In this reflection on an Unbelievable? conversation, author Erik Strandness explores the soul, the limits of academic abstraction, and the need for wisdom forged in real life—not just in the ivory tower. Drawing on the debate between philosopher Harry Amos and Christian ethicist Dr Claire Gilbert, Strandness asks whether dissecting life for truth risks losing the awe, mystery, and meaning that make us truly human.

Unbelievable? recently hosted a conversation between humanist philosopher Harry Amos and Christian writer and ethicist Dr. Claire Gilbert. The prompt for the discussion was the existence of the soul. While this topic was addressed, a larger issue loomed in the background: the danger of reducing life to an academic abstraction —the risk of having one’s lifeblood drained by a thousand intellectual paper cuts.

Harry Amos is a bright young philosopher enthusiastically climbing academic trees, but, through no fault of his own, hasn’t spent much time navigating the forest. Claire Gilbert, on the other hand, while similarly academically minded, was forced by a cancer… (Register to read the rest of the article)