David Teachout's Blog, page 15

There Is No True Christian

With any socio-cultural change there comes along for the ride a varying level of ideological reflection. Much depends on the connection one’s group has with the change. The greater degree of perceived effect the change has, the greater need there is to determine a response. At this level of group identity the question arises concerning whether agreeing or disagreeing is the

Loss and Regeneration

In BBC’s “Doctor Who,” the doctor is capable of regenerating to create a new body when physically injured or emotionally spent beyond regular repair. This process is tied to his nature as a time-lord, occurring through an increasing display of light bursting forth from within his person, as if multiple suns had burst and couldn’t wait to shine forth. The

Complicating Ockham: Simplicity As Confirmation Bias

For those philosophically minded, William Ockham will immediately engender various degrees of analytic glee, the name synonymous with logical parsimony or simple explanation. The more user-friendly phrase concerning parsimony is: “Don’t multiply entities beyond necessity.” Then again, perhaps the phrase isn’t as friendly as it may be to some. Thankfully that’s rather the point here, simplicity being, like beauty, in

Walking With Depression

The phrase “mental illness” brings up all manner of images, emotions and opinions. It also comes with a fair amount of social stigma even in this day of pill-pushing advertisements. Perhaps the ubiquity of medications leads to questioning personal struggles, supporting the judgment of just taking a pill and moving on. There exists then a social pressure with so-called “solutions” being readily

Human Nature: An Issue of Inheritance

What are we to make of human nature? The answer depends on which story of birth is believed. Birthing stories are about identifying those attributes that continue on from the mother-figure or simply that which comes before (Turner, 1996). This is a relation of cause/effect, where something comes from having causal connections to what it becomes and manifests in the

Reflecting on the Armed Forces: The Other 1%

For those having served and currently employed in the military, Memorial Day is a solemn day of remembrance. For the rest, it serves as a reminder of those very people who have come before us, laying the patchwork ground of our nation’s founding and continued existence with their shed blood and lives lost and shattered. The utilization of force should

Wealth inequality in America: It’s worse than you think

Originally posted on Fortune:
For the true believers in laissez faire economic policy, the recent and ongoing national discussion over income and wealth inequality probably seems like it was started as a cynical ploy for those on the left to gain a political advantage. After all, if rising inequality is a problem, you would be hard pressed to find any…

You Don’t Represent Me: An Open Letter to Congress

All hyperbolic declarations aside, America continues to be a representative democracy. The ideal behind this system is the best minds and most valorous individuals will rise to present their vision of a better society and, through a campaign gauntlet, the best ideas will through their representative, get voted into office by the people.  Ideas here, particularly those verbally presented, are assumed

The Power of Touch, the Immediacy of Presence

“Life is too sweet and too short to express our affection with just our thumbs. Touch is meant for more than a keyboard.” – Kristin Armstrong Lamenting the loss of real relationships in light of the focus on social media and technology has become so commonplace, it’s reached that vaunted realm of yesteryear wisdom, a symbol of generational differences rather than

Our Values Do Not Separate Us

“Family Values,” “Good Christian Values,” “He doesn’t hold our values,” “Core Values.” The list could go on and on, with each phrase immediately bringing to mind experiential examples, emotional responses and some form of positive or negative judgment. As a species, our social identification seems indelibly connected to whether or not we hold to a particular set of values. Step