Mar 9, 2018
I'm traveling and not in a position to record "SSC Journal Club: Friston on Computational Mood" so I thought I'd release this SSC classic to tide people over:
[Content warning: Politics, religion, social justice, spoilers for “The Secret of Father Brown”. This isn’t especially original to me and I don’t claim anything more than to be explaining and rewording things I have heard from a bunch of other people. Unapologetically America-centric because I’m not informed enough to make it otherwise. Try to keep this off Reddit and other similar sorts of things.]
I.
In Chesterton’s The
Secret of Father Brown, a beloved nobleman who
murdered his good-for-nothing brother in a duel thirty years ago
returns to his hometown wracked by guilt. All the townspeople want
to forgive him immediately, and they mock the titular priest for
only being willing to give a measured forgiveness conditional on
penance and self-reflection. They lecture the priest on the virtues
of charity and compassion.