by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. A few years ago, Ward Farnsworth wrote a good book,  “The Socratic Method: A Practitioner’s Handbook.” He argued that “social media has weakened logic and good reasoning to the point of societal demise,” though social media may only be partial cause for societal demise. A few responses come to mind. First and probably most importantly, “nothing is new under the sun.” Plato dealt with the problem of persuasion being more valued than truth. In…

Socrates Is on Your Side THERE IS HELP for those having difficulty with political talks at the dinner table or at the office — dreading them, actually, and whenever possible avoiding them. Instead, try calling on Socrates and 2,300 years of wisdom. Over the holidays I came across a tool for navigating, surviving, these talks. It is “The Socratic Method: A Practitioner’s Handbook” by Ward Farnsworth, dean of the University of Texas School of Law. Farnsworth…

by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. The thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), patron saint of educators, provided the great pivot in Western civilization and, likely, the world. He reasoned thus: God is Truth and known primarily by faith and scripture. God created the world, giving people the capability to reason. The human capacity for reason drives the search for truth. Therefore, faith and reason cannot conflict as they derive from the same source and lead to the…

by Mark Franke January 1 means most of us will spend too much time developing a list of resolutions for improving our lives in the new year. And most of us, myself included, will spend more time creating the list than actually executing it. Exercising more and losing weight are the old standbys but I won’t be adding them to my list this year. I have become quite faithful in getting 10,000 steps every day…

IU Law and Stereotypes “Have we reached the ultimate age of absurdity where some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, while other people are not held responsible for what they themselves are doing today?” — Thomas Sowell WHY WOULD AN INDIANA LAW SCHOOL abide an admissions policy that rejects hundreds of Hoosier applicants in favor of less qualified applicants, most from out-of-state? There’s a reason, a really bad one. Before we get…

Politics: The Big Shift “There is life and then there is life in the newspapers.” Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991), British author THE MORNING AFTER THE ELECTION I awoke to the news and immediately and for the next few hours experienced what was for me an unusual sense of well-being. I write on politics, after all, and my normal state of mind, whatever the news, ranges from angst to trepidation. No, I didn’t think the new president would fix everything…

by Mark Franke Now that the election is a month in the past, it is time to take stock of what we learned from it. Not much. Or perhaps, too much.  If the political pundits are to be believed, the Republicans won a clear mandate. True, Donald Trump won the presidency and the Republicans turned four Senate seats, but their slim majority in the House of Representatives is now a razor thin one. That doesn’t add up…

On the Democrats’ Weirdity AMERICAN VOTERS have figured out that today’s Democrat Party is odd, its liberal wing palpably so, even visibly. David Harsanyi of the Washington Examiner argues that is the lesson of Biden’s election loss: “Yearning for a government that upholds law and order is a normal inclination for any citizen. Attacking people who demand the law be followed, whether on the border or in our cities, is abnormal. And very weird.” So, can you spot liberal Democrats…

Will We Take Back our Colleges? The Stanford Review:  “What is the most important problem in the world right now?” Stanford President Jonathan Levin: “There’s no answer to that question. There are too many important problems to give you a single answer.” The Stanford Review: “That is an application question that we have to answer to apply here.” LOOKING OVER the governor-elect’s transition councils, you will have to search for anything definitive about the cultural disaster that is higher…

by Mark Franke What questions would you ask a newly elected Congressman if you and a few close friends have a long evening of his undivided attention? My monthly Socratic discussion group faced just this challenge recently as Third District Congressman Marlin Stutzman, an occasional participant in our group, met with us to discuss our post-election outlook on Congress, President Donald Trump and the nation. We modified our semi-strict rules of engagement by allowing him…