Get to Know Rose Coleman
Nell O’Leary
“The goal of this community is to continue the professional and personal formation of primary Catholic school teachers. In practice, this looks like learning to live an integrated life of Catholicism in their personal and professional lives and being able to respect and reasonably defend the faith with students, colleagues, families, and administration.” Nell O’Leary joined Rose Coleman to learn about her mission for the new Primary Catholic Educators Formation Community in the Word on Fire Institute.
The Banalization of Intelligence
Alejandro Terán-Somohano
Alan Turing is the heir of modern philosophy’s rejection of metaphysics and its concomitant reduction of human reason. His metaphysics are thoroughly materialistic: thinking is equated with brain states; computers are discrete state machines and thus mechanical brains; therefore, computers can think. Intelligence, for Turing, is reducible to computation. This makes intelligence banal, and if intelligence is banal, so is man. If we no longer have a concern for truth, if the question about what things are is superfluous (as Turing suggests), so will any questions concerning goodness. Asking whether we should or should not do something becomes meaningless.
When Charity Is a Dirty Word
Mark Bradford
The way the word “charity” is used in the disability community misinforms and misguides—and even demeans Our Lord’s commandment to love. Pity is a feeling. Charity is an action that provides aid and support to those in need. It is how we live as Christ commanded us to live in relation to one another. A negative reaction to charity may stifle what a Christian’s response should always be to anyone in need—even if the need is perceived and not true. The word “charity” always risks being misunderstood, and so do the actions it represents. We must use language carefully, and never stop loving and caring for those in need.
Peter Singer Forgets Boethius
Justin Kalan
The prominent ethicist Peter Singer argues that classic attempts to distinguish between humans and other animals fail. He believes the source of being worthy of moral consideration is one’s ability to suffer, not some special quality unique to humanity. But Singer fails by overlooking an extremely important definition of the word “person” from Boethius. Being grounded in both reason and revelation, we can see the true value of human beings and apply this to our ethical theories and practices.
Carlo Acutis, The First Millennial Saint
Fr. Billy Swan
Carlo Acutis showed himself skilled in all things to do with information technology, computers, and the internet. He was inspired by the late Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple. The wisdom Jobs shared struck a chord with the young Carlo: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living the life of someone else.” At a time when excessive screen time is a worry for the parents of teenagers, Carlo is a great example of someone who used modern technology to good effect without wasting time or being distracted. May his witness inspire many young people to walk the same path of holiness and greatness as he did.
I Cheated, But I Won Anyway
Dr. Christopher Kaczor
Our coach Leo Genest had led his teams to the last three out of four state championships in cross country. He was ultracompetitive, and so were we. We won our first meets, and then came the Auburn Roller Coaster relays. We were on a mission. But Leo had a more important mission than going undefeated or winning state. Each morning at daily Mass, he rededicated himself to his goal. He saw his teaching and coaching as a way of making Christ present to us.
A Look Inside the Devil’s Playbook with The Screwtape Letters
Lauren Meyers
Understanding the strategy of an opponent is essential to victory, and C.S. Lewis’ haunting epistolary, The Screwtape Letters, provides a glance at the enemy’s playbook. The demonic correspondence reveals the tactics of evil and provides us with knowledge to defend ourselves against temptation. This is not someone else’s story; it’s our story and our souls at stake. This makes the letters an occasion for examination, not entertainment. We may note three specific maneuvers that demons employ, along with corresponding strategies for defense and response.
William F. Buckley Jr., the St. Paul of the Conservative Movement
Matthew Malone
He
was a founder of modern conservatism, a public intellectual and
controversial provocateur whose razor-sharp wit, erudite writing, and
colorful personality left an indelible imprint on political discourse
over the latter half of the twentieth century. Central to William F.
Buckley Jr.’s worldview and intellectual foundation was his deeply
rooted Catholic faith, which informed not only his personal life but
also his public advocacy and philosophical reflections. He inspires us
today to engage courageously in public life while upholding the
objective principles of justice, solidarity, and the common good.
Horcruxes, Artificial Intelligence, and the Last Supper
Nick Haydon
While listening to the Harry Potter series, a quote from Arthur Weasley caught my attention: “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain?” He is talking to his daughter Ginny about a horcrux, a malicious magical item into which a person conceals part of his soul so that, should his physical body die, he will achieve immortality. There are parallels between horcruxes and how artificial intelligence manifests itself in programs like ChatGPT. Are we pouring too much of ourselves, too much of our souls, too much of what makes us distinctly human into artificial intelligence? It also struck me that, in a very real sense, the Eucharist is the exact opposite of a horcrux.
Concerns Surrounding Lattice’s “AI Employess” Initiative
Dr. Steven Umbrello
The innovative use of artificial intelligence has seeped into many of our everyday spheres, whether we are aware of it or not. This has even become true within the domain of human resources. Lattice introduces an AI initiative aimed to treat AI bots as official employees, complete with employee records and managerial structures. While this demonstrates a commendable effort to harness new technologies, it has also sparked considerable debate and concern. There is a potential to deceive and important ethical and practical implications of treating AI as part of a workforce.
Olympian Obscenity
Dr. Matthew Petrusek
Radical queer ideologues have long been willing to publicly profane Christ and Christian values, but the now-infamous mockery of da Vinci's The Last Supper at the Olympics' opening ceremony crossed the line in a new way. How can we combat an increasingly pervasive queer ideology—that is, a political worldview that seeks to dismantle objective, biologically based conceptions of women, men, and family formation and replace them with subjective, transgressive expressions of gender and sexuality decoupled from the creation and nurturing of human life? Here are five suggestions.
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