There is not much I can say about Joe Gargery of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations or about Mr. George of Bleak House. The goodness and simplicity of these men makes them shine out like stars on a cold winter’s night. Only, these stars give warmth. I will make only the conjecture that Dickens saw in these men, as … Continue reading The Great Men of Dickens
Father Ferapont does not need to eat bread; he can live off of mushrooms. Unlike the other monks of his monastery, he keeps the true fast. He is impervious to the desires of the flesh. In Brothers Karamazov, this monk represents the terrible danger of spiritual strength–a self-sufficiency which masquerades as holiness. Through Ferapont, Dostoevsky depicts … Continue reading Sanctification as Unity in Brothers Karamazov
A dog is a kind of animal. But the species dog cannot be included in the genus animal–that is when we consider genus not as a mere classification but as a a way of understanding a particular nature in the Aristotelian sense. If we did include dog in the genus animal, every animal would have … Continue reading Genus in the Particular
The angle a tangent line forms with the circumference of a circle is is least possible angle made with a straight line from that point of tangent (tangent line EA in the image). This is demonstrated in Book III, proposition 16 of Euclid’s Elements. The angle formed by the tangent is also known as a cornicular or … Continue reading Smaller than the Smallest Angle (formed by straight lines)
This paper was written for Philosophy of Nature and Metaphysics at HACS. It summarizes the major argument of Aristotle’s Metaphysics with particular attention to composite being and the underlying thing. Continue reading From Underlying Thing to Separate Being
If you ever think it weird that there is a genre of theater and film with people singing and dancing, you’re not alone. But the real mystery is not that this art form exists. The real wonder is that people sing or dance at all. The real wonder is that long before there were ever … Continue reading They Make Musicals?
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” (Matthew 6:9). What else did Christ do when he taught us to pray but bequeath his sonship unto us, the privilege of calling God Father? It was as if he said, I call him Father, now you too call him Father. Implicit in “Our Father” is … Continue reading He gave us his Father
When a bass sings, does he sing the same note as a tenor? The bass may sing a D, and so also the tenor, but their D’s are not altogether the same. The difficulty of describing the difference (and the similarity) of these notes touches upon the mystery of the same and other, as well … Continue reading Pitch Class and Frequency: A World of Musical Kinds
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the … Continue reading Firmness in Psalm 1
What is it for a teacher to teach the texts and lessons of old, to revisit each year such things with new faces. It is to visit upon old friends with new; it is to find that in a community of genuine learners and learning, indeed all things are made new. It is to prepare … Continue reading Behold, All Things are Made New by A Child in the Midst
Same & Other 