{"id":79,"date":"2020-11-17T16:04:23","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T21:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meditatum.com\/?page_id=79"},"modified":"2020-11-24T19:04:17","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T00:04:17","slug":"the-author","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meditatum.com\/index.php\/the-author\/","title":{"rendered":"The Author"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My name is Greg Howlett. I am in my late 40s and am married with four children. We live in the Atlanta, Georgia area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have had three careers. My first career was software and I lasted about six years before burning out. Since then, I have been an entrepreneur for roughly twenty years in the world of ecommerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was also a concert pianist for a decade during that time, performing concerts (mostly in churches) all over the nation and recording ten albums. I retired from that in early 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is common to try to pigeonhole and attach neat little labels to people. I resist that for myself for several reasons but will give a few clues about my thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up as a devout Christian (fundamental Baptist), went to a Christian college, and attended Baptist churches up until a few years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I still consider myself a Christian but I am the kind of Christian that makes many other Christians uncomfortable. Very frankly, the feeling is often mutual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, I agree with the feelings of existentialist philosophers such as Kierkegaard (and even Nietzsche to an extent) who find little to criticize about the essence of Christianity but have a lot to criticize about Christendom and its influence on culture today. What they said a few centuries ago is even more relevant today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the politics of this era, I am moderate\/slightly right of center on economics. In philosophy, I would call myself some kind of modernist with pragmatic and existentialist twists. The philosophy of Kant and Hannah Arendt speaks to me. I appreciate the honesty of postmodernism but still choose to believe in universals (for pragmatic reasons). I also view religion as a good pragmatic choice (much like Kant did).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I write here, I am writing from a secular perspective, attempting to discuss questions that are even more foundational than religion. Most religious people believe that their religion is what ultimately drives them. I disagree with that assertion and if you read me for a while, you will understand why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you see me make statements that appear dogmatic, please do not assume I am trying to be dogmatic. Just for readability’s sake, I do not use “I think,” “I believe,” and such phrases every time I make an assertion. In general, assume that I am giving opinions rather than making sweeping dogmatic statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is entirely valid to ask me why I am qualified to write on these issues. I actually do not feel qualified to write on many of these topics, but truthfully, if I wait until I feel qualified, I will never start writing. Just understand that I am still working out a lot of this in my own mind and holding my opinions loosely. You should hold my opinions even more loosely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am an avid reader, reading approximately fifty books a year. Often these days, I listen to books as well. Here is the current queue on my laptop:<\/p>\n\n\n\n