On this episode of text.soul.culture, Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Acting President and Provost, talks with Dr. Esther Lightcap Meek, a philosopher, professor, and author whose work revolves around knowing鈥攈ow we know what we know, and why it matters. Dr. Meek visited 天美视频 in November 2018 for the Stanley Grenz Lecture Series, and while she was here she dropped by our recording studio to share more about her work and the story that led her to it.
Esther: 鈥淩eality is person-like, and our essential human desire is to know, to understand, to have intimate contact and communion with reality.鈥�
There is a contagious sense of delight in how Esther presents her ideas, and it鈥檚 a bit sneaky: She鈥檚 engaging dense, complex theories, and if you鈥檙e not already into philosophy it might be easy to say 鈥淥h I鈥檓 not interested in that,鈥� or 鈥淭hat鈥檚 over my head.鈥� But if you listen, you might start to hear a contagious, almost childlike joy. Esther describes it as 鈥渆xuberant realism鈥濃�攁 grounded, thoughtful desire to approach the big questions of life with vibrant love and an openness to delight. With this posture, philosophy is not about abstract theory detached from our day-to-day realities; it鈥檚 a discipline that invites us to wrestle with the deep needs of our time in new and meaningful ways.
鈥淭here鈥檚 one thing you need to be philosophical, and that is to be born. Because to be human is to be philosophical.鈥�
Esther: 鈥淚t has everything to do with love of God, but it has everything to do with love of his reality, too.鈥�
Much of this conversation stems from the conviction that our 鈥渄efective modernist epistemology鈥� and our attempts to control reality are problematic, and that we are in need of a new perspective on our relationship to the real. Esther shares how, in her teaching and writing, her hope is to cultivate 鈥渓overs of the real鈥濃�攊ndividuals whose adoration for God and God鈥檚 creation compels them to ask better questions, to pursue meaningful work, and to welcome each other with hospitality and delight. Derek and Esther discuss how that turn toward others is also reflected in what we know of human psychology: to be gazed upon with delight, and to offer delight toward others, is a central part of developing an integrated identity.
Esther: 鈥淭o be seen with delight by someone else is something that allows you to find yourself in that gaze.鈥�
Derek: 鈥淚n the current political climate of our country, it鈥檚 been hard to delight in each other, very hard to see beauty. What we seem focused on is ugliness, and our inability to see each other and delight in each other has been a real challenge.鈥�
Esther鈥檚 insights and philosophies have profound implications on how we conceive of God, how we serve each other, and how we respond to trauma and dis-integration in our world. We are deeply grateful for her work and for the generosity of her presence with us. Thanks to Dr. Esther Meek for joining us, and thanks to all of you for listening!
Resources to Go Deeper
- For more from Esther Meek, you can watch her presentation from the 2018 Stanley Grenz Lecture Series, including a panel conversation with Dr. Dan Allender and Dr. Chelle Stearns: Integration in a Dis-Integrated World.
- Esther鈥檚 writing has been an important presence in our classrooms for many years. To jump into her work for yourself, a good starting point might be .
- Esther cites Francis Schaeffer鈥檚 book as helping her realize at a young age that her questions about God and the world were not sin, they were philosophical.
- Much of Esther鈥檚 ideas have been developed in conversation with the work of Michael Polanyi, whose text seemed like the only voice in Esther鈥檚 philosophical quest that addressed her deepest questions about reality.