Here is a recent paper on the source and character of mathematics. It is an exploration of Pythagorean-Platonic and Aristotelian-Thomistic accounts of mathematics and science. This paper argues that mathematics is a specific form of abstraction. It concludes that science remains authentic when it maintains an awareness that it is necessarily abstract or reductionist. It … Continue reading A Paper on the Mathematics
Aristotle does not begin his treatise On the Soul by declaring that we are made in the image of God. Rather, he begins with the stunningly obvious observation that among all of the things which exist, we distinguish those which live from those which do not. Each of those things which live (plants, animals, and human beings) … Continue reading This is what we call a Soul
A student of contemporary ethics may be astonished by the variety of theories available: Egoism, Emotivism, Utilitarianism, Deontology, Subjectivism, etc. How is one to make sense of their contrary claims? Is the right action: Seeking my own good (Egoism)? the greatest good for the greatest number (Utility)? Obeying rules (Deontology)? Determined by culture, communities, or … Continue reading Fragmented Anthropology: Contemporary Ethics, I
This idea of this twofold aspect of beauty–that it is simultaneously objective and subjective–is not something new, but is found both in Thomas and Aristotle. Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics opens with the claim that the good is that which all men seem to aim at. He goes on to clarify that it is only the virtuous … Continue reading Beauty as Subjective, II
How Aristotle may help us Conceptualize the Conflict between Ordinary Perception and Modern Science Annotated Bibliography This project serves to fulfill a requirement of PHS 611: Classical Logic and Epistemology, taught by Dr. Philippe Yates, Spring 2018 Continue reading The Two Tables from an Aristotelian Perspective
There is a lot of good literature on shame, but it can be confusing to assess from a Christian perspective. There are three major reasons for this First, many of those with good things to say about shame often dismiss the concept of sin, even treating it as the boogeyman of our psyches. This is … Continue reading On Whether We are to be Ashamed
A talk Given at New College Franklin, Prospective Weekend, Spring 2018 Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the great Western text on virtue, concludes in a very strange way. After all his work discussing virtue, Aristotle unexpectedly relegates it to second rank. But if I am to make clear the remarkable nature of this move, I first need … Continue reading Virtue and its Limits: from Prudence to Contemplation
Why is there motion? The stars move, birds move, people move, air moves, even rocks move (when dropped). Why? In the Physics, Aristotle inquires into natural or movable bodies. The source of their motion is explored. But this mode of inquiry leaves him on the threshold of metaphysics and theology. To look into the causes of motion leads … Continue reading Order in the General: On Aristotle’s Vision of the Unmoved Mover and Cosmic Order
For Aristotle, place or topos is not the abstract, absolute points expressed by a Cartesian grid extendingout into infinity. Rather place is that which holds and contains; it has a sense of rightness and belonging which every being innately knows. The proper place for the heavy is down (or in the center) as all earthy … Continue reading No Place Like Home: Aristotle and Topos
The Heavens declare the glory of God and the skies showeth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1) When we step outside the walls of a school, when we walk about in a park, when we look up at the sky, as we are about to, we observe. We take in and experience the world. And we all … Continue reading An Address on the Eclipse to the Christian Student
Same & Other 