artificial Intelligence is a certain way of “thinking”: discursive and explicit, fast processing, but not thinking properly understood. * It resembles what Iain McGilchrist describes as a Left Hemisphere dominated approach: reductionist, explicit, mechanistic. Parallel between the ratio and the intellectus in Saint Thomas Aquinas – See for example Antiqua et Nova Related to Benedict XVI Regensburg Address and the problem of limiting reason to the empirical. This can further solidify the mechanistic “technological society” (Del Noce) / “technocratic paradigm” (Pope Francis). McGilchrist’s analogy (The Master and his Emissary): * The master has a holistic vision and knows purpose and meaning; the emissary is skilled at tasks but cannot see the whole. * AI is an emissary: immense computational power, but it cannot grasp deeper meaning. Reliance upon AI has the great possibility of leading us astray. Digital Bureaucratization and Abdication of Judgment * Pope Leo has expressed worry that we may decrease our competence by becoming overly reliant on AI. * There is danger of abdicating decision making to algorithms. Standardization and efficiency can be good, but algorithmic rigidity can undermine prudence and create injustice. Denigration of the Body * A recurring theme in history—especially in post-Christian societies—is gnostic rejection of the body. * The body is treated as accidental; this distorts relationships, sexuality, marriage, children, and self-understanding. * This is not just AI; it is part of the broader technological paradigm. Alignment: We Already Have an Alignment Problem * Debate about AGI and super-intelligence includes fears that “if anybody builds it everyone dies,” yet even rejecting machine consciousness, there are serious alignment concerns. Loss of Privacy, Surveillance, and Social Credit * We already face loss of privacy and “surveillance capitalism.” With “free services,” “you are not the customer, you are the product.” * AI exacerbates this: more data can be collected and analyzed, including the potential for social credit systems. Behavior Modification * One of the most dangerous aspects is behavior modification: targeted ads and content influence you. * You are not just seeing a billboard; you’ve entered a “Skinner Box” of operant conditioning. * Jaron Lanier: “We’re being tracked and measured constantly… We’re all lab animals now.” Commodification of Persons * Surveillance and behavior modification are part of a larger commodification of persons: our hopes, dreams, conversations, and relationships become raw material—“we are the raw material.” Relationships, Entertainment, and AI Companions * Constant entertainment and algorithmic content can decrease sensitivity to evil * Digital media correlates with depression, anxiety, loneliness, and less life satisfaction; it forms “small souls unprepared for real relationships.” * As AI grows, more people turn to AI for friendship and love; AI chatbots can be sycophantic, mirror desires, detach users from real relationships, and there are cases of chatbots encouraging self-harm and suicide. Transhumanism and AI + Genetic Engineering Underlying much AI development is transhumanism: combining biology and technology to create a new type of man, the next step in evolution. * AI combined with genetic engineering (CRISPR + computing power) raises profound threats, including “designer babies” (e.g., the engineered embryos of twin girls to resist HIV). This creates deep confusion about God, creation, and who we are – Ratzinger on Golem – See Anthropology and Culture Responses Innovations in Law, Commerce, and Technology • Rule of law • Build digital technology that servse the person and family and church • Build commerce that serves families and communities • Build de—centralized technology • Digital subsidiarity Ultimately, we are in an anthropological struggle What does it mean to be a human person? And a debate about metaphysics and eschatology. For this there is no technical solution. The solution to the crisis of our times is not found in the technical world. Key Response: We must escape the technological paradigm and present the gospel of Jesus Christ the good news about the human person. · We are embodied, embedded persons endowed with freedom and reason – with a social nature directed to deep loving relationships. Ultimately: we are in an anthropological struggle over what it means to be a human person—there is no technical solution. * The answer is to reaffirm the the Good News of the Incarnation, and the Good News about the human person—made in the image of God, endowed with reason and freedom, made for relationships and love. * Matter is good; marriage, sex, children are good; our bodies are not an accident —“In my flesh I shall see God” * Technology cannot be a substitute for in-person relationships with other people in families in friendship in religious communities. * We must escape the hall of mirrors of the technological paradigm and re-present the Gospel: the real work is done in friendship, families, relationships, and the Church * Liturgy and worship where we commune with our creator — it is only here that we worship God with minds, hearts, voices, and bodies. Here the goodness and unique and unrepeatability of the person is affirmed * Neither Optimist nor Pessimi

In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Magatte Wade about her book, The Heart of Cheetah, her personal journey, entrepreneurial ventures, and her vision for a free and prosperous Africa. Magatte was key voice and important influence in the film I directed, Poverty, Inc. She is a force for promoting freedom, the dignity of the person, and entrepreneurial solutions to poverty in Africa and throughout the world. I’ve know Magatte for many years and am delighted to have her on the podcast. We discuss the misconceptions surrounding African poverty and the need for economic freedom and institutions of justice – private property, rule of law, and ability to participate in the formal economy - for fostering opportunity and human flourishing for the poor. At the end of our conversation we also talk about poverty in America, the American dream from the perspective of an immigrant, emphasizing the need for a balance between material prosperity and moral values. Magatte emphasizes that Africa will only thrive through entrepreneurship, political and economic freedom, and a commitment to rule of law and human dignity. Biography Magatte Wade is founder of SkinIsSkin, and Senior Fellow at Atlas Network, the leading organization of African free-market think tanks. She was listed as a Forbes “20 Youngest Power Women in Africa,” a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and a TED Global Africa Fellow. You can learn more about her work at MagatteWade.com Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Magat Wade and Her Work 12:47 The Path to Prosperity: Entrepreneurs and Free Markets 39:52 The Reality of Poverty in Africa 45:02 Devotion to Prosperity in Africa 50:50 Cultural Identity and Entrepreneurship 57:54 The Complexity of Labor Laws 01:08:24 The Informal Economy and Its Consequences 01:15:12 The Aha Moment: Economic Freedom and Wealth Creation 01:25:09 The Correlation Between Property Rights and Prosperity 01:30:09 The Anthropological Error of Socialism 01:36:30 The Threshold of Flourishing 01:45:48 Virtue, Character, and Economic Freedom 01:54:12 The Teaching Power of Law 02:06:11 Creating Conditions for Prosperity 02:11:21 Misdiagnosis of Poverty and Its Consequences 02:19:00 The Cheetah vs. Hippo Generations: A Call to Action 02:29:08 Flourishing vs. Prosperity: A New Paradigm Resources Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Fr. J. Augustine Wetta about his book Humility Rules: Saint Benedict's Twelve-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem. The world teaches us to assert ourselves, to follow our passions, to speak up, talk back, “get yours,” don’t let anyone stand in your way. But it doesn’t really work. As Tyler Durden proclaims in Fight Club: “We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact.” In contrast to the world’s and Fight Club’s response (which we won’t talk about), Fr. Augustine looks at the Rule of St. Benedict and his ladder of humility as a guide for real happiness and true self-esteem, which comes not from self-assertion, but from self-denial, selflessness, serving others, and not being a slave to one’s own will and desires. We discuss Fr. Augustine journey from a lifeguard, surfer, and rugby player to a Benedictine monk, and some of his stories teaching high school students, and throwing himself into a rosebush. In his Rule for monks, St. Benedict explains that any progress toward holiness, happiness, and relationship with God and others must be grounded in humility. He describes humility as a ladder – with one side as the soul and the other as the body. …if we want to reach the highest summit of humility, if we desire to attain speedily that exaltation in heaven to which we climb by the humility of this present life, then by our ascending actions we must set up that ladder on which Jacob in a dream saw angels descending and ascending (Gen 28:12). Without doubt, this descent and ascent can signify only that we descend by exaltation and ascend by humility. Now the ladder erected is our life on earth, and if we humble our hearts the Lord will raise it to heaven. We may call our body and soul the sides of this ladder, into which our divine vocation has fitted the various steps of humility and discipline as we ascend. (St. John’s Abbey) Fr. Augustine goes through each of the steps on the ladder of humility * Fear of God * Self-Denial * Obedience * Perseverance * Repentance * Serenity * Self-Abasement * Prudence * Silence * Dignity * Discration * Reverence The book is excellent. It is morally and spiritually serious and entertaining. I laughed out loud several times. Fr. Augustine offers apparently outlandish advice to to people struggling with anxiety, worry, and broken relationships * Don’t speak up * Be someone’s doormat * Don’t follow your dreams * Put your worst foot forward And gives “homework” to practice each of the steps including: * Make no excuses next time you are reprimanded * Clean a toilet * Say thank you next time someone tells you something you already know * The next time you see something not done your way - leave it be if it works In addition to Humility Rules we discuss a number of topics including: · His book on decision making called , Pray, Think, Act: Make Better Decisions with the Desert Father · Joy cannot be grasped, but is the fruit of love and self-denial. · St. John Cassian and his writings on the eight vices – including the vice of self-esteem, and why focusing on ourselves prevents us from building good relationships and finding happiness. · Challenges of modern life, particularly the impact of digital distractions on mental health and spiritual well-being · The difference between contemporary meditation practices with traditional Catholic contemplative prayer. · The importance of cultivating an attitude of reverence and gratitude · The role of obedience in spiritual growth – and why it’s probably not a good idea to throw oneself into a rosebush. · How chastity requires us to see others as persons and subjects, not objects for use · St. Benedict’s rule on Silence, how silence increases mental clarity and attention to others, and the magnificent quote from Dom Paul Delatte OSB Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict “The fundamental purpose of silence is to free the soul, to give it strength and leisure to adhere to God. It delivers us from the low tendencies of our nature and of fixing us in the good.“ Biography Augustine Wetta is a monk of Saint Louis Abbey in Saint Louis Missouri. He has two degrees in Theology from Oxford University, a BA in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations from Rice University, and an MA in English from Middlebury College. For twenty years, he has taught English, Classics, and Theology at the Priory School, in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he also coached rugby and served as Director of Chaplaincy.  In 2019, he was named a Portsmouth Institute Senior Fellow.  He writes for Our Sunday Visitor, and hosts a blog entitled "Disagreement" with Islamic social activist Umar Lee, and frequently appears on EWTN and Saint Joseph Radio.In 2014, he was awarded the Judson Jerome Poetry Award and the Bill Baker Award for Fiction at the Antioch Writers Workshop (the first author in the history of the conference to win both). In 2015, he was awarded the Taliaferro Award for Memoir Writers at the San Francisco Writers Conference, where he was also a finalist for the Emerging Writer Award.He is the author of several books: * Pray, Think, Act a book on decision-making based on the sayings of the Desert Fathers * The Eighth Arrow, a fantasy prison-break set in Dante’s Inferno * Saving Grace, an illustrated children’s book about a three-legged turtle. * Humility Rules: A 12 Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem which has sold over 100,000 copies and has been translated into five languagesThe son of an artist (Jean Carruthers Wetta) and a historian (Frank Wetta), Father Augustine was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1971, but grew up in Galveston, Texas. There he learned to surf and developed an enormous ego as a lifeguard on the Galveston Sheriff Department Beach Patrol. During this time, he also worked as a professional juggler (“The Flying Fettuccinne Brothers”) and as an archaeologist (at the Agora in Athens). He remains an avid surfer. In fact, if you Google “surfing monk” his is the first name that comes up—along with a news report about how he was nearly eaten by a shark.  Themes/Chapters of the Interview * 00:00 Introduction to Father Augustin Weta * 03:07 Exploring Humility and Self-Esteem * 05:55 St. Benedict’s Ladder of Humility * 09:13 Fr. Wetta’s Journey to Monastic Life * 12:03 The Role of Self-Denial * 14:52 The Importance of Silence * 18:11 Art, Beauty, and Truth * 21:04 Fear of God and Genuine Self-Esteem * 30:06 The Struggle with Digital Distractions * 34:12 The Importance of Silence in Modern Life * 37:29 Meditation vs. Contemplation: A Spiritual Perspective * 41:39 Understanding Lust and Chastity * 49:00 The Role of Reverence in Spiritual Life Resources J Augustine Wetta: Humility Rules: St. Benedict’s 12-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem J Augustine Wetta: Pray, Think, Act: Make Better Decisions with the Desert Fathers Philokalia Volume 1 - This is an amazing collection and it includes St. John Cassian on the Eight Vices Other Books related to the rule of St. Benedict Dom Paul Delatte, OSB —his Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict is long and detailed but incredibly impressive and deep. Honestly it is probably not worth it unless you Here is the quote on silence from Dom Delatte that I refer to in the episode and I use a lot - especially in thinking about cultivating silence, but also in our age of over-information. I also recommend a visit to a Benedictine Abbey if you can. I have not visited St. Louis Abbey, but I have visited Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma several times. You can learn more about them here and get CDs of their chanting if you are interested. Photo Credit: Courtesy Augustine Wetta OSB Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Catherine Pakaluk about her book Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth Over the last 200 years, we have seen a decline in birth rates in the United States and abroad, especially in Western countries. Most European countries are no longer at replacement rates and face serious population decline. Reuters reported that Japan’s population will decline by a staggering 30% in the next fifty years. In the United States, in the year 1800, the typical woman would have about 7 or 8 children. By 1900 that number was cut in half to 4. By 2000 the number cut in half again to about 2 children, which is just about replacement rate. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the the record-low birthrate in the US, and how increasing numbers of people plan to have no children. In the midst of declining marriages, childlessness, and low birthrates, Pakaluk studied the increasing minority of women in the Western world who have chosen to have five or more children — the top 5% of childbearing. Her book is a mix of ethnography, sociology, and economics, and includes a critique of the dominant model of social and economic research. One thing that stands out with many of the women she interviews is how at some point a shift took place in their attitude — from seeing children as a choice, like a consumer good among other choices, to a different attitude of receptivity and openness to having another child, and then another. She talks about the many forces that promote small families — the cost of children, overpopulation propaganda, education, feminism, environmentalism, consumerism and more. But Pakaluk emphasizes that encouraging women to have more children cannot be addressed simply by implementing pro-family policies like some countries have tried to do. Good policy is not insignificant — for example in most US states parents who want to send their children to religious schools have to pay twice for school through tax and tuition. But she argues that the real problems go much deeper. They are religious, spiritual, and metaphysical: a vision of life that sees being as good, children as a blessing, and family as essential for a good life. Pakaluk compares having a large family to running a marathon—except longer, harder, and more fulfilling. Government family policy would be like giving everyone a pair of good running shoes for the marathon. That could help, but it won’t get most people to run. There must be a deeper motivation, and this almost always comes from religious belief and the virtues of faith, hope, the goodness of being, and the value of generosity and sacrifice that come from it. Themes and Topics we discuss include: * Demographics and Population Decline * Family policies * Feminism * Education * Career vs Family and Children * Conflicting Desires * Difficulties and Advantages of a Large Family * The Role of Religious Schools * Community * Plausibility Structures * Consumerism * Individualism * Social Pressure * Religious Freedom * Fortitude, Patience * Boys and Girls Sports * Novak Djokovic and Kobe Bryant * Voting Patterns * Climate * Creation and the Goodness of Being * and more Biography Catherine Ruth Pakaluk (Ph.D, 2010) joined the faculty at the Busch School in the summer of 2016, and is the founder of the Social Research academic area, where she is an Associate Professor of Social Research and Economic Thought. Formerly, she was Assistant Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at Ave Maria University. Her primary areas of research include economics of education and religion, family studies and demography, Catholic social thought and political economy. Dr. Pakaluk is the 2015 recipient of the Acton Institute’s Novak Award, a prize given for “significant contributions to the study of the relationship between religion and economic liberty.”Pakaluk did her doctoral work at Harvard University under Caroline Hoxby, David Cutler, and 2016 Nobel-laureate Oliver Hart. Her dissertation, “Essays in Applied Microeconomics”, examined the relationship between religious ‘fit' and educational outcomes, the role of parental effort in observed peer effects and school quality, and theoretical aspects of the contraceptive revolution as regards twentieth century demographic trends.   Beyond her formal training in economics, Dr. Pakaluk studied Catholic social thought under the mentorship of F. Russell Hittinger, and various aspects of Thomistic thought with Steven A. Long. She is a widely-admired writer and sought-after speaker on matters of culture, gender, social science, the vocation of women, and the work of Edith Stein. She lives in Maryland with her husband Michael Pakaluk and eight children. Resources Hannah's Children Flight from Woman Neil Postman: Technopoly Joseph Ratzinger: Homilies on Genesis On the Jewish - Christian Idea of the Goodness of Being Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

Photo Credit: Tyler Follon - Wingman Visuals In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast, I speak with Professor William Easterly of New York University about his work in development economics, and the problems of technocracy and social engineering of the poor. Easterly worked at the World Bank from 1985-2001 and began to be troubled by a number of things, including how aid is given without much concern about how it is distributed and managed thus subsidizing bad governance and harming the poor. We discuss Peter Bauer’s critique of how foreign aid politicizes development and delayed the development of business in Africa, and Bauer’s paradox of aid: * The countries that need aid — aid will not be effective * The countries where aid will be effective — do not need aid But the key problem with the dominant model of development is not simply a lack of efficiency, but the failure to respect the rights and agency of poor people. Easterly explains that development projects often result in people being deprived of their property, political rights, and participation and consent in the very projects that are supposed to help them. He discussed the tendency to to trivialize problems in the developing world, and the lack of feedback and market tests in development policy. We discuss how the developing world can often become a a lab for experiments for technocrats and social engineers. We also talk about Hayek’s Knowledge Problem, a response to Marianna Mazucatto idea of moonshots, and what I call “embedded'“ economics. We discuss a number of issues including * “The Debate that Never Happened” - Gunnar Myrdal vs. Friedrich Hayek on development economics * Social Engineering * Technocracy and the Hubris of the Technocrat * Spontaneous Order * Edmund Burke and Friedrich Hayek * Soviet 5-year central planning as model for economic development * Limited Horizons of Humanitarianism— a secular, hollowed out version of Christian love the focuses on material at the expense of personal agency. * Lack of Accountability * Material vs. Non-material Needs * Materialist visions of the human person * People have a right to consent to their own progress * Harry Potter novels vs. Mosquito Nets * Marianna Mazucatto’s ideas of Moonshots * vs. accidental discovery * vs opportunity costs * vs failed social engineering projects * and the complexity of economics and markets embedded in deep historical, cultural, norms, institutions, and religious foundations. * How to think about foreign aid and public goods like healthcare, infrastructure, education * Aid for emergencies vs. aid as answer to chronic poverty * Institutions of Justice including clear title to land, access to justice in the courts, ability to participate in the formal economy, and free exchange. * The impact of globalization on manufacturing in the US * Trade-offs and economic volatility * The moral rules that are needed for progress to beneficial * Consent, Self-Determination, Moral Equality * Attempts to develop Native Americans, US intervention in Philippines etc. * Material progress is never enough to justify intervention Biography William Easterly is Professor of Economics at New York University and Co-director of the NYU Development Research Institute, which won the 2009 BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge in Development Cooperation Award. He is the author of three books: The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor (March 2014), The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good (2006), which won the FA Hayek Award from the Manhattan Institute, and The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics (2001). He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed academic articles, and has written columns and reviews for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Review of Books, and Washington Post. He has served as Co-Editor of the Journal of Development Economics and as Director of the blog Aid Watch. He is a Research Associate of NBER, and senior fellow at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD). Foreign Policy Magazine named him among the Top 100 Global Public Intellectuals in 2008 and 2009, and Thomson Reuters listed him as one of Highly Cited Researchers of 2014. He is also the 11th most famous native of Bowling Green, Ohio. Resources Essay: Friedrich Hayek: “The Use of Knowledge in Society” Related: Podcast with Obianuju Ekeocha on Ideological Colonialism and Resisting the Cultural Annexation of Africa Uganda Farmer Story in New York Times Poverty, Inc. Film Recommended Reading Tyranny of Experts William Easterly The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little GoodBuy on Amazon, William Easterly The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics, Easterly, William R. Target Africa: Ideological Neocolonialism in the Twenty-First Century by Obianuju Ekeocha Seeing Like a State, James C. Scott Peter Bauer, Equality, The Third World, and Economic Delusion Angus Deaton The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

This episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast is a talk I gave at AmPhil’s Center for Civil Society conference in November, 2023 on the “Rise of the Nones.”   According to Pew Research, those who declare no religious affiliation - None -  are now the largest religious category in the United States. In this talk I address several overarching reasons for the decline of Christianity and address how five dominant visions of the human person including person as a cog or scourge, transhumanism & transgenderism, plastic anthropology, and the person as a commodity — also play a key role not only in despair and anxiety, but contribute both to the decline of Christian belief and the rise of secularism and pantheism/new paganism. This talk is a thematic overview and distillation of two longer lectures I give on five false anthropologies and 10 reasons for unbelief and the decline of Christianity. Some of the topics I address include Breakdown of the Family - specifically decrease in fatherhood participation, and its impact on religious practice Sexual Revolution  - disorients the person and relationships between men and women Feminism & Smashing the Patriarchy — “Flight from Woman” Egalitarianism and Pantheism - Tocqueville’s prediction of the rise of pantheism in democratic societies Technology + Technological Society: Practical: use of technology and propaganda Theoretical: Empiricist rationality is incoherent and severs relationship between affectivity and reason Scientism: vision of a technical solution to evil, sin, suffering Humanitarianism and what I call “Almost Christianity” Failures of the Church: scandal, corruption, assimilation, and failure to teach and catechize Loss of non-linguistic catechesis When people are leaving Christianity today, do they know what they are leaving?  Confusion about the nature and destiny of the human person and what it means to be an embodied person   Plastic Anthropology —malleable based on feelings Transhumanism / Transgenderism - combination of biology and technology Person as Cog Person as Scourge Person as Commodity — Everything becomes an object of trade. Del Noce’s concept of Pure Bourgeois Conclude with several suggestions to address the loss of faith and confusions over anthropology Re-affirm that Being is good and intelligible - Our bodies are good Each person is a subject and not simply an object Defend Reason and Freedom We are embodied and Embedded Persons— our bodies are not accidental Thinkers I address include Augusto Del Noce, Joseph Ratzinger, C.S. Lewis, Henri DeLubac, Carrie Gress, Karl Stern, Christopher Palmer, Jaron Lanier, Max Scheler, Joseph Pieper, John Paul II See www.themoralimagination.com for book links and related podcasts.   AmPhil Center For Civil Society - Nonprofit Educational Leader Leading educational provider for nonprofit fundraising learning the Center for Civil Society is the go to for major gifts, campaigns, strategy, and... Time to read 8 minutes Dec 22nd, 2022   AmPhil Rise Of The Nones Nonprofit Conference Nov 7-8 Scottsdale. AZ Leading scholars, philanthropists, and nonprofit leaders will discuss the rise in secularism, decline in church attendance, and other related trends, and... (352 kB) https://amphil.com/event/c4cs-riseofnones/     Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project Religious ‘Nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe 28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, describing themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion. Written by Gregory A. Smith, Patricia Tevington, Justin Nortey, Michael Rotolo, Asta Kallo and Becka A. Alper Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta, Ambassador Eduard Habsburg, about his book The Habsburg Way: Seven Rules for Turbulent Times. We discuss a number of themes including some history of the Habsburg Dynasty, the life and death of Blessed Charles of Austria, the last Austro-Hungarian emperor, including the remarkable tradition of the funeral for Habsburg emperors. We also discuss themes of marriage, children, religion, technology, liturgy, and especially the importance of family and tradition to provide rootedness in a time of individualism and “liquid modernity.”  Other themes and topics include: Different Visions of Subsidiarity — Catholic Social Teaching vs. European Union Decentralization and localism vs. Devolution of power from a central state Technocratic Politics Alexis de Tocqueville on Individualism and Centralization Robert Nisbet on the Quest for Community Joseph Ratzinger — What it means to be a Christian Liturgy as non-linguistic catechesis The Human Person as Embodied and Embedded and more Biography Ambassador Eduard Habsburg is the Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta.  He is the author of The Habsburg Way. 7 Rules for Turbulent Times from Sophia Press and Dubbie: The Double-Headed Eagle. Full Quiver Publishing, 2020.  You can connect and follow him on Twitter at @EduardHabsburg   X (formerly Twitter) Eduard Habsburg (@EduardHabsburg) on X Ambassador of Hungary to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta. Book: THE HABSBURG WAY https://t.co/vMufBgoJGE Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Moral Imagination Podcast I speak with Seth Kaplan about his book Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society One Zip Code at a Time.  Seth has spent his career working in fragile states around the world — countries that are unstable and prone to violence, war, and political problems. About 10 years ago Seth was increasingly asked if the US was becoming fragile.  As he turned his attention to studying the United States, he concluded was that while the US is not fragile as a country, there are many areas and neighborhoods throughout the country that are very fragile — where poverty rates are high, there is crime, and instability, and social capital, family stability, and economic and educational opportunities are low.  Seth explains that depending on the neighborhood where you live in the United States it can mean a shorter lifespan of over 20 years.   Kaplan speaks about two faces of poverty, material and social, and how they are both a problem of broken relationships.   He argues: “I think the real question you have to ask about the United States we have many things going very well in our country but something has gotten worse in the last couple of generations: the politics, the trust, the social breakdown, the deaths of despair, the health crisis the depression, and the rise of suicides. The big question that we have to ask ourselves is what has changed in our relationships that lead us to have so many social and political problems?” Themes and Topics we discuss include: Family Stability Social Capital Bonding vs. Bridging Social Capital Relationships and Community The role of religion and religious practice in communities Associationalism vs. Individualism vs. Collectivism   Biography   Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), and consultant to multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and OECD as well as developing country governments and NGOs.   Resources Chris Arnade Podcast on his book Dignity Communio — Communio is a nonprofit that trains and equips churches to evangelize through the renewal of healthy relationships, marriages, and the family. Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode I speak with Fr. Cajetan Cuddy O.P. about Thomistic Psychology: A Philosophic Analysis of the Nature of Man, by Fr. Robert Edward Brennan, O.P., edited and with an introduction by Fr. Cuddy.   Aristotle wrote that “to attain any assured knowledge about the soul is one of the most difficult things in the world.” We often read psychology because we want to understand ourselves and our behavior- and the behavior of others.  While we don’t normally think of St. Thomas Aquinas as a psychologist, as a serious philosopher, theologian, and student of the human person, St. Thomas gives us deep insight into human psychology — the study of the psyche or soul — our intellect, memory, will, emotions, and our embodied, embedded existence. Fr. Brennan’s book on Thomistic Psychology provides a good accessible introduction to Aquinas’ reflections on psychology.  As. Fr. Cuddy notes, some of the science in Thomistic Psychology is a bit out of date, but the key principles and ideas are still applicable and provide an important contribution, especially in a time when so many struggle with anxiety, depression, sadness and other mental health challenges.  These have many causes to be sure, but the impact of modern theories of materialism, spiritualism and other reductionist visions of the person makes people even more confused about who they are and how to live well. One of the ideas central to the work of St. Thomas and Fr. Brennan is the idea of truth — conforming the mind to reality — and how taking truth seriously combined with a solid, non-reductionist philosophy of the person can have practical, positive impact on our mental and psychological health. Thomistic Psychology presents an integrated vision of the person that helps us the better to understand ourselves and others, and provides clear models and practical advice on addressing our problems, how to fight bad habits and build good ones, how to address our emotions, disappointments, and successes, and a roadmap on how to live well. St. Thomas’ philosophy and pyschology are also very important because he takes our embodiement seriously.  We are not souls in a body or driving around in our body like we drive around in a car. Nor are we simply material beings determined by our neurobiology or genetics. Rather we are embodied persons our physical, moral, spiritual, emotional, and psychological life are intertwined.  What we do and happens to us physically impacts our emotional and mental life and vice versa.  St. Thomas’ suggested remedy for sadness is a perfect of example of his taking our physical and spiritual nature seriously. We discuss a broad range of topics including: What is a person Divine Persons, Angelic Persons, Embodied persons What it means for human to have a nature. What is a soul? What is a body? Why the body matters Free will The proper use of the powers of man The remedy for saddnes St. Thomas on the Senses — sight, touch, hearing etc. Memory Imagination St. Thomas idea of self-creation Human formation The person as passive and active agent The role of happiness Evil as a privation Why we need to be careful about the music we listen to, the movies we watch, what we think about  Spiritual and/or Religious The beginning of love according to John Paul II Faith, Hope, Charity How the Christian life is not to become an angel — but a human being fully integrated. Liturgy Fasting Pray with our Bodies Find show notes and links to books we discuss at www.themoralimagination.com Biography: Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P., is a priest of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. He serves as the general editor of the Thomist Tradition Series, and he is co-author of Thomas and the Thomists: The Achievement of St. Thomas Aquinas and His Interpreters. Fr. Cuddy has a B.A. from Franciscan University, a M.Div./S.T.B., The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, a S.T.L., The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and his doctorate, a S.T.D. from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.  He writes and lectures extensively on the philosophy and theology of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Thomist Tradition. Some of his selected publications can be found here. Fr. Cuddy also lectures for the Thomistic Institute.  For an excellent introduction to the philosophy and theology of St. Thomas Aquinas I recommend the Thomistic Institutenstitute.org/ and their series Aquinas 101 The late Fr. Robert Edward Brennan, O.P. was a Dominican Friar, professor, and the author of numerous books and articles including Thomistic Psychology and The History of Psychology: A Thomistic Reading, both published recently by Cluny Media.   Cluny Media Thomist Tradition Series Cluny Media   thomisticinstitute.org Thomistic Institute The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square.   aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org Aquinas 101 Aquinas 101 is a video course project of the Thomistic Institute, located in Washington, DC. The Thomistic Institute exists to promote Catholic truth in our contemporary world by strengthening the intellectual formation of Christians at universities, in the Church, and in the wider public square. Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode I speak with Professor Vigen Gurioan about the revised and expanded edition of his book Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Imagination. We discuss the power of stories, how they help can us develop self-knowledge, and how fairy tales and classic stories are essential for education and moral formation for children — and for adults. Fairy tales and classic stories can impress upon us profound philosophical and often theological insights about life and death, the good and beautiful, the value of courage and nobility, and importance of self-sacrifice for love. Stories, themes, and thinkers we we discuss include Hans Christian Anderson The Little Mermaid Beauty and the Beast Grimm’s Fairy Tales George McDonald Pinocchio, honor, honesty, and the responsibility of children to their parents The Ugly Duckling, courage, and the desire for beauty The Wind and the Willows, Charlotte’s Web, and friendship of equality and friendship of mentors Good Wishes and Bad Wishes Joseph Pieper and Dietrich von Hildebrand on joy as a the superabundant fruit of love and self-gift Charles Dickens C.S. Lewis Edmund Burke Aristotle on Friendship and more Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode I speak with heart surgeon, Dr. Philip Ovadia MD, about metabolic health, diet, science, cholesterol, insulin resistance, the US government food pyramid, Ancel Keys and the cholesterol - saturated fat -heart disease hypothesis. We discuss medical education, health insurance, scientism, and some of the obstacles doctors and scientists face with “group think.” Dr Ovadia tells his story of how lost 100 pounds changed everything he learned about fat and food. He explains that while half of the patients who have heart attacks or heart surgery have normal levels of cholesterol, over 90% have insulin resistance. He argues that metabolic health is not only important for heart health, but for mental health, and plays a key role in preventing cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We discuss a number of themes including Gary Taubes: The Case Sugar and Why We Get Fat Problems of Crony Capitalism and Subsidies How the Government Food Pyramid makes you fat Metabolic Health and Covid The Campbell Effect and how bad science has dominated medicine Weston Price Insulin Resistance Diabetes Saturated Fat Pharmacuetical Industry and Medication Seed Oils Health Insurance and the need for new models The connection between metabolic health and mental health This episode and podcast is for informational purposes and does not provide medical advice. Biography Dr. Philip Ovadia MD is a board certified cardiac surgeon and founder of Ovadia Heart Health. He grew up in New York and graduated from the accelerated Pre-Med/Med progra at the Pennsylvannia State University and Jefferson Medical College. This was followed by residency in General Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry at New Jersey and a fellowship in Cardio-thoracic Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical School. Learn more about Dr. Ovadia at www.ovadiahearthealth.com Resources See books below Campbell’s Law Dave Feldman on Cholesterol Podcast with Jay Richards on Fasting and the Ketogenic Diet Podcast with Diana Rodgers on Food, Meat and Health Podcast with James Madden on Embodied, Embedded Persons Podcast with Joel Salatin on Food and Farming Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

In this episode I speak with Titus Techera about Dune, Bladerunner, science fiction, dystopian film, technocratic view of humanity, and the formative power of science fiction on the imagination. We discuss contemporary technological society, social breakdown, loneliness, men and women and decline in marriage, technology and trans-humanism/ transgenderism, and the predictive power of dystopian film. We talk about what it means to be human and the relationship between digital technology and humanity. Titus argues that much of sport, military, modern manliness and excellence has been reduced to science and creatures of technology. He argues that one of the “catalysts for science fiction stories is disappointment with the world. The dead hand of the past is too powerful. People are always a problem; tradition gets in the way of radical innovation. Science fiction is aware of the problem of our decadence, but technical daring can solve it.” And yet in the science fiction societies like Bladerunner there is a wealthy technical class amidst brutality, societal decline where everyone has lost their humanity. He writes As with all science fiction set in the near future, Blade Runner is an attempt to make us look at ourselves as though we were strangers to ourselves, allowing for the possibility that serious changes can come suddenly and overcome our beliefs or preferences. Could we end up like Deckard, Harrison Ford’s character, a bounty hunter, or “blade runner?” We need not embrace this kind of despair, but only need understand its appeal. The social landscape of Blade Runner seems plausible enough. The film presents American cities overrun by crime and poverty while technological corporations become immensely wealthy… A suitably dramatic expression of something we see around us quite often; indeed, perhaps exaggeration is necessary, since we have an excusable, but unfortunate tendency to ignore the misery of American cities. Themes we discuss include Science and scientism, Atheism and religion, Nihilism and utopianism, Social engineering of people, Medicine Covid pandemic and vaccine mandates Tension between scientific progress in digital technology and scientific and technological stagnation in other areas. Jordan Peterson Contemporary interest in stoicism Utiltarianism and hedonism Sports and Science Spiderman   Biography Titus Techera is the executive director of the American Cinema Foundation, host of the ACF podcasts, a film critic for Law & Liberty and the Acton Institute, contributor to Modern Age, columnist for Return and European Conservative, and editor-in-chief of PostModern Conservative. Techera studied liberal arts at Bard College Berlin and political science at the University of Bucharest and the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. Resources Titus Techera essay: The Tale of Two Dunes Titus Techera essay on Bladerunner Follow Titus on Twitter Listen to the ACF Film Podcast Titus Techera Substack   Titus Techera on Novak Djokovic, Excellence, and Covid Rules Caveats: These science fiction books and films because they deal with dystopian futures and social decadence have material that is not suitable for children. Get full access to The Moral Imagination - Michael Matheson Miller at www.themoralimagination.com/subscribe

Pope Benedict XVI / Joseph Ratzinger passed away on December 31 at the age of 95 years old. His writing and teaching have been a major influence on my thinking. So in honor of his memory and gratitude for his example, this episode is a talk I gave on Pope Benedict XVI on Five Crises of Culture and the Intellectual sources of Secularism and the New Evangelization. I go through five intellectual themes/crises that Benedict identifies in the West “where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a serious crisis of faith due to secularization." Truth and the Dictatorship of Relativism Reason Progress Freedom Beauty I examine how he describes and explains the challenges of our age; how he addresses each of them on their own terms, and the proposes a Gospel response. One element of the crisis of faith is grounded in intellectual sources. We think, and too often live, like secularists and adopt often without thinking a secular framework. But secularism is not neutral. As Benedict argues, “We must develop and adult faith.” An "adult" faith is not a faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty; a mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ. It is this friendship that opens us up to all that is good and gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false, and deceit from truth. We must develop this adult faith; we must guide the flock of Christ to this faith. And it is this faith - only faith - that creates unity and is fulfilled in love.” In this talk I provide a lot of quotes and references. You can find show notes, links, and outline of the talk at www.themoralimagination.com Resources See the outline / handout of the talk below. Also see Amazon links to books I refer to in the talk below. I also provide Amazon link to the encyclicals, but you can get all the encyclicals for free at vatican.va There a lot of books listed and if you are unsure where to start I would suggest you begin with the following: Books: Jesus of Nazareth Vol 1, Milestones, and Last Testament Collection of more complex essays: Values in a Time of Upheaval Encyclicals Spe Salvi and Deus Caritas Est Short Readings: Here are some links Homily before the Conclave — “Dictatorship of Relativsm” Regensberg Address — on the crisis of reason in the west Cardinal Ratzinger on Europe’s Crisis of Culture at Subiaco   Benedict XVI Paris Lecture Meeting with Representatives from the World of Culture   Additional Links mentioned in talk Roger Scruton: Beauty and Desecration   Roger Scruton: Kitsch and the Modern Predicament  I Grateful to Authenticum and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish for the invitation to speak and for recording and providing me with the audio of this lecture. You can learn more about the Authenticum Lecture Series  OUTLINE/HANDOUT Benedict XVI—Five Crises of Culture and the Intellectual sources of Secularism and the New Evangelization Michael Matheson Miller The New Evangelization Re-Propose the Gospel "to those regions awaiting the first evangelization AND to those regions where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a serious crisis of faith due to secularization." Benedict XVI    Theme:  Think Like Christians Focus on Intellectual roots of secularization and the crisis of faith and the work of Benedict XVI We must not approach the social and political order in a purely secular manner.  Benedict is I think a model for new evangelization because he takes the situation of our current time on its own terms and then addresses it in light of reason and the Gospel. Paul VI: Evangelii Nuntiandi  "The conditions of the society in which we live oblige all of us therefore to revise methods, to seek by every means to study how we can bring the Christian message to modern man. For it is only in the Christian message that modern man can find the answer to his questions and the energy for his commitment of human solidarity."   John Paul II: Redemptoris Missio   “I wish to invite the Church to renew her missionary commitment.”  “…it is the primary service which the Church can render to every individual and to all humanity in the modern world, a world which has experienced marvelous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself. "Christ the Redeemer," I wrote in my first encyclical, "fully reveals man to himself.... The person who wishes to understand himself thoroughly...must...draw near to Christ.... [The] Redemption that took place through the cross has definitively restored to man his dignity and given back meaning to his life in the world."   Benedict XVI “Throughout the centuries, the Church has never ceased to proclaim the salvific mystery of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but today that same message needs renewed vigor to convince contemporary man, who is often distracted and insensitive… “For this reason, the new evangelization must try to find ways of making the proclamation of salvation more effective; a proclamation without which personal existence remains contradictory and deprived of what is essential. Even for those who remain tied to their Christian roots, but who live the difficult relationship with modernity, it is important to realize that being Christian is not a type of clothing to wear in private or on special occasions, but is something living and all-encompassing, able to contain all that is good in modern life.”  BXVI to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization   “We…have this mission: to encounter our contemporaries so as to make His love known to them. Not so much by teaching, never by judging, but by being travelling companions. Like the deacon Philip, who – the Acts of the Apostles tell us – stood up, set out, ran towards the Ethiopian people and, as a friend, sat down beside them, entering into dialogue with the man who had a great desire for God in the midst of many doubts”  —Pope Francis: International Meeting  for Academic Centers and  Schools of New Evangelization   Five Crises of Culture and Key Themes in the Thought of Bendict XVI    1.     Truth and the Dictatorship of Relativism “How many winds of doctrine have we known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking. The small boat of the thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - flung from one extreme to another: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism and so forth. Every day new sects spring up, and what St Paul says about human deception and the trickery that strives to entice people into error (cf. Eph 4: 14) comes true. “Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine", seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires.”   Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice After fall of Soviet Union relativism did not die but combined with desire for gratification to form a potent mix.  (CF to Augusto Del Noce on the shift from Christian Bourgeois to Pure Bourgeois) Is Relativism Coherent? Denial of Truth is self-refuting Truth exists and is knowable But this does not mean we know it Relativism can be nothing other than a dictatorship Relativism leads to ideology St. Thomas Aquinas: Truth is conforming the mind to reality Josef Pieper: Seeing the World as it is and acting accordingly Gospel Response - In the homily where he speaks the Dictatorship of Relativism Benedict does not stop at intellectual refutation.  He responds with the person of Jesus.  He says: “We, however, have a different goal: the Son of God, the true man. He is the measure of true humanism. An "adult" faith is not a faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty; a mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ. It is this friendship that opens us up to all that is good and gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false, and deceipt from truth. We must develop this adult faith; we must guide the flock of Christ to this faith. And it is this faith - only faith - that creates unity and is fulfilled in love.”             Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Mass Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice 2. Reason Regensburg Address Crisis of Reason—which is a crisis of politics which is a crisis of humanity We have limited reason to the empirical This is incoherent on its own terms because one cannot verify this claim empirically Must expand reason beyond the empirical otherwise it is not rational The problem goes beyond incoherence.  It leads to what C.S. Lewis has called “the abolition of man.”  Empiricist rationality takes all the fundamental human experiences – love, beauty, goodness, hope, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, and justice and relegates them outside the realm of reason. Love and justice then are no longer rational but pure emotion or chemical reactions.   But this is false. In contrast we have what Lewis calls “reasonable emotions,” what Karol Wojtyla (St. John Paul II) calls “spiritual emotions” and what Dietrich von Hildebrand calls “intelligible spiritual affectivity.” Love is not simply raw emotion or chemical reaction. It includes that because we are embodied persons, but it also is reasonable. This is why the tradition defines love as a