philosophy
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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
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It’s Hard to be Embarrassed; is that a problem?
This may be one time when we all know that we exist between the past and future. Continue reading
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Liberal Democracies buttressed by Illiberal Forces: a Social Imaginary
“what is meant by individual freedom is hotly contested and not just a brute fact. It must be nurtured and grown. This is how I experience my moment of bliss over bacon and eggs. This emerging freedom is a profoundly different social imaginary than the one on offer by liberal democracy.” Continue reading
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Charles Taylor: New Dimensions of Experience
Taylor not only provides a language and framework that can articulate the deep senses of meaning we long for, but he also identifies many of the forces that are at work in our lives. 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 