(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
Monday, July 16, 2018
Philebus Notes 2
(Originally written July 16, 2018 in Book 17)
Philebus
Plato
(continued)
Socrates maintains that neither pleasure nor intelligence are identical with the good.
The good must be perfect, must be adequate and when one recognizes the good, one must desire it and go after it.
Socrates shows Protarchus that a life lived in the whole enjoyment of pleasure without intelligence would be impossible. Without intelligence one couldn't even judge that his life was pleasurable. It wouldn't be a human life, but a life of some beast.
Socrates and Protarchus also agree that a life of complete and perfect intelligence without pleasure (or even pain) would not be desireable either.
Since a life devoted to pleasure and a life devoted to intelligence both prove to be inadequate than neither intelligence nor pleasure can be the good.
Socrates points out that while pleasure and his own personal reasons are not the good; it might be that, "the tru, divine, reason, I fancy, is in rather a different position" (Plato, 35).
4 Classes of Existence:
1) Limitless - that which can be more or less, that which is becoming, that which contains a quality of "compared to such-and-such", i.e. a thing is hotter when it is compared to something. it continues on being hotter and hotter (or colder and colder) when compared.
2) The limited - that which posseses a quality of a fixed ratio or is equal to something else.
3) A mix of the limitless and the limited - this is the balance and perfection. By combining pitches in music we arrive at a harmony. "it is here that we find the source of fair weather and all other beautiful things" (Plato, 48).
Socrates uses the example of law and the wickedness of man. Socrates contends that the lawlessness and wickedness of man is due to the limitless nature of man's pleasure and his appetite for it. When Law and Order was instituted then limits were imposed. Thus the limitlessness and the limited were combined to produce balance. Socrates maintains against Philebus that rather than spoiling the capacity for pleasure this imposition of limitedness preserved man.
4) The thing that causes the mixture of the limited and unlimited. This is greather than the thing that is mixed because the caused always comes after the cause.
Socrates claims that mind and soul belong to the category 4, the cause of things.
Socrates points out pain must be discussed in any thought of pleasure. He places both pain and pleasure in the third, combined category.
He describes pain as a disturbance of harmony in any creature and pleasure as the occurrence when that harmony is restored. "When the natural state of a living organism, constituted, as I have maintained, of the unlimited and the limit, is destroyed and that destruction is pain; conversely, when such organisms return to their own true nature, this reversion is invariably pleasure" (Plato, 60).
Socrates argues that all desires come from the soul, not the body. Likewise pain and pleasure are in the soul, not the body.
Socrates points out that feeling a pleasure is on the same level of holding an opinion. Since opinion can be either true or false, pleasures can likewise be either true or false.
If a pleasure has rightness then it is a right pleasure. But if a pleasure has badness, it is a bad pleasure.
Socrates compares our souls to a book. When memories with attached feelings "write" on our souls what is true, then true opinions spring up in us. But when those memories and attached feelings are false, false opinions spring up in us.
Philebus
Plato
(continued)
Socrates maintains that neither pleasure nor intelligence are identical with the good.
The good must be perfect, must be adequate and when one recognizes the good, one must desire it and go after it.
Socrates shows Protarchus that a life lived in the whole enjoyment of pleasure without intelligence would be impossible. Without intelligence one couldn't even judge that his life was pleasurable. It wouldn't be a human life, but a life of some beast.
Socrates and Protarchus also agree that a life of complete and perfect intelligence without pleasure (or even pain) would not be desireable either.
Since a life devoted to pleasure and a life devoted to intelligence both prove to be inadequate than neither intelligence nor pleasure can be the good.
Socrates points out that while pleasure and his own personal reasons are not the good; it might be that, "the tru, divine, reason, I fancy, is in rather a different position" (Plato, 35).
4 Classes of Existence:
1) Limitless - that which can be more or less, that which is becoming, that which contains a quality of "compared to such-and-such", i.e. a thing is hotter when it is compared to something. it continues on being hotter and hotter (or colder and colder) when compared.
2) The limited - that which posseses a quality of a fixed ratio or is equal to something else.
3) A mix of the limitless and the limited - this is the balance and perfection. By combining pitches in music we arrive at a harmony. "it is here that we find the source of fair weather and all other beautiful things" (Plato, 48).
Socrates uses the example of law and the wickedness of man. Socrates contends that the lawlessness and wickedness of man is due to the limitless nature of man's pleasure and his appetite for it. When Law and Order was instituted then limits were imposed. Thus the limitlessness and the limited were combined to produce balance. Socrates maintains against Philebus that rather than spoiling the capacity for pleasure this imposition of limitedness preserved man.
4) The thing that causes the mixture of the limited and unlimited. This is greather than the thing that is mixed because the caused always comes after the cause.
Socrates claims that mind and soul belong to the category 4, the cause of things.
Socrates points out pain must be discussed in any thought of pleasure. He places both pain and pleasure in the third, combined category.
He describes pain as a disturbance of harmony in any creature and pleasure as the occurrence when that harmony is restored. "When the natural state of a living organism, constituted, as I have maintained, of the unlimited and the limit, is destroyed and that destruction is pain; conversely, when such organisms return to their own true nature, this reversion is invariably pleasure" (Plato, 60).
Socrates argues that all desires come from the soul, not the body. Likewise pain and pleasure are in the soul, not the body.
Socrates points out that feeling a pleasure is on the same level of holding an opinion. Since opinion can be either true or false, pleasures can likewise be either true or false.
If a pleasure has rightness then it is a right pleasure. But if a pleasure has badness, it is a bad pleasure.
Socrates compares our souls to a book. When memories with attached feelings "write" on our souls what is true, then true opinions spring up in us. But when those memories and attached feelings are false, false opinions spring up in us.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Reaction to a dark twist in a short story idea
I just came across an idea for a short story that I posited in August of 2007. Wow, that was surprisingly dark! I think I may have been watching entirely too much Law and Order. I also think that I was trying to be provocative for the sake of provocativeness. Honestly, if done well it wouldn't be a horrible short story, but it might be done mediocre and achieve nothing but shock for the sake of shocking or be a badly written morality tale with a weird kitsch vibe. I'm not sure what I think about it. I was just surprised by its darkness.
Monday, July 2, 2018
Philebus Notes 1
(Originally written July 2, 2018 in Book 17)
This book hasn't been written in for nearly eleven years. But it seems a waste not to fill the pages. Thus, I'll continue with my Plato reading project that has dragged on for nearly two years now.
Plato's Philebus
trans. R. Hackforth
Cambridge at the University Press
1972
Introduction
Philebus is from the later career of Plato.
Philebus is not a real person; he is an embodiment of an irrational dogmatic hedonism.
The main concept of Philebus is that pleasure is an 'unlimited thing'.
Philebus
Philebus: pleasure is the good for all loving creatures; it is the right aim for all creatures and they ought to seek it.
"Hedonism and Socratism have this much in common, that they both find the human good within ourselves" (Plato, 12).
Socrates: thought, intelligence, memory and true reasoning are more valuable than pleasure.
This book hasn't been written in for nearly eleven years. But it seems a waste not to fill the pages. Thus, I'll continue with my Plato reading project that has dragged on for nearly two years now.
Plato's Philebus
trans. R. Hackforth
Cambridge at the University Press
1972
Introduction
Philebus is from the later career of Plato.
Philebus is not a real person; he is an embodiment of an irrational dogmatic hedonism.
The main concept of Philebus is that pleasure is an 'unlimited thing'.
Philebus
Philebus: pleasure is the good for all loving creatures; it is the right aim for all creatures and they ought to seek it.
"Hedonism and Socratism have this much in common, that they both find the human good within ourselves" (Plato, 12).
Socrates: thought, intelligence, memory and true reasoning are more valuable than pleasure.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Quiet Strength
Queit Strength: The Principles, Practices and Priorities of a Winning Life
Tony Dungy
From my Goodreads Review
This was a pretty good biography about a very admirable man. His strength, especially in te face of tragedy and professional frustrations is truly amazing. But it his recognition of what is truly important that is the most important aspect of his life story.
Tony Dungy
From my Goodreads Review
This was a pretty good biography about a very admirable man. His strength, especially in te face of tragedy and professional frustrations is truly amazing. But it his recognition of what is truly important that is the most important aspect of his life story.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Treasure of Norse Mythology
Goodreads review
This was a halfway decent mythology book. I think, however, it was aimed at children and she almost talked down to those readers! In fact, it was a children's book and I somehow missed that when I picked it up. I guess I needed the talking down to, huh?
This was a halfway decent mythology book. I think, however, it was aimed at children and she almost talked down to those readers! In fact, it was a children's book and I somehow missed that when I picked it up. I guess I needed the talking down to, huh?
Monday, June 11, 2018
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar
Goodreads review:
I thought that this was a pretty good primer course on philosophy, considerably better than the dry stuff I read in PHI 101! I really enjoyed the chapters on epistemology and philosophy of language (go figure that theses were my favorite courses in college). The correspondence theory of truth joke actually brought an audible chuckle out of me. Overall I'd recommend this to anyone who would like to learn a bit of philosophy without being bogged down with deep, heavy reading or to someone with a bit of philosophical knowledge for a bit of laughter at some quality Dad jokes.
I thought that this was a pretty good primer course on philosophy, considerably better than the dry stuff I read in PHI 101! I really enjoyed the chapters on epistemology and philosophy of language (go figure that theses were my favorite courses in college). The correspondence theory of truth joke actually brought an audible chuckle out of me. Overall I'd recommend this to anyone who would like to learn a bit of philosophy without being bogged down with deep, heavy reading or to someone with a bit of philosophical knowledge for a bit of laughter at some quality Dad jokes.
Monday, June 4, 2018
Early Kings of Norway
Goodreads review:
As far as historical accounts go tis one seems to tick all the boxes: it's informative. Uh, yeah. After that, it's a pretty dry history of some juicy historical stuff. Maybe I'm overawed by History Channel's Vikings. That's a distinct possibility. But somehow this reads more like Leviticus/Numbers rather than the Orkneyinga/Volsungs Saga.
As far as historical accounts go tis one seems to tick all the boxes: it's informative. Uh, yeah. After that, it's a pretty dry history of some juicy historical stuff. Maybe I'm overawed by History Channel's Vikings. That's a distinct possibility. But somehow this reads more like Leviticus/Numbers rather than the Orkneyinga/Volsungs Saga.
Monday, May 14, 2018
The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzmán
Goodreads Review:
I'm saddened to be finished with this trilogy. Not as sad as when I read the second book, but sad nonetheless. This book was another raucous story of stories that tied everything together and was truly enjoyable to read. I loved the logical absurdity of it all. It was like the Deus ex machina was not only the resolution of the book, but its very essence and reason for being. I look forward to reading more like this!
I'm saddened to be finished with this trilogy. Not as sad as when I read the second book, but sad nonetheless. This book was another raucous story of stories that tied everything together and was truly enjoyable to read. I loved the logical absurdity of it all. It was like the Deus ex machina was not only the resolution of the book, but its very essence and reason for being. I look forward to reading more like this!
Saturday, April 14, 2018
Quick idea FMAG & Leibniz
In reading some old notes on Leibniz I think that I would like to make the alien that picks up the protagonist in the story a Leibniz-like figure. Or at least use some of Leibniz's metaphysical principles to power his space ship.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Señor Vivo and The Coca Lord
From my Goodreads review.
This book was just a smidge less enjoyable as the first book in the Latin American Trilogy by de Berniéres. It had all of the same pizazz and dark irony, all the same inventive creativity and the same pulling many disparate parts together into one culmination. I wrote elsewhere that if I wrote a book I'd like to emulate some parts of the style of The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. I don't think I could emulate this one. It was a bit too sad. You could see the sadness coming; yet, it was still too shocking not to tear some of my heart up.
This book was just a smidge less enjoyable as the first book in the Latin American Trilogy by de Berniéres. It had all of the same pizazz and dark irony, all the same inventive creativity and the same pulling many disparate parts together into one culmination. I wrote elsewhere that if I wrote a book I'd like to emulate some parts of the style of The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts. I don't think I could emulate this one. It was a bit too sad. You could see the sadness coming; yet, it was still too shocking not to tear some of my heart up.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts
(Originally written March 28, 2018)
My Goodreads review of The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Berniéres
I found this book to be a very good read; but, somewhat difficult to classify in my rather haphazard and arbitrary bookshelf labels. I put it on the English-Lit shelf because de Berniéres is English. I also placed it on my Latin-American bookshelf because it reads a lot like other Latin American stories and is set in a fictitious Latin American country. It's a funny book that is definitely a bastard son of Candide, treating nothing as sacred in the wake of its dark humor. It doesn't have quite the pace of Voltaire (what does?); but, other than maybe trying to use obtuse words, the seeming rabbit holes that de Berniéres leads us down tie together nicely in the end. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to diving into number two of his Latin American trilogy.
If I ever write a book, this magical realism is a style I'd like to emulate.
My Goodreads review of The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Berniéres
I found this book to be a very good read; but, somewhat difficult to classify in my rather haphazard and arbitrary bookshelf labels. I put it on the English-Lit shelf because de Berniéres is English. I also placed it on my Latin-American bookshelf because it reads a lot like other Latin American stories and is set in a fictitious Latin American country. It's a funny book that is definitely a bastard son of Candide, treating nothing as sacred in the wake of its dark humor. It doesn't have quite the pace of Voltaire (what does?); but, other than maybe trying to use obtuse words, the seeming rabbit holes that de Berniéres leads us down tie together nicely in the end. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to diving into number two of his Latin American trilogy.
If I ever write a book, this magical realism is a style I'd like to emulate.
Monday, March 26, 2018
How time travel was invented
With no rhyme or reason an idea of how time travel was invented popped into my head in church. I haven't written or edited anything on this work in months. To be honest, I haven't even thought about it. But, I was inspired in church today nonetheless.
Spacetime is curved.
The "GPS" Guidance system was mistakenly installed upside down. (Obviously will have to come up with a term other than global positioning system)
Captain ____ was quite surprised to arrive at his correct destination a million or so light years before he left.
Happy accidents like this tend to move evolution through paradigm shifts.
Spacetime is curved.
The "GPS" Guidance system was mistakenly installed upside down. (Obviously will have to come up with a term other than global positioning system)
Captain ____ was quite surprised to arrive at his correct destination a million or so light years before he left.
Happy accidents like this tend to move evolution through paradigm shifts.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Dark spot
It's been a while since I've worked on my journals. I've been in a rather dark place for the past few months. In that time I've known only despair and depression, anger and frustration, hanging on to what needs to die in order to live. Not much has changed today. I'm just tired of being in that dark place. I'm not sure that I am capable or even willing to get to the place that everyone else seems to know that I need to be. But, I'm tired of the darkness too. So, I won't worry about that place where everyone thinks I should be as it is far away anyhow. I'll simply focus on right now and getting out of the darkness long enough to work on the things like this journal that bring me a modicum of happiness.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Review of Gulliver's Travels
(Originally written March 23, 2018)
My Goodreads review of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
When I was a kid I read the abridged versions of classics like this one. As a reward my mother would have me read the unabridged versions and write a book report on them. A great way to spend your summer vacation, right? Being younger, I hadn't quite grasped satire. The first version of this book that I read included, A Modest Proposal. Needless to say the shock of reading about poor people selling their children off as food for the rich shocked me? Now, as an adult, and understanding a trifle more of what satire is, I can still say I was shocked by this book.
Swift is nearly as ruthless as Voltaire in his bluntness. He excoriates mankind and lays bare the ugliest parts of human nature to show those qualities to be inherent and truly fundamental. He hammers home the point that we all are merely Yahoos.
Beyond being good satire this book is a good story. It's easy to read and moves quickly. While it compares to Voltaire, I still find the pace of Candide to be preferable - but that is merely opinion, and not a rational fact.
My Goodreads review of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
When I was a kid I read the abridged versions of classics like this one. As a reward my mother would have me read the unabridged versions and write a book report on them. A great way to spend your summer vacation, right? Being younger, I hadn't quite grasped satire. The first version of this book that I read included, A Modest Proposal. Needless to say the shock of reading about poor people selling their children off as food for the rich shocked me? Now, as an adult, and understanding a trifle more of what satire is, I can still say I was shocked by this book.
Swift is nearly as ruthless as Voltaire in his bluntness. He excoriates mankind and lays bare the ugliest parts of human nature to show those qualities to be inherent and truly fundamental. He hammers home the point that we all are merely Yahoos.
Beyond being good satire this book is a good story. It's easy to read and moves quickly. While it compares to Voltaire, I still find the pace of Candide to be preferable - but that is merely opinion, and not a rational fact.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Review of Early Irish Myths and Sagas
(Originally written March 7, 2018)
From my Goodreads review of Early Irish Myths and Sagas by Jeffrey Gantz
Generally I enjoyed this book. As with any collection of short stories there are those that are superior to others; but, anyone that enjoys mythology will enjoy this book. The translator often compared these myths of the Ulster Cycle to the Mabinogion, which is fair. Personally though, I found the Mabinogion to be a better read.
From my Goodreads review of Early Irish Myths and Sagas by Jeffrey Gantz
Generally I enjoyed this book. As with any collection of short stories there are those that are superior to others; but, anyone that enjoys mythology will enjoy this book. The translator often compared these myths of the Ulster Cycle to the Mabinogion, which is fair. Personally though, I found the Mabinogion to be a better read.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Ulysses - the Spark Notes
(Originally written February 21, 2018)
From my Goodreads review:
Ok, so the Spark Notes gets three stars and the novel only gets two? What gives?
Honestly, Ulysses was not that enjoyable. Some of that, a lot of that, lack of enjoyment stemmed from how difficult it was for me to follow. This little guide made a lot more of Joyce intelligible to me. I'm not saying that I would have loved Ulysses had I read the Spark Notes first, only that I have a deeper understanding and thus, appreciation for it now. My plan was to read another interpretation of this book and then Dubliners by Joyce but I feel I need a break. I'll try and get back to Joyce quickly though, while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind.
From my Goodreads review:
Ok, so the Spark Notes gets three stars and the novel only gets two? What gives?
Honestly, Ulysses was not that enjoyable. Some of that, a lot of that, lack of enjoyment stemmed from how difficult it was for me to follow. This little guide made a lot more of Joyce intelligible to me. I'm not saying that I would have loved Ulysses had I read the Spark Notes first, only that I have a deeper understanding and thus, appreciation for it now. My plan was to read another interpretation of this book and then Dubliners by Joyce but I feel I need a break. I'll try and get back to Joyce quickly though, while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
I'm just not that into James Joyce
(Originally written February 14, 2018)
My Goodreads review:
I'm just not that into James Joyce. There is a ton of brilliant stuff in the book and the variety of genres within the book is interesting. But, like with my review of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, I found I was often bored in reading it. There's some pretty funny stuff in it like the scene that mirrors Odysseus escaping from the Cyclops. However, it's mostly just the thought processes of the main characters with not much going on. For me, reading James Joyce is like watching figure skating. I can appreciate the beauty and technical skill that goes into it, but while it's impressive I'm probably going to change the channel relatively quickly because I'm just not that into it...
My Goodreads review:
I'm just not that into James Joyce. There is a ton of brilliant stuff in the book and the variety of genres within the book is interesting. But, like with my review of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, I found I was often bored in reading it. There's some pretty funny stuff in it like the scene that mirrors Odysseus escaping from the Cyclops. However, it's mostly just the thought processes of the main characters with not much going on. For me, reading James Joyce is like watching figure skating. I can appreciate the beauty and technical skill that goes into it, but while it's impressive I'm probably going to change the channel relatively quickly because I'm just not that into it...
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