Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Self Itself, not by Itself

The self cannot explain itself to itself by itself.

Soren Kierkegaard knew this: The Sickness Unto Death.
G. K. Chesterton knew this: Orthodoxy.

More importantly, they knew this--and anyone who knows this knows this--because Jesus Christ, the Logos Incarnate, knew it and taught it (Gospels).

1 comment:

David Strunk said...

David Bentley Hart also makes this compelling argument in "Atheist Delusions"- his historical reproach against the new atheists. Challenging the philosophical naturalism of the new atheists, Bentley Hart writes:

"Even the simplest of things, and even the most basic of principles, must first of all be, and nothing within the universe of contingent things (nor even the universe itself, even if it were somehow 'eternal') can be intelligibly conceived of as the source or explanation of its own being."

This is a category error the new atheists often make, especially when they try to say that science sufficiently explains all deep philosophical questions. If you haven't read Hart's book, check it out. It's exceptional.