Philosophy

Self-Encounter

My friend Don sent me a link to the late, Dr Hazel Barnes‘ TV show from the early 1960s, “Self Encounter: A Study in Existentialism.” I started watching it while recovering from COVID. The pace of the series is clearly

Dwight J. Friesen May 8, 2022May 8, 2022

Oscillating Between & Beyond Modern & Postmodern

It was in the 1990’s, toward the end of my grad school days when I first began to engage “postmodernity” to describe the cultural angst and cynicism in response to modern ascertains of certainty, knowledge, and such. By the time

Dwight J. Friesen October 16, 2021November 3, 2021

Educational Metaphor

I find the metaphor of a gardener to be a fertile one in helping me feel and think my way into my work as a formational educator.  Rather than tending to fruits, vegetables, and flowers, I picture my formational role

Dwight J. Friesen May 15, 2020May 12, 2022

Dr. Esther Lightcap Meek, 2018 Grenz Lecture

Dr. Esther Lightcap Meek delivered The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology’s 2018 Stanley Grenz Lecture. This annual event happens the first Monday of November. Although I have never been a matriculated student of Dr. Meek, she has nonetheless been

Dwight J. Friesen November 10, 2018May 13, 2022

Remembering Zygmunt Bauman

“In other words, it is not in craving after ready-made, complete and finished things that love finds its meaning ― but in the urge to participate in the becoming of such things. Love is akin to transcendence; it is but

Dwight J. Friesen January 11, 2017January 23, 2024

Pete Rollins – Seattle – Dec.10

I am excited to announce that Pete Rollins, philosopher, author, and founder of Ikon in  Northern Ireland is coming to town. A group of MHGS students are making this happen . . . I love it. The evening event will

Dwight J. Friesen November 19, 2009January 15, 2021

New German Pomo Christianity… Beyond Deconstruction

Carl Raschke just made a great post “the Church and Postmodern Culture: Conversation” which he called: The new German postmodern Christianity – beyond deconstruction Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen October 28, 2009January 15, 2021

what is postmodernism?

Nathan & Justin created an 18 minute exploration of “postmodernism” in which they interview an architect, a graphic designer, a pastor and a café owner. Really well done and worth taking a peek. Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen October 25, 2009May 11, 2022

Postmodernity

Postmodernity The course examines the interplay of philosophical, theological, sociological, historical, and cutting-edge theories of culture that affect what is commonly known as “postmodernist” thought and professional practice. Students will understand what culture is and why it must be “engaged”

Dwight J. Friesen May 31, 2007May 7, 2022

Beauty

Artist Ed Traub recently passed a great quote on to me from Mark Rothko’s book: Artist’s Reality: Philosophies of Art. “Like the old ideal of God, the abstraction itself in its nakedness is never directly apprehensible to us. As in

Dwight J. Friesen January 28, 2006May 12, 2022

Polanyi: One of my Heroes

In one of the courses I get to guide this term, we’re using Michael Polanyi’s ground breaking text, Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy. As I’ve been preparing and revisiting Polanyi I am undone by his courage, as he stands

Dwight J. Friesen January 28, 2005September 13, 2022

a philosophy that sings

Antinomy is a term used in logic and epistemology, which, loosely, means a paradox or unresolvable contradiction. At least for me that this season in my life, paradox feels vital to to discovery of the real. If for a moment

Dwight J. Friesen December 8, 2004October 26, 2022

Jacques Derrida has Died

To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend. Jacques Derrida One of the great thinkers of our time has died.  On Friday, October 8 2004, Jacques Derrida died at a Paris hospital of pancreatic

Dwight J. Friesen October 10, 2004September 13, 2022

New Conversation Partner

When I was in Phoenix last week at my friend Peter’s wedding, I had the chance to share a room with some of Peter’s philosophy buddies from college who introduced me to the person and work of Max Scheler. Scheler

Dwight J. Friesen June 25, 2004November 29, 2022

Kierkegaard, Anderson, Engels & Bakunin walk into a bar…

I’m back from a great week away, much to do and even more to write. In my research I have come to learn that during college Hegel was roommates with another budding philosopher named Schelling, who later became Hegel’s antagonist.

Dwight J. Friesen June 8, 2004March 25, 2023

Transcendence & the Return to Religion

As Christ-followers we say we trust the Spirit to guide us into all truth. Which we have collapsed into something we have come to label Orthodoxy… why is orthodoxy such a big deal? Is the Spirit untrustworthy? Unreliable? I wonder

Dwight J. Friesen August 3, 2003November 24, 2022

Failure

Michael Polanyi writes, “Since rules of rightness cannot account for failures, and reasons for doing something can only be given within the context of rules of rightness, it follows that there can be no reasons (in this sense) for a

Dwight J. Friesen August 1, 2003November 7, 2021

questioning God

I just picked up this collection of essays by Derrida, Milbank, Ward, Kearney and others. , “Questioning God” edited by Caputo, Dooley and Scanlon. Free Sample What does it mean to Forgive in a postmodern age? If forGIVEness is a

Dwight J. Friesen July 15, 2003November 7, 2021