Two of the world's most famous philosophers, Michel Foucault from College de France & Charles Taylor from McGill University, are brought into critical dialogue on the contemporary conundrum of identity formation. Can they help us understand what a robust identity looks like and how to get there? Is the key element 'beauty' or 'the good'? This matters much to many in their teens and twenties especially, but also beyond this age. An identity crisis can strike at any time. Dr. Gordon E. Carkner lays out the two very different solutions offered by these two renowned public intellectuals. He penetrated this debate in his phD dissertation through University of Wales, and also penned the book 'The Great Escape from Nihilism' on the topic. In this session, there are some vital and exciting angles to explore and also some surprising consequences that come to our awareness. What are the sources of self that make you stronger, more imaginative, free, inspired and engaged?

In the modern quest for identity, there is no better place to turn than premiere Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor. In this video, Dr. Gordon Carkner, campus chaplain with graduate students and faculty at UBC Vancouver, discusses moral frameworks and offers fresh language and solutions for the modern identity crisis of Millennials. Spirituality-Morality-Identity are interwoven in this exploration of a mature (thick) identity.

"What should we believe about faith and reason whatever our starting point or prejudgments? It is perhaps a life-long quest to understand the nuances of this faith-reason, knowledge-religion relationship. Nothing is more important for balance in our lives and our thinking inside and outside the university."

The upcoming, online lecture series from UBC Graduate and Faculty Christian Forum for the 2022-2023 school year. 

An intro video to Graduate Christian Union at University of British Columbia.

Some elements in modern culture have worked to repress/restrict our language usage--in particular what Charles Taylor calls the 'meta-biological', the language of significance. Restricted language means necessarily limited awareness/thinking capacity. This webinar is not about a lost civilization discovered by an anthropologist, but similar in some ways.

A closer look at Gord & Ute's campus ministry at UBC.