Erika Bachiochi on Sex-Realist Feminism

by R. R. Reno

Editor R. R. Reno is joined by Erika Bachiochi to talk about her article, “Sex-Realist Feminism,” from the April 2023 issue. Continue Reading »

20 Apr 2023 0

Love Is Barefoot Philosophy

by Raymond Hain

Plato’s Bedroom succeeds by starting outside of religion, by unsettling all of us, showing us why our erotic lives are so important and problematic, so beautiful and at the same time potentially destructive, why love and death are never far from one another. Continue Reading »

23 Aug 2016 0

What We've Been Reading—2.26.16

by Editors

Not enough has been said about how Pope Francis—a man of strong intuitions and vivid language—lives in and has been formed by literature. He regularly cites and recommends imaginative works like José Hernández’s Martín Fierro, Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World, and Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed. And he thinks by their patterns. Whereas Benedict strove for a concise, clear scholarly expression, Francis seeks the striking images and strong characterizations of the storyteller. Over here are the good guys, over there the bad. Continue Reading »

26 Feb 2016 0

Plato against Otherness

by Phillip Cary

I’m still trying to understand God’s word to the woman in Genesis 3:16, connecting the difficulties of childbirth, the woman’s desire for her man, and her man ruling over her. In the narrative context of Genesis, this connection clearly looks forward to the patriarchal households of Genesis, . . . . Continue Reading »

8 Jan 2014 0

Carl’s Rock Songbook #72: The Beatles, “It’s Only Love”

by Carl Scott

Back to where our world begins, the 1960s. The English word “love” can refer to a number of different sorts of love that other languages, classical Greek particularly, kept more distinct in their vocabulary. The distinctions between agape, philos, and eros, for example, are fairly . . . . Continue Reading »

29 Nov 2012 0

Carl’s Rock Songbook #63: ALMOST FAMOUS, Pt. 5

by Carl Scott

Having written one , two , three , four ALMOST FAMOUS-driven posts and now this one, I obviously do think it is an excellent film. Its one weakness is a certain complacency, underlined by its ending. I don’t have a problem with happy endings per se, but the one it provides really is too easy. . . . . Continue Reading »

18 Sep 2012 0

Carl’s Rock Songbook #52: Rock Recycle-ment Explained

by Carl Scott

This is the conclusion of the long series of Songbook posts kicked off by my simple observation that many bands championed as representative of new music , such as Crystal Castles, really aren’t . While many themes have been touched upon, overall, Songbook posts #36-51 have been about 1) . . . . Continue Reading »

23 Jun 2012 0

Carl’s Rock Songbook #30: The Byrds, “Why?”

by Carl Scott

It didn’t become a hit, but this version does contain one of the band’s better guitar solos, and what matters more for our purposes, anti-oligarchic lyrics. (Read my long post below to see what I mean by oligarchic.) Here’s how it starts: You keep sayin’ no to her, Ever since . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Dec 2011 0

The 60s in Plato’s Eyes: a Democratic Revolution against an Oligarchic Culture

by Carl Scott

Peter was fishing for my responses on Christianity and its relation to modernity’s three stages in America AND on whether or not America is more oligarchic than democratic according to Plato’s sense of the terms. Well, that first topic is huge, but even as I focus upon the second one . . . . Continue Reading »

30 Nov 2011 0

OWS Activists Learn about Pure Democracy, the Hard Way

by Carl Scott

Here’s what Plato wrote about democracy almost 2350 years ago: “ . . . do you notice how tender they make the citizen’s soul, so that if someone proposes anything that smacks in any way of slavery, they are irritated and can’t stand it? And they end up, as you well know, by . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Nov 2011 0