Critic Cal

world-view   n.  [after German Weltanschauung  n.] a set of fundamental beliefs, values, etc., determining or constituting a comprehensive outlook on the world; a perspective on life; = Weltanschauung n.  ( OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2015. Web. 15 August 2015 ). I've been endeavouring through  N.T. Wright 's  Resurrection of the Son of God . It's a weighty tome in both senses (or would be if I hadn't opted for the e-book version) but he does have a lovely clarity of thought and expression which renders complex academic ideas comprehensible even to (reasonably determined) laymen. I especially appreciate his framework for describing and comparing world-views via the answers to five major questions: Who are we? Where are we? What is wrong? What is the solution? What time is it? The exercise of unpicking cultures and belief systems on this basis seems highly instructive, at least when he attempts it (more on that later). Bu...

Interesting how science fiction so often proves an ideal platform for investigating reality. I guess because we get to set the ground rules ourselves, almost like experimental test conditions. In practice, it is hard to identify one's own worldview; it is hard to be consistent within it; it is hard to coexist with people whose worldviews are different. Science fiction sneaks under the radar of our presuppositions by legitimising a suspension of disbelief. That the world in question is invented removes any ambiguity about the rules under which it operates, supplying fictitious but well-defined premises from which to explore all sorts of interesting 'what ifs'.[1] I was delighted by ' Moon '; as playful and thoughtful a sci-fi film as you could hope for. Plenty deep, but completely unpretentious. [2] A brief synopsis, I suppose, to begin…(see the Wikipedia page for more but there's a fair old number of spoilers in there). Sam Bell is nearing the end of a 3-ye...

I *love* Masterchef: I love seeing people excel at what they do, I love the human interaction and moments of genuine affection, and I love salivating over plate-upon-plate of delicious looking food (normally whilst eating some toast-based creation of my own). But as a series progresses each episode becomes more and more frequently punctuated by contestant sound-bites expressing ever-increasing fervour and obsession. To quote: "every single cell of my body is dedicated to Masterchef right now" …and that's only 5 minutes in to episode 4. The competition to express the most intense and all-consuming emotion and commitment becomes at least as fierce as the competition to present the best plates of food. It appears to be mandatory to love cooking to the exclusion of all other interests, to the neglect of your family and friends, to the jeopardy of your health and mental stability… and this 'passion' is presented to the audience as something inspirational, to be laude...

A habit I have benefited lots from is stocking up my iPod with stuff that I might be able to learn from in those moments where I'm physically occupied but mentally at liberty (cleaning and exercising being obvious such opportunities). Hopefully some of it filters through! (A habit which I have not benefited from is falling asleep listening to BBC 4's ' Unbelievable Truth '...I don't half worry about what that has 'taught' me! :-/ ) This talk by Dallas Willard on 'Nietzsche vs. Jesus' made for a very interesting gym session a couple of weeks ago. The premise of his talk is that 'the burden of human life is to find an adequate basis for human action in knowledge' and explores what those two thinkers* have to say about that knowledge. According to Willard, Nietzsche was calling out the hypocrisy that was rife in academic/social/cultural institutions, which professed Christian ideology but in practice were driven by ambition, cliques, and ...