Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
@logocentrist.bsky.social
Former atheist and communist exploring history, culture, politics, science & leadership via Christian theology & philosophy🕊️🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧🇦🇺🇩🇪.
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
Philosophers opposed to free speech.
To the open exchange of ideas.
The heirs of Socrates silencing debate.
Greek philosophy must've been cancelled too.
Philosophy students forced to think?
Far too threatening.
To the open exchange of ideas.
The heirs of Socrates silencing debate.
Greek philosophy must've been cancelled too.
Philosophy students forced to think?
Far too threatening.
Academic freedom is most vital when contested work is controversial or liable to cause offence.
A Heretic Reprieved
Academic freedom is most vital when contested work is controversial or liable to cause offence.
quillette.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Philosophers opposed to free speech.
To the open exchange of ideas.
The heirs of Socrates silencing debate.
Greek philosophy must've been cancelled too.
Philosophy students forced to think?
Far too threatening.
To the open exchange of ideas.
The heirs of Socrates silencing debate.
Greek philosophy must've been cancelled too.
Philosophy students forced to think?
Far too threatening.
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
If Andrews is correct, “wokeness” isn’t Marxism reborn but the social logic of feminization: empathy over argument, safety over risk.
Obviously, a pattern that starts in childhood now governs institutions.
I suspect we're experiencing a confluence of forces.
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
Obviously, a pattern that starts in childhood now governs institutions.
I suspect we're experiencing a confluence of forces.
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
The Great Feminization
In 2019, I read an article about Larry Summers and Harvard that changed the way I look at the world.
www.compactmag.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:31 AM
If Andrews is correct, “wokeness” isn’t Marxism reborn but the social logic of feminization: empathy over argument, safety over risk.
Obviously, a pattern that starts in childhood now governs institutions.
I suspect we're experiencing a confluence of forces.
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
Obviously, a pattern that starts in childhood now governs institutions.
I suspect we're experiencing a confluence of forces.
www.compactmag.com/article/the-...
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
The mind can describe only what it perceives, how it appears, and how it is understood according to one’s presuppositions.
Since nothing is exhaustively perceived, comprehensively observed, or objectively understood, the mind reveals nothing as it is.
Since nothing is exhaustively perceived, comprehensively observed, or objectively understood, the mind reveals nothing as it is.
October 18, 2025 at 12:59 AM
The mind can describe only what it perceives, how it appears, and how it is understood according to one’s presuppositions.
Since nothing is exhaustively perceived, comprehensively observed, or objectively understood, the mind reveals nothing as it is.
Since nothing is exhaustively perceived, comprehensively observed, or objectively understood, the mind reveals nothing as it is.
“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”
- Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind
- Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind
December 22, 2025 at 9:17 PM
“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”
- Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind
- Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind
"The enemy is within the gates; it is with our own luxury, our own folly, our own criminality that we have to contend."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
December 22, 2025 at 1:06 AM
"The enemy is within the gates; it is with our own luxury, our own folly, our own criminality that we have to contend."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
- Marcus Tullius Cicero
"There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future."
- St. Augustine
- St. Augustine
December 21, 2025 at 11:36 PM
"There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future."
- St. Augustine
- St. Augustine
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
Nonprofits serve an invaluable role by ensuring the vulnerable receive needed aid.
But a nonprofit without strategy is just a collection of mismanaged good intentions.
Real impact begins when method meets mission—when systems, resources, and goals align with values.
But a nonprofit without strategy is just a collection of mismanaged good intentions.
Real impact begins when method meets mission—when systems, resources, and goals align with values.
October 8, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Nonprofits serve an invaluable role by ensuring the vulnerable receive needed aid.
But a nonprofit without strategy is just a collection of mismanaged good intentions.
Real impact begins when method meets mission—when systems, resources, and goals align with values.
But a nonprofit without strategy is just a collection of mismanaged good intentions.
Real impact begins when method meets mission—when systems, resources, and goals align with values.
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
My July 2025 Essay for The Dispatch
thedispatch.com/article/prog...
thedispatch.com/article/prog...
Not All Change Is Progress
Moral goodness requires more than momentum.
thedispatch.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:26 AM
My July 2025 Essay for The Dispatch
thedispatch.com/article/prog...
thedispatch.com/article/prog...
“People talk sometimes of a bestial cruelty, but that's a great injustice and insult to the beasts; a beast can never be so cruel as a man, so artistically cruel.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
December 21, 2025 at 1:57 AM
“People talk sometimes of a bestial cruelty, but that's a great injustice and insult to the beasts; a beast can never be so cruel as a man, so artistically cruel.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
“The world will ask who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you.”
- Carl Jung
- Carl Jung
December 20, 2025 at 8:02 AM
“The world will ask who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you.”
- Carl Jung
- Carl Jung
At its peak, socialism governed roughly a third of humanity.
Across cultures and continents, results remained consistent: scarcity, coercion, and collapse.
Western European trial-runs fared no better.
An economic system based on a faulty understanding of human nature will not succeed.
Across cultures and continents, results remained consistent: scarcity, coercion, and collapse.
Western European trial-runs fared no better.
An economic system based on a faulty understanding of human nature will not succeed.
December 20, 2025 at 4:47 AM
At its peak, socialism governed roughly a third of humanity.
Across cultures and continents, results remained consistent: scarcity, coercion, and collapse.
Western European trial-runs fared no better.
An economic system based on a faulty understanding of human nature will not succeed.
Across cultures and continents, results remained consistent: scarcity, coercion, and collapse.
Western European trial-runs fared no better.
An economic system based on a faulty understanding of human nature will not succeed.
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
Propaganda 101:
Bandwagon: “Everyone supports it"
Ad hominem: attacks on character
Straw man: distort opponent views
Emotional appeal: bypass reason
False dilemma: only two choices
Glittering generalities: generic virtue claims
Projection: accuse others of own misbehavior
Bandwagon: “Everyone supports it"
Ad hominem: attacks on character
Straw man: distort opponent views
Emotional appeal: bypass reason
False dilemma: only two choices
Glittering generalities: generic virtue claims
Projection: accuse others of own misbehavior
October 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Propaganda 101:
Bandwagon: “Everyone supports it"
Ad hominem: attacks on character
Straw man: distort opponent views
Emotional appeal: bypass reason
False dilemma: only two choices
Glittering generalities: generic virtue claims
Projection: accuse others of own misbehavior
Bandwagon: “Everyone supports it"
Ad hominem: attacks on character
Straw man: distort opponent views
Emotional appeal: bypass reason
False dilemma: only two choices
Glittering generalities: generic virtue claims
Projection: accuse others of own misbehavior
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
Open and respectful dialogue should be a civic norm in any Western democracy.
Our current level of public discourse would have embarrassed the Greeks and Romans.
Our current level of public discourse would have embarrassed the Greeks and Romans.
October 17, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Open and respectful dialogue should be a civic norm in any Western democracy.
Our current level of public discourse would have embarrassed the Greeks and Romans.
Our current level of public discourse would have embarrassed the Greeks and Romans.
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
- Flannery O'Connor
- Flannery O'Connor
December 19, 2025 at 3:11 AM
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
- Flannery O'Connor
- Flannery O'Connor
Beauty cannot survive the collapse of truth and goodness.
When standards disappear, spectacle replaces aesthetics. Enter: the duct-taped banana.
Is this banana duct-taped to a wall really worth $6.2 million US? Somebody thought so | CBC News share.google/4yMEfxpL1nw9...
When standards disappear, spectacle replaces aesthetics. Enter: the duct-taped banana.
Is this banana duct-taped to a wall really worth $6.2 million US? Somebody thought so | CBC News share.google/4yMEfxpL1nw9...
It's one banana, what could it cost? The answer: $6.2 million US | CBC News
A piece of conceptual art consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million US at an auction in New York on Wednesday.
share.google
December 19, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Beauty cannot survive the collapse of truth and goodness.
When standards disappear, spectacle replaces aesthetics. Enter: the duct-taped banana.
Is this banana duct-taped to a wall really worth $6.2 million US? Somebody thought so | CBC News share.google/4yMEfxpL1nw9...
When standards disappear, spectacle replaces aesthetics. Enter: the duct-taped banana.
Is this banana duct-taped to a wall really worth $6.2 million US? Somebody thought so | CBC News share.google/4yMEfxpL1nw9...
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals.”
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie
December 18, 2025 at 5:40 PM
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals.”
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
My June 2025 Essay for Quillette
quillette.com/2025/06/05/d...
quillette.com/2025/06/05/d...
Dependent Ideologies and the Illusion of Revolution
Liberal democracy, for all its flaws and contradictions, was the fruit of slow-growing wisdom.
quillette.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:25 AM
My June 2025 Essay for Quillette
quillette.com/2025/06/05/d...
quillette.com/2025/06/05/d...
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
Global outrage is more often conveniently political than completely moral.
With thousands in Gaza receiving deafening attention, millions in Africa suffer in relative silence:
Africa’s Forgotten Wars: Violence, Hunger, and the Unseen Human Cost of Global Neglect share.google/icmTkt44fZcx...
With thousands in Gaza receiving deafening attention, millions in Africa suffer in relative silence:
Africa’s Forgotten Wars: Violence, Hunger, and the Unseen Human Cost of Global Neglect share.google/icmTkt44fZcx...
Africa’s Forgotten Wars: Violence, Hunger, and the Unseen Human Cost of Global Neglect
share.google
October 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Global outrage is more often conveniently political than completely moral.
With thousands in Gaza receiving deafening attention, millions in Africa suffer in relative silence:
Africa’s Forgotten Wars: Violence, Hunger, and the Unseen Human Cost of Global Neglect share.google/icmTkt44fZcx...
With thousands in Gaza receiving deafening attention, millions in Africa suffer in relative silence:
Africa’s Forgotten Wars: Violence, Hunger, and the Unseen Human Cost of Global Neglect share.google/icmTkt44fZcx...
"Blessed is the person who makes themselves deaf to every pleasure that separates him from his Creator."
- St. Isaac the Syrian
- St. Isaac the Syrian
December 17, 2025 at 8:23 PM
"Blessed is the person who makes themselves deaf to every pleasure that separates him from his Creator."
- St. Isaac the Syrian
- St. Isaac the Syrian
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
Harvard biologist Carole Hooven reminds us: there are two gametes and thus two sexes.
The collapse of intellectual courage in science isn’t about biology—it’s about truth itself becoming unspeakable. www.tabletmag.com/sections/sci...
The collapse of intellectual courage in science isn’t about biology—it’s about truth itself becoming unspeakable. www.tabletmag.com/sections/sci...
There Are Only Two Gametes
The gametic understanding of sex is consensus mainstream science that makes research and understanding possible across a variety of key fields. So why are professors at Harvard and Princeton and edito...
www.tabletmag.com
October 18, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Harvard biologist Carole Hooven reminds us: there are two gametes and thus two sexes.
The collapse of intellectual courage in science isn’t about biology—it’s about truth itself becoming unspeakable. www.tabletmag.com/sections/sci...
The collapse of intellectual courage in science isn’t about biology—it’s about truth itself becoming unspeakable. www.tabletmag.com/sections/sci...
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
Direction changes destiny. And, sometimes, the smallest course correction today saves years tomorrow.
October 20, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Direction changes destiny. And, sometimes, the smallest course correction today saves years tomorrow.
Reposted by Jonathan Emerson-Pierce
The Christian in a fractured age must embody paradox: gentleness without weakness, conviction without pride, faith without illusion.
November 5, 2025 at 7:48 PM
The Christian in a fractured age must embody paradox: gentleness without weakness, conviction without pride, faith without illusion.
"Very liberals" cut ties with both friends and family at twice the rate of "liberals" and "very conservatives."
"Very liberals" cut ties with both friends and family at about four times the rate of "moderates" and "conservatives."
research.skeptic.com/american-pol...
"Very liberals" cut ties with both friends and family at about four times the rate of "moderates" and "conservatives."
research.skeptic.com/american-pol...
December 13, 2025 at 11:26 PM
"Very liberals" cut ties with both friends and family at twice the rate of "liberals" and "very conservatives."
"Very liberals" cut ties with both friends and family at about four times the rate of "moderates" and "conservatives."
research.skeptic.com/american-pol...
"Very liberals" cut ties with both friends and family at about four times the rate of "moderates" and "conservatives."
research.skeptic.com/american-pol...
"The soul of the one who serves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday, and is always in the mood for singing."
- St. John of the Cross
- St. John of the Cross
December 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
"The soul of the one who serves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday, and is always in the mood for singing."
- St. John of the Cross
- St. John of the Cross
"Instead of simply falling into the cushy life that was available to him, Aurelius embraced discomfort in his pursuit of virtue."
Lessons From Marcus Aurelius for the Modern World | Psychology Today share.google/MZgwyy4aCZIm...
Lessons From Marcus Aurelius for the Modern World | Psychology Today share.google/MZgwyy4aCZIm...
Lessons From Marcus Aurelius for the Modern World
Can we find true fulfillment in a world obsessed with comfort and pleasure? Discover how the wisdom of Marcus Aurelius and Stoic philosophy can guide us toward a life of virtue.
share.google
December 8, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"Instead of simply falling into the cushy life that was available to him, Aurelius embraced discomfort in his pursuit of virtue."
Lessons From Marcus Aurelius for the Modern World | Psychology Today share.google/MZgwyy4aCZIm...
Lessons From Marcus Aurelius for the Modern World | Psychology Today share.google/MZgwyy4aCZIm...