philosophy Archives - Keith Shields

Something Rather Than Nothing

Perhaps one of the biggest philosophical questions ever asked is “Why is there something rather than nothing?” When we look at the earth, the moon, the stars, our galaxy, the universe, gravity, light, and energy, we are struck with the immensity and complexity of this place in which we find ourselves. It is natural to…

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a movie written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (2018), may certainly be viewed at a number of levels. (Spoiler alert: Watch the movie before reading this blog.) On the one hand, it is a collection of entertaining stories woven together into one movie. At another level, it is…

Existential Cowboy Music

This week is Stampede week in Calgary. It is a time when everyone and every band gets cowboyed-up. Doc Walker is a band that gets played almost exclusively on Country Radio but they do have songs that deal with real philosophical concepts. “Raining on the Moon” is a case in point. The perspective of this…

If I Were You

If I Were You (Lyrics and Music by Wayne Watson, 1999, “Field of Souls”) If I were You, if I ran this placeThere wouldn’t be no mercy, noThere wouldn’t be no graceAnd people that wander off and go astrayI’d make real sure that they would payYeah, that’s what I’d do if I were You And…

The Pace of Scientific Advancement

The pace with which scientific and technological advances are happening is astounding. In 2014/2015, researchers had just begun to grasp the potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to edit genomes (see my previous blog here). The technology allows scientists to cut out pieces of DNA and replace the displaced DNA with a novel strand. This can…

The Idea of the Necessity of God

“And what’s strange, what would be marvelous, is not that God should really exist; the marvel is that such an idea, the idea of the necessity of God, could enter the head of such a savage, vicious beast as man.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

AI and NT: What makes us human?

Two recent developments in science could leave us asking the question, “What does it mean to be human?” First, the October 19 edition of the journal Nature reports on a remarkable computer program that taught itself how to play the ancient game called Go. Programmers set up the algorithms which included the structure and rules…

None of This Is Easy

Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Psalm 2:1, 2 “It has been clear for a while that the world is at an inflection point.” – Former American…

Rewiring Our Brains

Dr. Louise Banks: If you immerse yourself into a foreign language, then you can actually rewire your brain. Ian Donnelly: Yeah, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. It’s the theory that the language you speak determines how you think and… Dr. Louise Banks: Yeah, it affects how you see everything. Arrival, 2017, Directed by Denis Villeneuve, written by…

The Searching Kind

“And I know if he’s here tonight, somewhere looking in on us, he would smile and be so proud that this artist is performing this song. To George who we love and will always miss, this is for you . . .” James Corden, introducing a tribute to George Michael performed by Adele on the…