philosophy
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Why Everything Feels Worse (And Why That’s Not an Accident)
At first, these systems work well. They serve people. But once we depend on them—once leaving becomes risky or complicated—the priorities shift. The system starts serving itself. Continue reading
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Understanding Sovereignty in Modern Political Discourse
Sovereignty renewed appeal cannot be explained solely by shifts in global power or the breakdown of international institutions. Rather, sovereignty has become inspirational because it mirrors a deeper concern of our age: the struggle for authenticity, i.e. the desire to act from within one’s own values rather than as an instrument of external systems. In… Continue reading
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Sovereignty: The Power Beyond Ownership
” Sovereignty and ownership overlap in everyday speech, but philosophically, linguistically, and practically they point to very different kinds of authority and relation.” Continue reading
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Anabaptism and the Post Secular Condition: Witness, Pluralism, and the Limits of Secular Reason
I had gone out into the world as if it was completely unknown; I came back with the world in tow. Continue reading
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Secularism and Pluralism: Divergent Social Imaginaries
My faith as a Christian cannot be privatized. My relationship with God is personal, but it isn’t private. Continue reading
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The Aura of Thought: McLuhan and Benjamin on AI
“Without presence, there is no memory. Without struggle, no ethics. Can a civilization survive on imitation alone?” Continue reading
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Social Imaginaries
“the social imaginary… are the ways people imagine their social existence, how they fit together with others, how things go on between them and their fellows, the expectations that are normally met, and the deeper normative notions and images that underlie these expectations.” Continue reading
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Canada’s Mindful Approach to Managing Trump’s Influence
“Canada’s long-term relationship with the United States is more significant than any one leader’s policies, and recognizing the impermanence of Trump’s influence helps in moving forward without dwelling on past conflicts.” Continue reading
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The Good Life: Differing Visions for a Thriving Society
“…if we are to offer resistance to the coup attempt on both the administrative state and on the imaginary that agency is core to a meaningful life, we might consider pushing back on over-reach technological rationality.” Continue reading
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Evil Never Wins… or Dies
Fortunately, I haven’t been much moved by an idea of America, or been swept-up in anti-American sentiment. I’ve never really understood what America even is. Continue reading
About me: I am a career educator and traveler at heart. My written work includes academic writing in philosophy and linguistics, English acquisition, and most intently in the areas of spiritual engagement with reality and what that means for our public lives.
My education is a mixture of formal study in philosophy, political theory, Biblical studies, and history, along with professional teaching certification in TESOL and in cognitive testing, and international teaching.
My travel experiences include a range of countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. I have lived in Canada, the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. From those places I have traveled to many others besides.
I am a child of the 70’s and a “family man.” That means I have two wonderful kids who have been round the world with me.
Lastly, I am married to a wonderful woman since 2004. She is my partner, my friend, and my muse.
Thanks again for stopping by,
Raymond Klassen - Ideals and Identities 