The anti-chatbot alliance is growing. With support from the Future of Life Institute, New Polity is hosting a landmark event on AI this October in Steubenville Ohio, bringing together leading Catholic organizations and thinkers to discuss, debate, and chart a path for our world with AI. Event details and tickets will be available in July. In this podcast, Marc Barnes interviews participants at the Future of Life event in Washington D.C. on their projects, thinking on AI, and how an anti-chatbot alliance can be formed.
Esther defeats the idolatrous god-king through the strange power of weakness. Join Marc and Maria’s discussion of monolithic and idolatrous power structures and their vulnerability to the particular vocation of women.
What is the metaphysical difference between man and woman? Philosophy has long had a problem explaining the difference between men and women, even though it is a basic and fundamental reality. Are men and women different essentially? Is there a particularly "female soul" and a "male soul?" Is the brute fact of the sexually differentiated body the basis for sexual difference, or does that presuppose the problem? In man and woman are we dealing with an opposition or a contrariety? In this new podcast series, Marc Barnes and D. C. Schindler discuss the metaphysics of sexual difference, arguing for a new approach to the question.
What do the matriarchs of the Old Testament teach us regarding the roles of men and women? In this podcast, Marc Barnes and Maria Brandell discuss the biblical story of Esther and how it reveals the specific vocation of women.
In this podcast, Matthew Harvey Sanders, CEO of Longbeard (creator of MagisteriumAI), and Marc Barnes, editor of New Polity, debate whether Catholics should build and use AI chatbots. Barnes argues that Catholic AI chatbots are objectively evil because they generate probabilistic statements about the faith, are irresponsible in their responses, and are inherently fake conversations with non-persons. Sanders argues that Catholics should embrace this new technological development and that there is an openness from the Vatican about the creation of a true artificial intelligence. This debate is hosted by Edmund Mitchell of the Faith and AI Project.
Why do we not feel free? As modern liberalism continues to isolate and divide, our common experience is a lack of freedom, of being constrained and enslaved. But, how can true freedom be restored? In this episode of the Politics of Paganism, Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Jones discuss the New Law and how grace restores true freedom.
St. Thomas Aquinas presents salvation history in three stages: The Age of Nature, the Age of Law, and the Age of Grace. The pagans are stuck within the age of nature; fallen humanity inevitably declines into idolatry and slavery. But, God has a plan for saving man. From the time of Moses until Christ, God's chosen people are in the Age of Law which points forward to the coming of Christ. In this podcast, Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Jones discuss salvation history and the culmination of the Age of Law in the Cross.
The pagan cosmos is a closed world: the city is never truly self-sufficient, requiring natural slaves and war; regimes rise and fall cyclically; the regime's justice is never true justice. In the Treatise on Law (ST I-II, Q.90-108), St. Thomas Aquinas presents a different vision: the open world of grace. God orders the world through the eternal law; rational creatures participate in providence through human law; divine law is necessary to bring man to his final end. In this episode of the Politics of Paganism, Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Jones discuss how St. Thomas' vision of law answers the closed world of the pagans.
Plato and Aristotle argue that aristocracy is the ideal regime, but it never lasts for long. What's most powerful wins, and the masses are always the most powerful in number. Eventually, every pagan regime declines into the production of idols and temple slavery---whether Egypt, Greece, or Rome. In this episode of the Politics of Paganism, Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Jones discuss this decline and what brings it about.
Medically-assisted suicide bills are being introduced in states all over the country. Proponents say that it allows people to "die with dignity" and that it gives people "autonomy." But, the actual reality is far darker. In states like Oregon and California, people have been denied life-saving treatment and recommended suicide. People with disabilities and depression have been pressured into suicide.
In this podcast, Pat McGeehan, delegate of West Virginia, Marc Barnes, and Alex Denley discuss the dangers of legalized medically-assisted suicide.
Aristotle's "Politics" is full of deep insight: politics as the architectonic science, the mixed constitution, happiness as the end of the city. But, there's a group which is excluded from human virtue; namely, the natural slave. Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Jones discuss how the "natural slave" reveals the structure of Aristotle's just city: a limited class of citizens over an unspecified amount of slaves. And, that the despotic relationship extends into the mixed constitution of the citizens. The masses believe they are ruling in a democracy, the notables believe they are ruling an oligarchy, and the one, true philosopher-statesman rules the whole; each class instrumentalizes the other. They discuss how this doesn't vilify Aristotle, or presume nefarious intentions; this is what a science of a pagan political order demands. Ultimately, it is this structure that Christianity transforms from both within and above.
Plato presents a vicious circle that every regime goes through: from a limited aristocracy, to a timocracy of honor, an oligarchy based on wealth, a democracy based on liberty, and, finally, the tyranny of the one against all. While some regimes may be more just than others, it is bound to collapse eventually. Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Jones discuss Plato's description of the individual and his regime, the circle of regimes, and how Christianity can provide an answer to the circle.
Everyone has a sense of what is just and unjust, but what is the source of justice? In this episode of "The Politics of Paganism," Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Willard Jones discuss Plato's "Republic." Through a discussion of the luxurious city, the myth of the mixture of the elements, the Allegory of the Cave, and finally the Philosopher-King, Alex and Andrew show the tension in Plato between relative and absolute justice; between the shadows of justice in the city and true justice that the philosopher contemplates.
Death comes for everyone. For the Christian, death is the passage into eternal life; but, what about for the Pagan? Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Willard Jones discuss the problem of death for pagan regimes. Using St. Augustine's "City of God," they discuss Cain's murder of Abel, the founding of the city by violence, the inferior law of violence, and the overturning of death by Christ.
As the liberal order continues to collapse, rival voices have gained popularity—groups that aren’t content secularizing religion, but rejecting Christianity altogether. Old pagan arguments are resurrecting: the aesthetics of power, might-makes-right, vitalism and tyranny. Alex Denley and Dr. Andrew Willard Jones discuss their new series “The Politics of Paganism” and how Christianity can understand and defeat the pagan attacks against it.
Euthanasia is becoming legalized across the Western world. Pat McGeehan, Delegate of West Virginia, is fighting against it. Advocates employ slogans like “death with dignity,” and appeal to compassion; but, the actual results are much different. Already, a “suicide tourism” phenomenon has begun, with people flying to states like Oregon to get legal doctor-assisted suicide. Pat tells a story of one of his constituents who, tragically, was a victim of this. By legalizing euthanasia, the door is open for gross misuse. But, Pat is fighting for the dignity of his constituents in West Virginia. Euthanasia denies the dignity of the person; Pat is working to uphold that dignity by constitutionally banning euthanasia in the state of West Virginia.
America is sinking into pagan practices and beliefs. While Americans may not use the same language as the ancient pagans, John Daniel Davidson believes that the central pagan creed is present: there is no truth, everything is permitted. Liberalism had attempted to create neutral spaces, but as those spaces become more fought over, the only rationale can be one's own power. Dr. Andrew Willard Jones and John Daniel Davidson discuss the roots of a pagan worldview, the extent to which America is pagan, and how Christians should approach the pagan political order.
This episode, Marc Barnes and Alex Denley review the latest New Polity Magazine, Issue 4.3. They discuss the Christian practice of sanctuary, and the modern rise of the police state and delinquency. Also including reviews of Patrick Deneen's "Regime Change" and Matthew Crawford's "Why We Drive." You can get a copy of this magazine as a single issue here: https://newpolity.com/single-issues
Nathan Bird and Jacob Hyman answer your most pressing question: what are we to do? Drawing from their experiences in Chattanooga and Steubenville, they describe how small bets they made on city improvement have produced big results. Institutional barriers (bad city councils, HOA's, and local laws) can be an impediment to change, but there's still hope. Virtuous friends, with a passion for a better life, can revitalize even a decaying city. Welcome to the series finale of Good Cities!
Are we drowning in too much city plans? Or do we just have bad plans? Nathan Bird and Jacob Hyman argue that good city planning can solve many of our issues. Although developers and "experts" have caused weird and unsustainable developments, they discuss how local cities can retake planning their city. On the docket: imperial zoning laws, detached property owners, transient residencies, automobiles (again), minimum parking laws, and encouraging organic area planning.
Should we flee to the Land or revitalize the City? Jacob Hyman and Nathan Bird discuss how the battle between land and city is a false dichotomy. Each is dependent on the other and both are essential to renewal. They also discuss how the modern city has divorced these ways of life: making the land a commodity to extract resources and the modern city a scattered suburban sprawl. Also, the financial cost of these poorly planned cities has led to urban decay and flight to newer cities. But, there is a plan that the Church has for making cities beautiful and connecting with the land.
In this episode of Good Cities, it's time to get mad at cars...again. Cars were promised to be freedom on wheels, but most people experience driving as forced upon them; monotonous, traffic-ridden, and expensive. Jacob Hyman and Nathan Bird discuss how cars have made us slow, anxious, and separated from each other. Our cities once were bustling downtowns, and now they're a series of parking lots and crisscrossed highways. Also in this episode: what to do to remedy the impact of the car on cities and how to oppose the car for a better city. Welcome to Car Wars 2.
Check out our magazine! Subscribe today and get 30% off all back issues. Visit https://www.newpolity.com/magazine
It's time to get mad about cars. In this episode of Good Cities, Nathan Bird and Jacob Hyman discuss how cars have reshaped the city. How did cars become necessary for life? How did the American government implement a car-centered society? How has the rise of suburbia impacted our cities? Welcome to Car Wars (...part 1)!
Welcome to our new series Good Cities! In this episode, engineers Nathan Bird and Jacob Hyman describe the nature of the city. What is a city? Are cities places of sin? What is the purpose of the city? Is there a rivalry between farm and city? How have we built our cities in America? How can we make our cities better?
We strive to make as much of our content as possible free and easy to share. We hope you’re telling your friends about us. But you can help even more by donating to support the makers, writers, and thinkers that we work with to produce this excellent content.
Thank you in advance.
