(Originally written September 13, 2018)
Timaeus/Critias
Plato
From my goodreads account:
This is easily my least favorite dialogue. I struggled through Timaeus and his odd ramblings about the geometry of the physical makeup of the universe and everything in it. I like my Plato otherworldly, thank you very much! Critias and the description of Atlantis was where it was starting to get good. I woun't spoil the ending for you if you haven't read it; but, let me just say.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Plenty of blame on both sides
In some notes from a History of Philosophy book, I quoted some interesting thoughts on Plato's view of democracy. Then, I made a comment about Bernie Sanders. I was only partially right.
"Interesting Quote on Democracy:
"They settle down in idleness, some of them burdened with debt, some disenfranchised, some both at once; and these drones are armed and can sting. Hating the men who have acquired their property and conspiring against them and the rest of society, they long for a revolution" (Jones, 189).
Seems eerily accurate to Bernie Sanders supporters in 2016."
It was eerily accurate, but not just to Sanders supporters. Revolution is fomented on every bit of the political spectrum. The Trump supporters are, at least, on equal terms in culpability for being disenfranchised revolutionaries longing for dominance over the other side. To paraphrase a rhetorical phrase that caused some of this revolutionary furor, there's plenty of blame on both sides...
"Interesting Quote on Democracy:
"They settle down in idleness, some of them burdened with debt, some disenfranchised, some both at once; and these drones are armed and can sting. Hating the men who have acquired their property and conspiring against them and the rest of society, they long for a revolution" (Jones, 189).
Seems eerily accurate to Bernie Sanders supporters in 2016."
It was eerily accurate, but not just to Sanders supporters. Revolution is fomented on every bit of the political spectrum. The Trump supporters are, at least, on equal terms in culpability for being disenfranchised revolutionaries longing for dominance over the other side. To paraphrase a rhetorical phrase that caused some of this revolutionary furor, there's plenty of blame on both sides...
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Dictionary of the Khazars
(Originally written September 4, 2018)
Dictionary of the Khazars
Milorad Pavic
From my goodreads review
This book was fascinating and I would have rated it much more favorably had it not dragged on. I liked the strange structuring of a novel in encyclopedic form and the recurring echoes through the three parts all added to its uniqueness. However, I thought it got repetitive and monotonous at times.
Dictionary of the Khazars
Milorad Pavic
From my goodreads review
This book was fascinating and I would have rated it much more favorably had it not dragged on. I liked the strange structuring of a novel in encyclopedic form and the recurring echoes through the three parts all added to its uniqueness. However, I thought it got repetitive and monotonous at times.
Sunday, August 26, 2018
A little bit of self censoring never hurt anybody
I don't normal censor much on this blog, but there are parts of journal 26 (October 12 - 24, 2007) when everything in my life was crumbling that serve no purpose reliving. It began with me justifying her actions towards me. I was apologetic for her and basically allowing myself to be the reason she cheated. In the middle I was grasping at anything in Scripture to help me get through, but I was trying to use Scripture as some magic wand that was going to fix everything rather than be my solace through a breakup. By the end of that two week period I was bitter and the remainder of the journal stayed blank for about nine years. There are things in that two week period that I don't have any desire to relive again. I relived some of it in rehab, searching to see if this period of my life had anything to do with why I struggled with alcohol. If it did, it was long buried underneath much more pressing issues. I'm not angry about the situation any more. It's silly to read the times where I was taking on the blame for her actions. The fact of the matter was that I was wronged in that relationship. It isn't fun to remember, but it's meaningless to me where I'm at now. Most of my journals will be saved somewhere in the attic. This one will be disposed of after I get the contents from 2016 onto this blog.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Timaeus Notes 1
(Originally written July 21, 2018 in Book 17)
Timaeus & Critias
Plato
The Timaeus was the first Ancient Greek text to give an account of creation of the world by a divine creator. Other, earlier Greek accounts were either mythical, centering around sexual reproduction or treated as a haphazard evolution.
"The primary purpose of the Timaeus is theological, that is to say, to give a religious and teleological account of the origin of the world and of the phenomena of nature" (Plato, 7).
On a side note, the teleological has been widely discarded by science. But, I wonder, if we are simply matter and synapses and electrical currents then we are exactly like what the rest of the cosmos is in terms of stuff. But, we, as human beings, obviously do things with a purpose. Thus, we are teleological beings. If we are merely stuff like everything in the cosmos then that stuff is teleological. If matter is then teleological then why is it limited to human beings? That would seem an arbitrary statement.
The creation account of the Timaeus is not a god synonymous with the Christian God or even other Greek gods.
The philosophical basis for the Timaeus begins with Plato's distinction between Being and Becoming. The world of Being contains the Platonic Forms, the principles of logic and mathematics - that which can be known by reason. The world of Becoming is what we perceive by the senses.
"The function of the creator is to account for the intelligibility of the universe" (Plato, 110. Plato believed the cosmos was something we could understand and it could be understood because there is an intelligent force underlying it.
Plato argues that there is a goodness inherent in the actions of the Creator. Thus, when we see traces of divine design we can infer goodness.
The Timaeus and the Critias belong to the late period of Plato's works. They are probably his penultimate works before he wrote the Laws, which he left unfinished on account of his death in 348 BC.
Timaeus
Socrates begins by summarizing the ideal society
- separating the people by occupation/craft/class
- each class gets a single occupation appropriate to it
- the ruling class would thus, only be rulers and have no other occupation
- the rulers must be gentle to their subjects
- the rulers must be trained physically and mentally
- the rulers must not have private property
- no marriage among the rulers. all children were to be children to all and not now their parents. The good men should be assigned to the good women (and the bad paired up) by secret, fixed ways
Critias then begins to tell a story about the travels of Solon. Solon went to Egypt, to the city of Sais. There, Solon learned from the priests about antiquity.
Solon learns about Deucalion and Pyrrha who survived a great flood. But, the old priest criticizes Solon for childish thinking and small-thinking. "You remember only one deluge, though there have been many, and you do not know that the finest and best race of men that every existed lived in your country; you and your fellow citizens are descended from the few survivors that remained" (Plato, 36).
Then Timaeus speaks. He intends to speak an account of how the universe began.
First we must distinguish between "that which always is and never becomes from that which is always becoming but never is" (Plato, 40). Distinguishes between Being and Becoming.
Being is knowable by reason and intellect. Becoming is understood through opinion and irrational sensation. Being has no cause. Becoming always has a cause.
The cosmos falls into the category of becoming because it can be sensed. Since it is sensible it has a cause.
Why did the creator choose to create the cosmos? The creator is good and therefore wishes all things to be as like him as possible. "God thererfore, wishing that all things should be good, and so far as possible nothing be imperfect" (Plato, 42). The creator took the chaos and reduced it to order.
The Creator created the cosmos to have soul in it, not in any indiviudal part, but in its entirety. That soul is diffuse throughout its entirety.
Timaeus & Critias
Plato
The Timaeus was the first Ancient Greek text to give an account of creation of the world by a divine creator. Other, earlier Greek accounts were either mythical, centering around sexual reproduction or treated as a haphazard evolution.
"The primary purpose of the Timaeus is theological, that is to say, to give a religious and teleological account of the origin of the world and of the phenomena of nature" (Plato, 7).
On a side note, the teleological has been widely discarded by science. But, I wonder, if we are simply matter and synapses and electrical currents then we are exactly like what the rest of the cosmos is in terms of stuff. But, we, as human beings, obviously do things with a purpose. Thus, we are teleological beings. If we are merely stuff like everything in the cosmos then that stuff is teleological. If matter is then teleological then why is it limited to human beings? That would seem an arbitrary statement.
The creation account of the Timaeus is not a god synonymous with the Christian God or even other Greek gods.
The philosophical basis for the Timaeus begins with Plato's distinction between Being and Becoming. The world of Being contains the Platonic Forms, the principles of logic and mathematics - that which can be known by reason. The world of Becoming is what we perceive by the senses.
"The function of the creator is to account for the intelligibility of the universe" (Plato, 110. Plato believed the cosmos was something we could understand and it could be understood because there is an intelligent force underlying it.
Plato argues that there is a goodness inherent in the actions of the Creator. Thus, when we see traces of divine design we can infer goodness.
The Timaeus and the Critias belong to the late period of Plato's works. They are probably his penultimate works before he wrote the Laws, which he left unfinished on account of his death in 348 BC.
Timaeus
Socrates begins by summarizing the ideal society
- separating the people by occupation/craft/class
- each class gets a single occupation appropriate to it
- the ruling class would thus, only be rulers and have no other occupation
- the rulers must be gentle to their subjects
- the rulers must be trained physically and mentally
- the rulers must not have private property
- no marriage among the rulers. all children were to be children to all and not now their parents. The good men should be assigned to the good women (and the bad paired up) by secret, fixed ways
Critias then begins to tell a story about the travels of Solon. Solon went to Egypt, to the city of Sais. There, Solon learned from the priests about antiquity.
Solon learns about Deucalion and Pyrrha who survived a great flood. But, the old priest criticizes Solon for childish thinking and small-thinking. "You remember only one deluge, though there have been many, and you do not know that the finest and best race of men that every existed lived in your country; you and your fellow citizens are descended from the few survivors that remained" (Plato, 36).
Then Timaeus speaks. He intends to speak an account of how the universe began.
First we must distinguish between "that which always is and never becomes from that which is always becoming but never is" (Plato, 40). Distinguishes between Being and Becoming.
Being is knowable by reason and intellect. Becoming is understood through opinion and irrational sensation. Being has no cause. Becoming always has a cause.
The cosmos falls into the category of becoming because it can be sensed. Since it is sensible it has a cause.
Why did the creator choose to create the cosmos? The creator is good and therefore wishes all things to be as like him as possible. "God thererfore, wishing that all things should be good, and so far as possible nothing be imperfect" (Plato, 42). The creator took the chaos and reduced it to order.
The Creator created the cosmos to have soul in it, not in any indiviudal part, but in its entirety. That soul is diffuse throughout its entirety.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Philebus
(Originally written July 19, 2018)
Philebus
Plato
From my Goodreads account:
Any of Plato's dialogues are generally worth reading. His style and literary prowess are enough to carry him to that level. What makes some of Plato's dialogues fantastic reads is his ability to argue soundly with himself. In Philebus, you have Plato's literary quality leading the charge. The first of Socrates' dialectic sparring partners in this dialogue are Philebus who is basically as involved as the spoiled boy who announces he won't play the game because his friends chose a diferent one than what he had suggested. Like the sulking boy Philebus sits in the corner watching the game and occasionally chimes in with a retort that has nothing really to do with the conversation because he is still hurt they're playing Monopoly instead of Life. Socrates' other partner is Protarchus. Protarchus seems to have the spinal fortitude of cooked spaghetti. While the philosophical debate isn't as strong or as barbed as in other dialogues the wit, sarcasm and wordplay is just as magical and makes Philebus a good, light read.
Philebus
Plato
From my Goodreads account:
Any of Plato's dialogues are generally worth reading. His style and literary prowess are enough to carry him to that level. What makes some of Plato's dialogues fantastic reads is his ability to argue soundly with himself. In Philebus, you have Plato's literary quality leading the charge. The first of Socrates' dialectic sparring partners in this dialogue are Philebus who is basically as involved as the spoiled boy who announces he won't play the game because his friends chose a diferent one than what he had suggested. Like the sulking boy Philebus sits in the corner watching the game and occasionally chimes in with a retort that has nothing really to do with the conversation because he is still hurt they're playing Monopoly instead of Life. Socrates' other partner is Protarchus. Protarchus seems to have the spinal fortitude of cooked spaghetti. While the philosophical debate isn't as strong or as barbed as in other dialogues the wit, sarcasm and wordplay is just as magical and makes Philebus a good, light read.
Philebus Notes 3
(Originally written July 19, 2018 in book 17)
Philebus
Plato
(continued)
"Bad men, then, delight for the most part in false pleasures, good men in true ones" (Plato, 77).
False pleasures are a 'ridiculous imitation' of true pleasures.
There are three types of life:
1) The pleasant
2) The painful
3) The painless, joyless life.
To be without pain is not the same as to feel pleasure.
The greatest pleasures and pains occur not when the body or soul is healthy, but when they are sick.
Ignorance is always an evil.
Pleasure belongs to the class of becoming, i.e. the pleasure one has involves the process of being thirsty. Thus, pleasure is not pure Being. The Good in pure Being and does not involve process and is thus, not becoming. Being is higher than becoming. Thus, pleasure cannot be the Good because as the Good it must be the highest.
Socrates claims that dialectic has the greatest claim to discovering pure truth. He concedes that while Gorgias' act of persuasion may acheive more utility, it does not have a strong claim as does dialectic to understanding the truth of a thing.
"We find fixity, purity, truth and what we have called perfect clarity, either in those things that are always unchanged, unaltered and free of all admixture, or in what is most akin to them; everythign else must be called inferior and of secondary iporantce" (Plato, 122).
There is a Greek proverb about the need for repeating a good thing 'once and twice and once again' - use this in Future Modern Ancient Greeks for comedic effect
Philebus claims that pleasure and the pursuit of it is the Supreme Good of all living Creatures. Socrates claims they are different and intelligence has more claim to be ranked as good than pleasure.
Knowledge of things unchanged is greater than knowledge of changing things. Knowledge of pure Being is greather than knowledge of becoming.
THe mixture that comes to the threshold of the Good is all knowledge, the knowledge of both unchanging and changing things and those pleasures that do not have folly attached to them. The pleasures of a temperate existence are allowed in, but those that cause ruin or disturbance are not.
Beauty, proportion and Truth are synonymous. The mixture will be good if these three things are in it. These things make the mixture good.
Socrates' heiarchy of what is closest to the Good:
1) Whatever is measured or appropriate
2) Whatever is proportional and beautiful
3) Reason and intelligence
4) That which belongs to the soul itself (Science, Art, Right Opinions
5) Pure pleasures of the soul, some attached to knowledge, some to sensation
Philebus
Plato
(continued)
"Bad men, then, delight for the most part in false pleasures, good men in true ones" (Plato, 77).
False pleasures are a 'ridiculous imitation' of true pleasures.
There are three types of life:
1) The pleasant
2) The painful
3) The painless, joyless life.
To be without pain is not the same as to feel pleasure.
The greatest pleasures and pains occur not when the body or soul is healthy, but when they are sick.
Ignorance is always an evil.
Pleasure belongs to the class of becoming, i.e. the pleasure one has involves the process of being thirsty. Thus, pleasure is not pure Being. The Good in pure Being and does not involve process and is thus, not becoming. Being is higher than becoming. Thus, pleasure cannot be the Good because as the Good it must be the highest.
Socrates claims that dialectic has the greatest claim to discovering pure truth. He concedes that while Gorgias' act of persuasion may acheive more utility, it does not have a strong claim as does dialectic to understanding the truth of a thing.
"We find fixity, purity, truth and what we have called perfect clarity, either in those things that are always unchanged, unaltered and free of all admixture, or in what is most akin to them; everythign else must be called inferior and of secondary iporantce" (Plato, 122).
There is a Greek proverb about the need for repeating a good thing 'once and twice and once again' - use this in Future Modern Ancient Greeks for comedic effect
Philebus claims that pleasure and the pursuit of it is the Supreme Good of all living Creatures. Socrates claims they are different and intelligence has more claim to be ranked as good than pleasure.
Knowledge of things unchanged is greater than knowledge of changing things. Knowledge of pure Being is greather than knowledge of becoming.
THe mixture that comes to the threshold of the Good is all knowledge, the knowledge of both unchanging and changing things and those pleasures that do not have folly attached to them. The pleasures of a temperate existence are allowed in, but those that cause ruin or disturbance are not.
Beauty, proportion and Truth are synonymous. The mixture will be good if these three things are in it. These things make the mixture good.
Socrates' heiarchy of what is closest to the Good:
1) Whatever is measured or appropriate
2) Whatever is proportional and beautiful
3) Reason and intelligence
4) That which belongs to the soul itself (Science, Art, Right Opinions
5) Pure pleasures of the soul, some attached to knowledge, some to sensation
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