InternetInfidels

06/14/2026

Last Time: Celebrating New Teachers: Education and Metaphysics with Squaring and Circling Now the conclusion: I’m still on vacation here at the blog, but I wanted to do a part 2 for the last post. While last time I talked about some ideas for new teachers, I thought I might conclude this two-part series with ... (2/2) Celebrating New Teachers: The Interview

(2/2) Celebrating New Teachers: The Interview John MacDonald | June 14, 2026 Last Time: Celebrating New Teachers: Education and Metaphysics with Squaring and Circling Now the conclusion: I’m still on vacation here at the blog, but I wanted to do a part 2 for the last post.  While last time I talk...

06/09/2026

Added the one hundred fourth The Freethinker Podcast YouTube Interview with Robert M. Price on God’s Omniscience and the Imperfect Creation of Adam to The Freethinker Podcast page under Resources on the Secular Web. Join host Edouard Tahmizian for this 40-minute interview with long-time return guest and well-known biblical scholar Robert M. Price on how […]

06/05/2026

* (INTRODUCTION) Examples of Organizing Thinking with the Magic of 4s (Children Playing 4-Square at Recess) I’ve been on vacation from blogging until the Fall, but I encountered some very enthusiastic education students from the local university recently who had a table event at a Sobeys grocery store, and I was inspired to write a ... Celebrating New Teachers: Education and Metaphysics with Squaring and Circling

Celebrating New Teachers: Education and Metaphysics with Squaring and Circling John MacDonald | June 4, 2026 * (INTRODUCTION) Examples of Organizing Thinking with the Magic of 4s (Children Playing 4-Square at Recess) I’ve been on vacation from blogging until the Fall, but I encountered some very e...

06/04/2026

Added Assessing McIntosh’s Sophisticated Defense of Miracles (2026) by John W. Loftus to the Argument from Miracles page under Arguments for the Existence of a God in the Modern Documents section of the Secular Web Library. In a previous paper Don McIntosh showed an exceptional awareness of the major objections to belief in miracles. In […]

05/22/2026

I think I finally got all the typos in my last blog post, lol! We were thinking about fourfold rubrics of criteria used to teach, assess/evaluate. In the history of Metaphysics from Plato to Heidegger, you have the basic idea that the really real is not the “present” thing in front of you (me on ... Have a Great and Reflective Summer!

Have a Great and Reflective Summer! John MacDonald | May 22, 2026 I think I finally got all the typos in my last blog post, lol! We were thinking about fourfold rubrics of criteria used to teach, assess/evaluate. In the history of Metaphysics from Plato to Heidegger, you have the basic idea that the...

05/21/2026

The Fourfold Cord vs The Threefold Cord “And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Eccl 4:12) I talked a little the last few times about the threefold cord (I might have misspelled as “chord” a few times, but that’s okay I’m musical, lol), and ... (Part 6) The Fourfold Cord vs The Threefold Cord: My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

(Part 6) The Fourfold Cord vs The Threefold Cord: My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German” John MacDonald | May 21, 2026 The Fourfold Cord vs The Threefold Cord “And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not q...

05/20/2026

I keep coming back to the example / exemplar of houseness and threefold appearing “as” (mansion as houseness incarnate, houseness being merely present in the average house, and deficient in the dilapidated shack). Moreover, there is the twofold deconstructive reversal where the mansion may appear gawdy to the next person, or the shack quaint/rustic. But ... (Part 5) My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

(Part 5) My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German” John MacDonald | May 20, 2026 I keep coming back to the example / exemplar of houseness and threefold appearing “as” (mansion as houseness incarnate, houseness being merely present in the average house, an...

05/19/2026

We are trying to determine with Derrida what it means that Cohen was an exemplar of the Jewish-German spirit incarnated in the figure of Kant. In order to think this let’s go back a little to the Apostle Paul. Debating the dates and authenticity of the Pauline letters is very difficult. Seven are generally considered ... (Part 4) My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

(Part 4) My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German” John MacDonald | May 19, 2026 We are trying to determine with Derrida what it means that Cohen was an exemplar of the Jewish-German spirit incarnated in the figure of Kant.  In order to think this let’s go ...

05/18/2026

We’ve been thinking with Derrida about examples and exemplars, where traditionally the exemplar is the really real (e.g., true friend), while the example is deficient in relation to it (just a friend). Thought holistically, the missing third term here is a “bad friend.” The error that Derrida notes is our tendency to see the exemplar/example ... (Part 3) Threes and My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

(Part 3) Threes and My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German” John MacDonald | May 18, 2026 We’ve been thinking with Derrida about examples and exemplars, where traditionally the exemplar is the really real (e.g., true friend), while the example is deficient...

05/17/2026

I’ve been writing a lot about threes, like how the threefold degrees of houseness (mansion, average house, dilapidated shack) gives us a clear picture of the concept In that vein of threes, we might also see how the “threefold cord” is a metaphor for strength through unity and partnership. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says “And though one ... (Part 2) Threes and My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German”

(Part 2) Threes and My thoughts on Derrida’s “Interpretations at War Kant, the Jew, the German” John MacDonald | May 16, 2026 I’ve been writing a lot about threes, like how the threefold degrees of houseness (mansion, average house, dilapidated shack) gives us a clear picture of the concept ...