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All or Nothing?

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Google Image I’m a life-long believer, born and raised a Catholic and having almost all of my formal education provided by church-related institutions. But my journey along the road of faith has been bumpy due to the potholes of doubt and uncertainty. Often, I stuck with it out of sheer willpower, and a lot of help from God. I’m glad I did. But I believe my doubts along the way have made it easier for me to relate to people who haven’t stayed with it, or who can’t bring themselves to embrace faith. Much Calmer My doubts were “all over the place,” starting with the existence of God. I still have flashes of doubt but I’m much calmer about them. And one of the truths that have guided me is that faith is not an “all or nothing” proposition, that there are degrees of faith along with degrees of doubt, especially about such things as church doctrine and authority. An article in a recent issue of American Magazine deals with this subject. Written by Elizabeth Hansen, a Catholic wife a...
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Una Elección Crucial

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Google Image “Le pedí a la inteligencia artificial una oración antes de la cena. Me agradeció la nube.” Este is un chiste que ChatGPT se cuenta a sí mismo. Realmente no es muy divertido, y evidentemente, contar chistes sobre sí mismo – que ahora representa una función mecánica e insensata de la inteligencia artificial – puede que no esté previsto para la IA del futuro. No sabe nada de humildad. En una entrevista de 2023 en el programa de 60 Minutes, Geoffrey Hinton – un científico informático y psicólogo cognitivo británico-canadiense, considerado uno de los 'padrinos de la inteligencia artificial'– dijo que cree que Al actualmente no tienen autoconciencia, pero la tendrán, y piensa que llegará un momento en que “las máquinas serán más inteligentes que nosotros.” Está de acuerdo con el periodista Scott Pelley en que no seremos “los seres más inteligentes en la tierra.” No, dudo que estén dispuestos a hacer bromas sobre sí mismos. Humanidad Magnífica Entonces, ¿qué tiene...
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A Pivotal Choice

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Google Image “I asked AI for a prayer before dinner. It thanked the cloud.” “The church livestream added AI captions. “Prince of Peace” became “prints of peas.” These are jokes ChatGPT tells on itself. Not very funny, really, and evidently, telling jokes on itself – which is now a mindless, mechanical function of artificial intelligence – may not be in the cards for the AI of the future. It knows nothing about humility. In a 2023 interview on 60 Minutes, Geoffrey Hinton –  a British Canadian computer scientist and cognitive psychologist,  regarded as one of the “godfathers of artificial intelligence” – said he believes AI systems are “intelligent,” and “can understand.” More Intelligent Than Us? They currently have no self-awareness, he believes, but will have, and thinks a time is coming when “machines will be more intelligent than us.” He agrees with interviewer Scott Pelley that “we will be the second most intelligent beings on the earth.” But I still doubt they wil...
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Un antídoto contra la «absurdidad?»

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Imagen de Google Cuando estudiaba filosofía, I brevemente los escritos de Albert Camus (1913-1960), un novelista, ensayista, dramaturgo y filósofo moral franco-argelino. Voz principal del humanismo de mediados del siglo XX, Camus exploró cómo vivir de manera significativa en un universo indiferente, obteniendo el Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1957 por obras que iluminaban “los problemas de la conciencia humana en nuestros tiempos.” Probablemente es el escritor más famoso sobre “lo absurdo,” argumentando que, aunque los humanos anhelan significado, su incapacidad para obtener conocimiento espiritual equivale a lo absurdo.  Volveremos a esa idea, pero parece que esa visión, supuestamente común en la década de 1960, no ha pasado de moda aunque sus expresiones puedan haber cambiado.  Falta de propósito “Un estudio reciente de la Escuela de Educación de Harvard mostró que casi 3 de cada 5 jóvenes adultos sienten una falta de propósito en sus vidas,” informa un artículo en D...
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An Antidote to "Absurdity?"

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Google Image Back when I was studying philosophy, we briefly considered the writings of Albert Camus (1913-1960), a French Algerian  novelist, essayist, playwright, and moral philosopher. A leading voice of mid-20th-century humanism, Camus explored how to live meaningfully in an indifferent universe, earning the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature for works that illuminated “the problems of the human conscience in our times.” He is p robably the most famous writer on “the absurd,” arguing that while humans long for meaning, their inability to gain insight into the spiritual amounts to absurdity. We’ll come back to that idea, but it seems that that view, reportedly common in the 1960s, hasn’t gone out of style even though its expressions may have changed. Lack of Purpose “A recent Harvard Graduate School of Education study showed that nearly 3 in 5 young adults feel a lack of purpose in their lives,” an article in Deseret News reports. “Half of that same group describe their m...
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¿El Falso o Verdadero Tú?

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Google Image Al escribir sobre este tema, sé que estoy en riesgo de involucrarme en psicología amateur. Sí, el tema es evidente en los escritos de psicólogos como Karl Jung y Viktor Frankl, pero la intención de este blog es arrojar algo de luz sobre un hilo constante de escritores espirituales cristianos que advierten sobre "el falso yo".  En pocas palabras, el falso yo es el yo que se construye alrededor del ego, el estatus, el miedo, la aprobación o la ilusión, en lugar de la identidad más profunda de uno en Dios. El término en sí está especialmente asociado con la espiritualidad contemplativa contemporánea, pero ideas relacionadas se remontan a siglos atrás.   Los escritos de San Agustín, Meister Eckhart, San Juan de la Cruz y Santa Teresa de Ávila se encuentran entre esos tesoros centenarios. Pero sus temas han sido retomados por más escritores modernos como Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen y Thomas Keating. Fieles a Nosotros Mismos Todos abogan por la primacía del “ve...
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The False or True You?

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Google Image When writing about this subject I know I’m at risk of engaging in amateur psychology. Yes, the theme is evident in the writings of psychologists like Karl Jung and Viktor Frankl, but the intent of this blog is to throw some light on a constant thread of Christian spiritual writers who warn about “the false self.” Simply, the false self is the self that is built around ego, status, fear, approval, or illusion rather than one’s deepest identity in God. The term itself is especially associated with contemporary contemplative spirituality, but related ideas go back centuries. The writings of St. Augustin, Meister Eckhart, St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila are among those centuries-old treasures. But their themes have been taken up by more modern writers like Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and Thomas Keating. True to Ourselves They all advocate for the primacy of the “true self,” which is easier to write and talk about than to become. Most of us, including those...
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