This is the beginning of the notebook begun at the end of July 2024.
We recognize God from being moved by Him, being created by Him, resting upon Him, being uplifted by Him, and being guided by Him. Many ordinary people will spontaneously say such things. But these are the Five Ways, loosely expressed in experiential terms.
the flavor story of a meal
the hospitality story of a meal
the prestige story of a meal
Treating everything as a matter of exchange for one's own benefit is the root of all evil.
'his name' / 'her name' etc. as quasi-demonstrative (cf.: His name is Bob. This is Bob. He is Bob.)
prudence: the world as a field of need for plan and decision (the agible)
justice: as a field of the due (jural goods)
fortitude: as a field of challenge and achievement
temperance: as a field of need for balance of good
Familial society and civil society need mediation. (Rosmini)
regulation of the modality of rights
(1) to protect rights from suppression
(2) to settle disputes (by agreement, custom, and reason)
(3) to modify minimally the exercise of rights to avoid harm (by agreement, custom, and reason)
(4) to form frameworks by which people may exercise their rights in mutually beneficial cooperations
"The effect of genius is not to persuade the audience but rather to transport them out of themselves. Invariably what inspires wonder casts a spell on us and is always superior to what is merely convincing and pleasing." Longinus
Sex must be done in a way consistent with friendship and justice to all who are potentially affected by it.
'white horse is not horse' and ignoratio elenchi
The New Natural Law principle, "Do not choose to destroy, damage, or impede any instantiation of a basic human good" (Finnis), is defective in formulation in two ways:
(1) it is common good instantiations, and not individual good instantiations, that are relevant to moral ought;
(2) choices are often comparative and thus the principle has to be formulated as to deal with choices between instantiations of basic human activity (which is nto the same as choices between basic human goods).
the family as community of grace and prayer
humanizing goods
"For the role of prudence is to ensure that one's natural understanding of the basic human goods *is brought all the way down to action and a whole lifetime of actions*." Finnis
that something continues to exist as a presupposition of scientific inquiry, and the ultimate foundation of conservation laws
ideals to strive for (must be practicable) vs. ideals for assessment of progress (organize ideals to strive for into judgments of value)
modality of rights: "everything that can be done with or about a rigth without diminishing the good contained in it" (Rosmini)
Not all aspects of our union with Christ are experienced.
the already-knowledge account of immediate inferences
-- it is easy to see how Simplification is justified (knowing the conjunction is already knowing the conjuncts), but Addition seems to fail (knowing p is not already knowing that q is a logical possibility) (cp. Williamson)
Nothing we clearly imagine is impossible, but only to the extent we clearly imagine it.
The good and bad of reasoning gets you farther than it might seem, because many other kinds of good and bad are specific applications to particular domains, while others are extensions or analogues.
the role of scientist as witness to phenomena in science communication
obstinacy as misplaced loyalty
passive vs active participation in the human moral community
Humanity is both received and expressed.
In choosing, we partition the circumstances in which we find ourselves, dividing accidental circumstances from specifying circumstances, and indeed making the particular division betwene them by the choosing itself.
Human belief is not very systematic.
justice as order, justice as right, justice as participation in the divine
wisdom, sanctity, adventure, harmony
the juridical city, i.e., civilized life qua juridical
Act in a way always consistent with the friendships of civilized life.
law, right, and liturgy
sacrifice, purity, and wisdom as the three aspects of imitation of Christ at which human beings have special potential to excel, in part because they create special challenges for us
three ways of considering what is right: component of honorable life, requirement of non-injury, one's own/due
-- these perhaps can be considered positive, negative, union of two, or else formal, material, total
the right as the mediating factor in just relation and action between persons
Headlines are not descriptions of what the article says; headlines are editorial comments by which the editors express why they think it is important.
Justice creates derivative rights as part of its respect for rights.
incongruity immediately resolved: surprise
incongruity of uncertain character: puzzlement/bafflement
unresolved and definite incongruity: humor
-- but this is idealized; as Beattie and Gerard note, other sentiments can interfere, either overriding or redirecting the first impulse
humorous laughter -> uneasy laughter -> bitter laughter
The city that is the heart of civilization is the relatively self-sufficient city, i.e., not the urban area alone but all that makes the city possible and sustainable.
Everything is germinal philosophy.
One thing that makes Norse mythology splendid is the well-roundedness of the major gods -- they are complex, and we can both identify with them and find them alien, sometimes at the same time.
three aspects of a functional state: representation, preservation of rights, orderly action encouraging order
Many things are believed because they are beloved.
rite : moral person :: habitus : natural person
political philosophy as katabasis and anabasis
"There is no point in abstaining from vice unless you embrace moral excellence, because when it comes to noble pursuits, the beginning is not as praiseworthy as the end." Jerome
"Any right whatsoever, held by a person, causes inequality in others because it causes duy in them." Rosmini
Distributive justice is based on the inequality created by rights. (Rosmini)
the jural equality between state and citizen
common good -> community -> community as moral system -> suum of community
injustice qua intention of inequality in interaction (taking advantage) vs. injustice qua intention toward unjust thing (violating rights)
prudence, fortitude, and temperance with respect to another as included in complete justice
academic life as scaffold-building
Many modern discussions of love make more sense if you substitute 'need for love' or 'desire for love' in place of 'love'.
One sign of an adequate ethics is that it can serve as the framework for excellent stories with rich characterization.
We all owe to the human community as a moral person to act in a way appropriate to its survival and betterment.
A (subjective) right is possession of title to a jural good given a general obligation regarding it.
It is against the nature of governance to impede people from acting according to their officia, except in emergencies. (cf. SCG 71.4)
