I just read Norm MacDonald's "Based on a True Story", after receiving it for Christmas (Good Christmas gift!) While I can't publicly recommend it because of the seedy and lewd content (drug

For the past twenty years or so, I’ve been trying to understand this concept of “Liberal Arts.” I don’t think I fully understand it yet. And I don’t think you do either. One

Overheard last week: A 16 year old said to her peers, “So, we all agree – metaphysics is practical. Does anyone disagree? No? Let’s move on to the next question.” Wow. A bit

One of the most painful things we can do in life is sort through past emotions. Big emotions do not “go away” with time. They only go away with attention. They have a

I read hundreds of anti-Trump articles during the primaries and the election season two years ago. Very few, almost none, of them, “got” the real problem with Trump. They said things like “he

This Wrap article laments the lack of ‘inclusion’ of LGBT characters in mainstream media films. By ‘inclusion’ of course they mean ‘exclusion.’ For including abnormality and immorality means excluding a certain kind of

There was a big fight tonight… Congratulations are in order to Ukraine and to its champion boxer, Lomachenko. Enjoy the highlights at CBS. It was a beautiful fight. English has its Alexander Pope,

This is perhaps best single Peterson interview so far. In it, Peterson develops a host of related big claims. He states and concisely explains no less than the following: an account of the

6 years ago today my father passed away. Six years ago today, I sat holding his hand, still warm, trying to comprehend that he was dead. I arrived at the hospital a little

It’s horrifying to hear Dr. David Perry, the President of the Hamilton Township Education Association, say this: “I’m not here to hurt anybody. I’m here to defend. No matter the worst teachers in

This interview is edifying, informative, and challenging on multiple levels. Dave Rubin talks with Thomas Sowell about his life, his education, and his new book on three different kinds of discrimination. It includes

A little while ago, I asked friends for books other resources about the connection between trauma and muscle pain. Here’s what you came up with! I added links to each title, and a

An email from a former student that illustrates the importance of ongoing gratitude for basic goods. It’s especially important around Easter time, for those of us who are still high on Easter joy.

Dr. Andrew Selby has been lecturing the Trinity Classical Academy staff this past academic year on the “Art of Grammar.” The art of grammar, in contrast to the mere subject, is a skill

I am reading Dostoevsky’s Demons presently and stumbled across this description of a proto-Google, or proto-internet of information. Dostoevsky’s idea comes from the character Lizaveta. She imagines a book or series that condenses

Scott Alexander at Slate Stare Codex writes a thorough review of Jordan Peterson’s book and of Peterson’s whole approach to life. While I don’t agree with the whole review, it’s worth reading. [Also:

The National Geographic recently put out a piece about searching for the real Jesus. Check out Bruce Seraphim Foltz’s take down. The fallacy of “begging the question” refers to assuming that you are

I have a neat system for organizing papers on my desk which demand attention. There are approximately eleven categories. Need to grade Begun grading, need to finish Completely graded, need to input grades

One of the great blessings of travel is being able not only to see another culture, but returning to your own culture and seeing yourself with fresh eyes. Mirrors can’t do that. That’s

If you’re just hearing about JBP, don’t let anyone define him into a box for you, too quickly. Get to know him. His critics like to use their one (and only?) trusty tool

The interview between Jordan Peterson and Cathy Newman of Channel 4 is a must see. If you have 30 minutes to spare… the video will edify and/or decimate you. A Canadian psychologist spent

Part 1. (No Spoilers) I don’t envy Chris Terrio. What in the world is Episode IX going to be about? Chris Terrio and JJ Abrams have to write a chapter to follow the

Charles Williams, close friend of (and influence on) CS Lewis once said: “If a man seems to himself to endure the horrors of shipwreck, though he walks on dry land and breathes clear

Once upon a time, Tommy Wiseau created a film: The Room. The Room is so bad that it’s almost miraculous. The Room is like a horrifying mixture of castle-in-a-cloud idealism and an actual

I’m happy to announce a new interview with a classical educator, Dr. “Lou” Markos. Dr. Markos is a literature professor and authority on C.S. Lewis as well as a dynamic voice in the

Approximately 27 years ago, I played a game called “The Secret of Monkey Island” with my brothers and sisters. I was eight years old. The game was funny, fun, and an enduring source

I’m happy to announce a new interview on my other blog, Advice to Christian Philosophers.com Our 4th interview is with Eric J. Silverman, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies at Christopher Newport University.

Fun update: I went to New York a couple of weeks ago for the Alcuin Retreat. Alcuin is a retreat for teachers and administrators at classical schools. The Society of Classical Learning puts

The list below supplies, in chronological order, all of C. S. Lewis’s books. The reason for composing it is that many Lewis fans want to read “everything he wrote” but may have a

Join me at the University of St. Katherine on Monday, 7:30pm, where I’ll be speaking to the students about classical education as a form of initiation into a life of virtue and the

Two years ago, I attended the “Special Divine Action” conference at Oxford University. One of the most powerful presentations was that by Roger Scruton on “intransitive prayer” – that is, prayer without an

I am almost done watching all 100 of the American Film Institute’s best American films. “Why would you watch 100 movies?” you say… “Why would you use this list?” I’m glad you asked.

After the Mayweather/McGregor fight, I’ve become mildly interested in boxing and MMA. This amounts to reading a bit about the sports, and watching a few historic fights such as Foreman’s comeback win at

New classical schools are opening across the country every year. Public charter, private, and home-school cooperatives are all successfully adopting the classical model and putting it to good use. This week, Current reports

Who will win on Saturday in the McGregor vs. Mayweather fight? Mayweather will win… But it will be interesting. And that’s the point. Here’s my prediction of what happens, and an explanation of

ONCE UPON A TIME… A professor and his star student chatted after class in the hallway. Professor A had just held forth, in his philosophy class, about the virtues of viewpoint diversity. Professor

As an orthodox Christian, I am ipso facto an academic heretic. It’s not just that I un-ironically defend certain religious dogmas as literally true and objectively accurate, nor even that I pray to

This month I am happy to announce that I will be publishing a series of guest posts from my former students. I asked these students if I could publish their essays because I

This month I am happy to announce that I will be publishing a series of guest posts from my former students. I asked these students if I could publish their essays because I

Disclosure: I worked as a production assistant on this film. Check out this new documentary by Nathan Jacobs, titled Becoming Truly Human. It will hit your interest on multiple levels – if you

Apparently I missed this the first time around: As an ad, it works. It’s fine. Nice shoes for modern, pretty women. I get it. As a piece of art, it is wrong on

PITTSBURGH – June 24, 2017. Scroll down for an interview with Douglas Wilson about the future of classical education. It was filmed at the Association of Classical Christian Schools national conference, “Repairing the

John Nolte over at Daily Wire provides a comedy lover’s analysis of where all the good comedies have gone. Nolte mixes two of my loves: comedy and politics. The results are insightful (if

In June 22-23, The Buhler Report attended and live-blogged several talks and workshops from the Repairing the Ruins Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. “Repairing the Ruins” is put on by the ACCS and is

Gizmodo reports that Mark Hamill doesn’t actually hate Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. In May, Hamill expressed his vehement disagreement with the creative decisions of Rian Johnson like this: I at one point

Wait, if the Ghostbusters backlash was because America/the World doesn’t want female leads, then why is Wonder Woman 3/5ths of the way to a billion dollars? (And what’s up with Force Awakens and

SAT PR News reports that Founders Classical Academy in Leander, Texas will receive $25,000 from Hillsdale College as recognition of its “excellence in teaching.” Hillsdale gives out the Henry Salvatori Prize for Excellence

Questioner: How can we make good use of 4 years in a university? Jordan Peterson: “Read great books! Seriously! You’ve got this four-year period that’s been carved out of your lives… You’ve got

You know all those new fairy remakes or satires that keep coming out? From Wicked, to Malevolent, to Shrek, etc. etc? They all have a unifying premise. Let me break it down it

Listening to Trump’s speech in Saudi Arabia, and watching all the pomp and circumstance… It’s all very interesting. First, it makes me glad I’m not a politician. I’m too ADD to sit through

The Knight of Cups is, I daresay, a great and beautiful film. Merely watching it challenges me the way that “conversing” with Socrates challenges. The content is not family friendly, so review the

Deadline reports that some hackers stole a digital copy of the new Disney movie and are planning to release it bit by bit unless Disney pays a ransom. The coercion comes from Disney’s

Spring of 2017 is my last semester teaching philosophy at the University of Kentucky and Asbury University. Next fall, I’ll be teaching history, theology, writing, and ancient Greek at a secondary school. I

In his novel The Idiot, Dostoevsky’s innocent Prince Mushkin explains how much children understand: “One can tell a child everything, anything. I have often been struck by the fact that parents know their

I am happy to report that God has answered with a full-time job at Trinity Classical Academy in Valencia (just north of LA). In the fall, I’ll be teaching some fun subjects like

title: Life is Suffering – and Other Jordan Peterson Quotes categories: [Philosophy] header: image: http://www.keithbuhler.com/images/banner-buhler-report.svg permalink: layout: post tags: [] comments: true author_profile: false share: true excerpt_separator: related: true Full Website Life is

I’d like to write a philosophy book one day trying to show that a very tiny minority of arguments validly derive their conclusion from true premises. Working title: Petitio or Non-Sequitur. The thesis

As some of you know, I recently completed my dissertation. It took me four and a half years from admission to completion, though I will formally graduate this May. This was, apparently, a

Some of my students have “crazy” views. Then again, I have some crazy views. The question is, is it possible to dismiss all strange, unusual, “extreme” or weird views at once? Or must

Question – Why is it that, according to Harvard Business School, minimum wage hikes don’t hurt 5-star restaurants but do shut down restaurants that employ and serve low-income Americans? Answer – basic economics.

My best friend and his wife are having their first baby next month. We talked about how he doesn’t feel anything about “being a father” yet. I felt the same absence of feeling.

Classical teachers are wealthy with wisdom. This embarrassment of riches allows us to be a bit shrewd about fads. While we hate to say “I told you so,” it is hard to avoid

David Litwa provides a fascinating (and to my mind accurate) survey of deification. His article clarifies what the notion of “becoming god” amounts to, and explains the various species of deifiction: political deification,

It was a only a few weeks ago that UC Berkeley descended into a riotous hotbed of anarchy. Leftists at Berkeley repressed free speech, vandalized public property, and assaulted innocents. (Meanwhile, where outright

Brendan: “You can’t learn everything in books.” Aidan: “I think I read that once.” A friend recommended I watch the Secret of Kells. It was an illuminating experience, so I pass the recommendation

I was talking with a friend about Nicholas Wolterstorff’s contemporary classic Justice: Rights and Wrongs, especially Wolterstorff’s argument that only Christian moral philosophy can give a proper grounding to human rights. As I

The fear of death is a real, abiding motive. Once you realize that you are mortal, nothing will ever be the same; you can settle upon a strategy or mindset toward death or

/ Thomas Sowell on the difference between Price and Cost “Prices not only help determine which particular things are produced, they are also one of the ways of rationing the inherent scarcity of

Should history be a taught as a separate subject (in middle and high school)? It seems pretty obvious to most people that the answer is ‘Yes.’ They think that history should be taught

Considering getting off Facebook? Ever feel that Facebook has negative effects on your life? Check out Audrey Wagner’s excellent new book. I read her book and found it enjoyable and illuminating. She comes

/ Socrates was put on trial 2,400 years ago, but he is as relevant as ever. Plato was right to call him “Socrates become beautiful and new” (Second Letter). One of the ways

Now that I am a postdoc scholar at the University of Kentucky (Go ‘Cats!), I am reflecting back on my experience as a Teaching Assistant. Stipend amounts are hard to find One thing

John Mark Reynolds, the founder of the Torrey Honors Institute (my alma mater), started a new school: the Saint Constantine School. Rather than start small, Saint Constantine has partnered for college credit with

My philosophy dissertation was about 200 pages. Everyone knows that each discipline has different standards. History dissertations tend to be longer, and science dissertations tend to be shorter. The question is, how different?

Randall Wallace is writing a sequel to The Passion. It will be called “The Resurrection.” Gibson anticipates it to be “three years off.” (In an earlier article, Mark Joseph explains why “faith-based” film

A: “The thing I hate about some of these online pundits is that they are so crass, uncouth, low rent, vulgar, uncivilized, and rude. They are so hateful and irrational, they’ll call anyone

When Han Solo meets his fate in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fans and characters alike screamed in grief. Some people were more disturbed by a scene that comes shortly after, when Rey

“To me it appears blasphemous to say God is ‘above’ logic. Logic is not partisan, and knows nothing but to strike straight; but the sword is invincible, bearing the Maker’s name.” –Peter Geach

From its inception, the Star Wars Universe has been a mythopoeic cathedral for the imagination exploring the universal archetypes of good and evil, fatherhood and childhood, war and peace – and also a

Thomas Aquinas College is especially dear to my heart for two reasons: it was the school from which I learned about Great Books education and it was the first college I was admitted

A few weeks ago, Donald Trump tweeted that he would have won the popular vote if not for “millions” of votes from illegal immigrants. In addition to winning the Electoral College in a

We just watched the Bing Crosby/ Ingmar Bergman classic Bells of St. Mary’s. Here are 10 reasons to watch it. If you like Bing Crosby, watch Bells of St. Mary’s. If you want

Donald Trump refused to say that he’d respect the results of this election.That’s a direct threat to our democracy.— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 24, 2016 Threat to our Democracy Groups like #DisruptJ20 and

My Alma Mater, Biola University, is still one of the best places to learn. College-bound students can still apply to the Torrey Honors Institute by January 15.

It begins. Radical Islam is a splinter from Islam more generally. But even Radical Islam will splinter and rival with each other.

Jan 12, 2017 The New York Times has the dubious distinction of being one of the most Pulitzer-winning, widely-circulated, widely-read news organizations in the country that least understands the Red State mind. They

Of potential interest to philosophers working in virtue ethics, philosophy of religion, or ethics: A CFP on forgiveness.

Jaw drop. Camille Paglia deconstructs the (60 year old) Madonna by defending the (younger) Madonna’s attitude and criticizing the (older) Madonna’s gracelessness. The main problem facing today’s aging women is not sexism but

Media companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter are realizing their Silicon Valley left-leaning liberal privilege. While Twitter is doubling-down, Facebook and Google at least are trying to strike a new balance. General rule

This week’s Joe Klein Time Magazine article argues that Russian meddling in the U.S. was a bigger story than Trump’s vile comments about groping groupies but that the media gave the latter more

Trump is preparing to build the wall. Zero Hedge and Reuters report that his administration asked the DHS for an assessment of “all assets available for border wall and barrier construction.” The report

One of my new year’s resolutions is to publish a book about – well, about reading books. I can use your help! This reading survey asks you about your reading habits. The results