Marshall McLuhan on media manipulation of peoples and nations

McLuhan, 1969: “There’s nothing at all difficult about putting computers in the position where they will be able to conduct carefully orchestrated programing of the sensory life of whole populations. I know it sounds rather science-fictional, but if you understood cybernetics you’d realize we could do it today. The computer could program the media to… Read More Marshall McLuhan on media manipulation of peoples and nations

Acedia and Its Discontents: Metaphysical Boredom in an Empire of Desire

“In the arid wasteland that is academic writing, amid the wider desert that is modern secular thought, R. J. Snell’s book on acedia is an oasis of flowers and fruit and fresh water. Professor Snell reminds us that man must never be made subordinate to work, nor even to the empty ‘vacations’ that are but interruptions in work. He… Read More Acedia and Its Discontents: Metaphysical Boredom in an Empire of Desire

How Michelangelo’s 3 Pietàs speak to a suffering world

Msgr. Timothy Verdon, the director of the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, told CNA “The images of suffering that the Pietà always implies I think will deeply touch people. I think that visitors will be moved to see these works,” he said. The image of the Pietà evokes “the personal suffering of mothers who hold their… Read More How Michelangelo’s 3 Pietàs speak to a suffering world

Malcolm Muggeridge. A Third Testament.

“World-renowned philosopher, humorist, newspaper editor, and university rector, British writer Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990) is best known to American audiences for his book Something Beautiful for God (a classic biography of Mother Teresa that essentially introduced her to the West) and for his frequent appearances on Firing Line. A tart-tongued agnostic, Muggeridge was fascinated by the… Read More Malcolm Muggeridge. A Third Testament.

Malcolm Muggeridge on Darwinism — Evolution

“I myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to which it’s been applied, will be one of the great jokes in the history books of the future. Posterity will marvel that so very flimsy and dubious an hypothesis could be accepted with the incredible credulity that it has.” Malcolm Muggeridge, The End… Read More Malcolm Muggeridge on Darwinism — Evolution