Category Archives: Philosophy

My marriage was a mistake

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Quentin

A quick glance at the website reminds us that it has been going for a long time – right back to 2008. So occasionally I look back to the old days. I have no way of knowing who actually reads … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Philosophy, Quentin queries | 46 Comments

Human flourishing

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Quentin

Before he was elected pope, Joseph Ratzinger spoke of Socrates as “in a certain respect the prophet of Jesus Christ”. He saw him as a philosopher who was concerned with the fundamental questions of whether man alone sets standards for … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Moral judgment, Philosophy | 57 Comments

Have I made a mistake?

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Quentin

Why is the first paragraph of this column so important? That is easy to answer. If the first paragraph sounds sufficiently interesting you are more likely to read on. And, providing that your interest continues as we get into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Philosophy | 26 Comments

Down With God

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Quentin

Occasionally on the Internet I find myself reading a discussion on the characteristics of religious people. Since few of the contributors are themselves religious we would not expect them to be flattering. Of course such criticisms do not apply to … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocatus Diaboli, Church and Society, Philosophy | 12 Comments

Does God exist?

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Quentin

Does God exist? It’s an important question – perhaps the most important question. Yet there is a huge number of people in the world who regard it as an open question, or simply deny the possibility. Among them are some … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Quentin queries | Tagged | 53 Comments

Science and philosophy

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Quentin

Over supper a few nights ago I had a conversation with Damien (not his name) which roamed around the relationship between science and philosophy. Damien is a young man highly educated in the sciences and with, I suspect, an IQ … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Catholic Herald columns, Church and Society, Moral judgment, Neuroscience, Philosophy | Tagged | 12 Comments

Plain speaking for a change

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Quentin

“Plain Language Philosophy” is an approach to the truth which is available to all of us. Nowadays it is popular with serious philosophers – and often used by those who do not think of it as philosophy at all. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Quentin queries | Tagged | 17 Comments

Are you a Stoic within?

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Quentin

Nowadays if we use the word ‘stoic’ we do so informally. Perhaps it refers to someone who bears up despite hard times, or takes pride in bearing pain. At its worst it may be associated with the ethos of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio-ethics, Catholic Herald columns, Church and Society, Moral judgment, Philosophy, virtue ethics | 4 Comments

Lust

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Quentin

“Adultery in the heart is committed not only because a man looks in a certain way at a woman who is not his wife but precisely because he is looking at a woman that way. Even if he were to … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Moral judgment, Philosophy | 8 Comments

The wisest of them all

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Quentin

When Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, spoke to his fellow bishops on the subject of conscience and law he referred to Socrates, the pagan, as being, in a certain respect, ‘the prophet of Jesus Christ’. So perhaps we should think … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholic Herald columns, Moral judgment, Philosophy | Tagged , , | 14 Comments