Jacob Howland

And there's this entire alternative way of thinking about things. So if you simply separate reason from that, you're going to get totalitarianism and kind of the lunacy that we see.

And there's this entire alternative way of thinking about things. So if you simply separate reason from that, you're going to get totalitarianism and kind of the lunacy that we see.

And there's this entire alternative way of thinking about things. So if you simply separate reason from that, you're going to get totalitarianism and kind of the lunacy that we see.

If you separate religion from the alternative that, well, man has reason, and man is able to figure things out, and there are things that we can understand about nature and the world and science that aren't in the religious tradition, then you're going to end up with, say, Islamic extremism or something. You see what I'm saying?

If you separate religion from the alternative that, well, man has reason, and man is able to figure things out, and there are things that we can understand about nature and the world and science that aren't in the religious tradition, then you're going to end up with, say, Islamic extremism or something. You see what I'm saying?

If you separate religion from the alternative that, well, man has reason, and man is able to figure things out, and there are things that we can understand about nature and the world and science that aren't in the religious tradition, then you're going to end up with, say, Islamic extremism or something. You see what I'm saying?

In other words, a healthy human existence is to dwell in the space of the permanent questions, which must be informed by these alternatives. And Strauss is very good on this. He says, there's no philosophical proof that the Bible is wrong, right? You're always making assumptions that are simply going to sort of prejudice the conclusions that you're going to. So we have to live in this space.

In other words, a healthy human existence is to dwell in the space of the permanent questions, which must be informed by these alternatives. And Strauss is very good on this. He says, there's no philosophical proof that the Bible is wrong, right? You're always making assumptions that are simply going to sort of prejudice the conclusions that you're going to. So we have to live in this space.

In other words, a healthy human existence is to dwell in the space of the permanent questions, which must be informed by these alternatives. And Strauss is very good on this. He says, there's no philosophical proof that the Bible is wrong, right? You're always making assumptions that are simply going to sort of prejudice the conclusions that you're going to. So we have to live in this space.

And Strauss's claim, which I really think is great, is that the tension between Athens and Jerusalem is the coiled spring of the greatness of the West, that we have to understand that. But now what I've come to understand, this is a kind of moderation, right?

And Strauss's claim, which I really think is great, is that the tension between Athens and Jerusalem is the coiled spring of the greatness of the West, that we have to understand that. But now what I've come to understand, this is a kind of moderation, right?

And Strauss's claim, which I really think is great, is that the tension between Athens and Jerusalem is the coiled spring of the greatness of the West, that we have to understand that. But now what I've come to understand, this is a kind of moderation, right?

Because if you say, no, reason's it, anything that's not rational, you've got some kind of positivism or whatever, you're going to go straight to that man-God thing, right? You're going to go straight to that totalitarian. The train's going to stop at the death camp, basically.

Because if you say, no, reason's it, anything that's not rational, you've got some kind of positivism or whatever, you're going to go straight to that man-God thing, right? You're going to go straight to that totalitarian. The train's going to stop at the death camp, basically.

Because if you say, no, reason's it, anything that's not rational, you've got some kind of positivism or whatever, you're going to go straight to that man-God thing, right? You're going to go straight to that totalitarian. The train's going to stop at the death camp, basically.

But if you also say, no, there's no reason, which is one more thing I just want to say about my book on Plato and the Talmud. I've already suggested that Socratic philosophizing begins with this revelation of Delphi, which Socrates takes seriously. Who is Socrates? What is wisdom? But he's convinced that there must be an answer because the God can't speak falsely.

But if you also say, no, there's no reason, which is one more thing I just want to say about my book on Plato and the Talmud. I've already suggested that Socratic philosophizing begins with this revelation of Delphi, which Socrates takes seriously. Who is Socrates? What is wisdom? But he's convinced that there must be an answer because the God can't speak falsely.

But if you also say, no, there's no reason, which is one more thing I just want to say about my book on Plato and the Talmud. I've already suggested that Socratic philosophizing begins with this revelation of Delphi, which Socrates takes seriously. Who is Socrates? What is wisdom? But he's convinced that there must be an answer because the God can't speak falsely.

The rabbis, there's a great book called Rational Rabbis by a guy named Menachem Fisch. And believe it or not, he talks about the rabbis of the Talmud. The first 40 pages is about Karl Popper's theory of falsification in science, which is a great, humble theory, right? It's that we can't prove laws like the law of gravity. We can only falsify them.

The rabbis, there's a great book called Rational Rabbis by a guy named Menachem Fisch. And believe it or not, he talks about the rabbis of the Talmud. The first 40 pages is about Karl Popper's theory of falsification in science, which is a great, humble theory, right? It's that we can't prove laws like the law of gravity. We can only falsify them.