Dashed Off VIII

the conversion of poetry into the rigorously analytic

faith as the appropriate response to friendship

the unfortunate tendency to conflate consent and common resolution

The greater part of endurance is taking responsibility.

Orders establishes a pentiential forum; dignity within orders establishes judicial fora.

a quasi-virtue-ethics of national character

Itis easier to remember justifications for very stable beliefs than constantly shifting ones; and easier to remember them for single isolated shifts than multiple or interacting shifts of belief.

motives of esperability

analogues to interpretations of 'This is my body' in interpretations of 'The Word was made flesh'

Teh music of liturgy represents both prayer and preaching.

the good society as a refuge for virtue

categories of magisterial statement
(1) of divinely revealed truth
(2) of truths closely associated with divinely revealed truth
(3) of what reasonably clarifies revealed truth
(4) of prudential caution or exhortation
(5) of prudential suggestion
--- (1) : demonstration proper :: (2) : demonstration by fitness :: (3) : probability :: (4) & (5) : plausibility

Receiving gifts, we have duties, which establish rights; thus, receiving gifts from God, the duties arising toward God ground rights.

soft integration practices of the papacy; ad limina visits, national churches, Pontifical Colleges, papal visits

Part of the point of the primacy of Peter is to make fruitful discussion possible. (Cp. Chrysostom on the Council of Jerusalem.) This fruitful discussion is necessary for the unity of the Church.

language dispersion and trade flow in liturgical influence

Evangelization is the primary expression of the Holy Spirit in the Church. He does much in doing this: pouring out prophecy, creating priests, teaching wisdom, raising theologians, and bringing together the entire council of the Church.

truth expressed rigorously & properly
truth expressed figuratively
truth expressed under common expressions
truth expressed in terms of appearances

the danger of confusing studied impartiality with intrinsic impartiality

necessary vs. non-necessary parts

Debunking arguments all presuppose some normative principles; otherwise they are toothless for guiding reasoning.

the function of tentative preliminary guesses/concessions in reasoning

the eduction of rational principles from narratives

Not all victories are worthwhile and not all pleasures are worthwhile, but we do seek victories and pleasures.

Hb 1:3 // Wis 7:26 (both use apaugasma)

the oddity of 'Almost everyone believes X but there is no reason at all to think it is true'

Reasonable people taken generally are a good source of information on what it is reasonable to believe given the available evidence.

Analytic appeal to intuitions is always either (1) an appeal to special expertise or (2) an appeal to common sense.

PSR as a postulate of inductive reasoning (Coffey)

spontaneous suspicion vs cumulative suspicion

"It is in the nature of the defensive to be less quick to act than the offensive." Ludwig von Pastor

"Only charity gives a correct view of men and things." Elisabeth Leseur

to share one's doings with God

the pseudo-iconographies of the state

Whenever an analytic philosopher says 'intuition', substitute 'suspicion' and see how it goes.

All experiences are infused with analogies; without analogies there would not be much to interpretation.

the link between suspecting and plausibility (this seems especially clear in the case of fiction, where what is plausible seems closely tied to what one can suspect and what one can only suspect)

The problem with getting to other minds by inference to the best explanation is characterizing the explananda without assuming other minds.

consensus gentium argument for the external world, assuming other minds
(1) moral unanimity of the human race (2) despite radical differences in custom &c. (3) that is resilient over time in the face of changes (4) thus indicating that it is natural to reason (5) and thus rational and reasonable in itself.

causation and the notion of what one thing owes to another

There is one God not only because there is one nature and not only because there is one Principle, although both of these are true, but because what comes from the Principle does so in such a way as to be one with the Principle and each other without muddling of their order.

Nyaya syllogism as a reasonableness inference

Religious conscience is a particularly public and organized form of conscience.

the noncommensurability of evidences

patron saints and receiving the righteous in the name of the righteous

suggestive vs confirmatory evidence

Newman's notes of development as notes of good interpretation
(1) Good interpretation maintains the genre (kind) of the text.
(2) Good interpretation shares abstract and general principles with the text.
(3) Good interpretation unifies and integrates what is in the text.
(4) Good interpretation is logically linked to the evidences of the text.
(5) Good interpretation is anticipated by prior good interpretation.
(6) Good interpretation builds on prior interpretations, illuminating them.
(7) Good interpretation endures on its own merits.

unity of doctrinal type, unity of principles, unity of idea, logical unity, chronological unity

Wars are not won by certainties.

faith: anticipation of knowing the divine
hope: anticipation of having the divine
charity; anticipation of being one with the divine

"The very nature of a true philosophy relatively to other systems is to be polemical, eclectice, unitive..." Newman

Quies animae est delectatio.

naturalism in phil. sci // liberalism in political philosophy

The freedom of religion worth having is that which facilitates and encourages the virtue of religion.

The kind of freedom that encourages vice destroys itself in the end.

kallipolis : patience and gentleness :: democratia : tolerance

principles of the liturgical commonwealth
(1) to uphold the sacraments and what pertains to them
(2) to be witness of Christ even unto death
(3) to do unto other Catholics as one would have them do unto oneself
(4) to maintain and follow authoritative laws, customs, and usages of the Church
(5) to give thanks in thought, word, and deed for God's grace
(6) to strive for unity in the Church
(7) to forgive offenses to oneself
(8) to act mercifully in all penalty, whether that by conscience, by public opinion, or by law
(9) to uphold and respect the dignity of all
(10) to give the better part to others, especially those in need
(11) to be prudent and equitable in judgment
(12) to respect the common destination of goods
(13) to protect both the virtuous and the vulnerable
(14) to respect legitimate authority, both civil and ecclesial

orders of extrapolation; extrapolations in extrapolations (weird hypothetical scenarios in analytic philosophy often have this problem: they are extrapolating how we would extrapolate)

Genetic debunking requires genetic definition.

review in inquiry // examination of conscience

lines of reasoning vs arguments
e.g., suppose three arguments
A, B; therefore C
A,B; therefore probably C
A, B; therefore C is a reasonable possibility
All can be considered to be along the same line, despite being diff arguments
Note the important difference between refuting a single argument and refuting all arguments along those lines.

miracles of saints as symbolic acts in the liturgical commonwealth

It would be more correct to say that the saints receive miracles than that they do them, although they do indeed do them as instruments.

moral design arguments for systems of miracles

'death of the author' as a denial of instrumental causality

Everything a pope does in his office, besides simply being a bishop performing liturgical functions, is accomplished through the instrumentality of others, and is affected by their manner of cooperation or resistance.

the Holy Spirit as the standing power of miracles in the Church

the solidary function of the papacy: to unite the bishops
the subsidiary function of the papacy: to support the bishops
The catholicity of papal jurisdiction is found in the unlimited character of the pope's solidary and subsidiary functions.

the psalmody of the Chruch militant as exemplate whose exemplar is the Church triumphant

the role of 'famous men' in traditions (Sirach)

All norms are moral when the stakes are high enough.

debunking based on (1) lack of key good feature; (2) riskiness; or (3) mere luck (accident)
For each there are three possible responses: (1) rejection of ground; (2) compatibilist acceptance of ground (i.e. rejection of the idea that the ground of the debunking requires the debunking); (3) qualification (i.e. rejection of the idea that the ground debunks under all circumstances).

It is impossible to alienate one's responsibility for common good.

Self-interest develops through and with interest for others.

the problem of the external world as partly a problem of classification

A society in which people have little quiet leisure is a society in which people are certainly being manipulated.

'Intuitions' cannot be presumed to be invariant even across equivalences. (Cf. Moon Duchin)

Oftentimes, analytic arguments based on intuitions turn out to be a cost/benefit guesstimation -- how costly is this supposition/ how much work would it require?

the study of possibilities
(1) by study of actualities
(2) by analogy
(3) by causal inference
(4) by extrapolation

Rites inspire society; music inspires hearts.

Trees are scenery when they are seen
but instruments when they are heard;
and fresh though lives are, vivid, green,
the tree-ish music fresher still
inspires more than singing bird,
and most on evenings chill.

The cultivation of calm clarifies.

Note Saadia Gaon's interpretation of the Song of Moses as a summation of the history of Israel and his argument that understanding it so suggests the doctrine of resurrection.

resurrection as the dew of light (Is 26:19)

Customary law is established (a) by induction (b) by customary heuristics (c) by analogy (d) by extrapolation from prior principles of practical reason combined with a historical story (e) by causal analysis of stable institutions and practices.

Lk 2:52 // Sir 45:1


completeness of what is complete in itself
(1) that outside of which there can be none of its parts
(2) that which admits of no greater degree in ability
(3) that which has attained its end
completeness of what is completed
(1) as making complete
(2) as having a completeness
(3) as representing completely

the primary ideas: being and nonbeing, act and potency, same and different, whole and part

PSR aas a derivative of the principle of causation (the PSR involves reference to intellect)
causation : being :: sufficient reason : truth

Note Kant's distinction between logical and transcendental PSR (Every proposition has a reason vs Everything has its reason) -- he takes the LPSR to be an analytic truth and the TPSR to be unprovable.

predicate quantity as predicate modality

the human race as a kind of relic (of itself in original righteousness), the redemption and exaltation of which is symbolized by the relics of saints

inquisitive possibility

If A then C
'Things are such that if A be true in reference to this universe of discourse / sphere of things, C is also true in reference to it.' (Coffey

If we have different kinds of 'intuitions', this complicates how we would go about being consistent with them, just as with sensory modalities.

affinities of fictional characters
fictional characterization as classification

Lent XXVIII

Bring to the Lord glory and honour: bring to the Lord glory to his name: adore ye the Lord in his holy court. (Psalm 28:2 Vulg)

The Prophet tells us what sort of sacrifice we should offer to God, namely, "Glory and honor;" that is, in your words and your works glorify the Lord; and not only in your words and works, but even in the carriage of your person, which should be so reverential as to make it appear to all that you acknowledge him as your supreme Master, and that you adore him as such. "Bring to the Lord glory to his name."

Bring glory to the Lord, that is, to his name, by celebrating the name, fame, and knowledge of the Lord. "Adore ye the Lord in his holy court." The holy court may mean either the vestibule of the Jewish tabernacle, to which all could resort, while the priests alone were permitted to enter the tabernacle; or the Catholic Church, which is like the porch or vestibule of the heavenly tabernacle. All, good or bad, are promiscuously permitted to enter the Church, but they alone will enter the heavenly tabernacle who can say to Christ, "Thous hast made us a kingdom and priests to our God."

[St. Robert Bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of Psalms, O'Sullivan, tr. Loreto Publications (Fitzwilliam, NH: 2011) p. 58.]

Government Ethics and Product Endorsement II

In a recent interview, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was asked about movie recommendations.

"I'm not allowed to promote anything that I'm involved in. So I just want to have the legal disclosure, you've asked me the question, and I am not promoting any product," Mnuchin said. "But you should send all your kids to 'Lego Batman.'"

Simply as a product endorsement, this would arguably not be an issue, since the explicit point of the relevant law is that executive branch employees cannot use their position or authority to endorse the product, or do so while in the completion of their official duties, not that they can't endorse products (which would be an unenforceable mess), and Mnuchin makes clear enough as part of the joke that he is not endorsing it as the Treasury Secretary, even if it weren't obvious enough from the immediate context in the interview. Given that other parts of the interview touch on more official considerations, one could perhaps argue for a problem here, but it would have to be argued. But Mnuchin is one of the producers of the movie (hence his comment about not being allowed to promote anything that he is involved in) and he had signed an ethics agreement in which he was not, while in the process of divesting from the relevant company, to participate substantially in things with a direct effect on the financial interests of the company, and thus the product endorsement raises the question of whether he had violated the agreement by recommending the movie in a public interview. One can certainly argue that recommending a movie is not a substantial participation in a matter with direct, predictable effect on the financial interests in question, but it does raise legitimate questions.

Senator Ron Wyden raised the question, and apparently sent a letter to USOGE asking for an investigation. (I have not been able to find any copy of the letter.) Given that Wyden was rather vehement in his opposition to Mnuchin's nomination, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this was mostly politically motivated -- Senators usually do not spend their time raking over the precise contents of interviews by Cabinet secretaries -- but that does not mean that there is no legitimate question here. And it should perhaps be noted that if, as the news reports give the impression, he only addressed the letter to USOGE and not also to White House Counsel, this was a very limited request -- as I have noted before, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, despite the name, is not a general ethics watchdog, but an advisory and training office whose most serious possible action is usually to recommend to other agencies that disciplinary proceedings be started (although it can initiate proceedings itself for ongoing violations). In any case, OGE seems to have begun its inquiry, because Secretary Mnuchin wrote a letter to OGE saying that he should not have added the last sentence, that he would be meeting with the Designated Agency Ethics Official, and that he takes seriously the relevant ethical norms.

And Director Schaub seems to have written Wyden that the OGE "intends to give Secretary Mnuchin the opportunity to make good on the pledge." (Again, I cannot find any copy of this letter, either. Given how poor government ethics reporting generally is, this means everything has to be qualified more than it should have to be.) If that's what Schaub said, he is giving a perhaps misleading impression of OGE's actual role in something like this; it's not as if OGE can ethically refuse a plan for future ethical compliance, it's a one-shot rather than ongoing violation so OGE can't initiate any disciplinary proceedings itself, and to recommend that the President formally discipline Mnuchin over it when there is already an offer of compliance on the table would be extraordinarily incompetent -- compliance, not disciplinary action, is the whole point of government ethics law, and disciplining people who are cooperating conveys the message that there's no good reason to cooperate.

Assuming there are no weird twists anywhere, it's pretty much a textbook example of how this is supposed to work.

Of Just Actions the Companion Kind

Orphic Hymn to Law
tr. by Thomas Taylor

The holy king of Gods and men I call,
Celestial Law, the righteous seal of all;
The seal which stamps whate'er the earth contains,
Nature's firm basis, and the liquid plains:
Stable, and starry, of harmonious frame,
Preserving laws eternally the same:
Thy all-composing pow'r in heaven appears,
Connects its frame, and props the starry spheres;
And shakes weak Envy with tremendous sound,
Toss'd by thy arm in giddy whirls around.
'Tis thine, the life of mortals to defend,
And crown existence with a blessed end;
For thy command and alone, of all that lives
Order and rule to ev'ry dwelling gives:
Ever observant of the upright mind,
And of just actions the companion kind;
Foe to the lawless, with avenging ire,
Their steps involving in destruction dire.
Come, bless, abundant pow'r, whom all revere,
By all desir'd, with favr'ing mind draw near;
Give me thro' life, on thee to fix my fight,
And ne'er forsake the equal paths of right.

Thomas Taylor was the most notable British Neoplatonist of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; this is from his translation of the Hymns of Orpheus. To say that Taylor was philhellenic is an understatement -- he and his wife only spoke to each other in classical Greek, and he translated a vast number of Greek works. William Axon wrote a short article in 1890 summarizing his life, Thomas Taylor, the Platonist.

Lent XXVII

For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and shouldest ordain priests in every city, as I also appointed thee. (Titus 1:5)

The whole life of men in ancient times was one of action and contention; ours on the contrary is a life of indolence. They knew that they were brought into the world for this purpose, that they might labor according to the will of Him who brought them into it; but we, as if we had been placed here but to eat and drink, and lead a life of pleasure, we pay no regard to spiritual things. I speak not only of the Apostles, but of those that followed them. You see them accordingly traversing all places, and pursuing this as their only business, living altogether as in a foreign land, as those who had no city upon earth.

[John Chrysostom, Homilies on Titus, Homily 2.]

Donut Thing

I saw this at Yard Sale of the Mind. Even the dystopian future is not idiot-proof.

DUST, which did this, has a number of other short videos (some original, some licensed) exploring different science fiction tropes from quirky angles. I liked "Future Boyfriend" as well.

Lent XXVI

This precept I commend to thee, O son Timothy; according to the prophecies going before on thee, that thou war in them a good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some rejecting have made shipwreck concerning the faith. (I Timothy 1:18)

Warfare is twofold: one is spiritual, and the other is carnal. II Cor 10:4: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to God unto the pulling down of fortifications, destroying counsels, etc. In a good warfare two things are required on the part of the soldier: that he do nothing contrary to military discipline and that he not faint in idleness.... Likewise, on the part of the warfare two things are required: that it fight off those contrary to the republic and that it subject those who need to be subject. Thus also spiritual warfare is ordered to destroying everyone who extols himself and to subjecting every intelligence unto obedience to Christ, as it is said in II Cor. 10....

He says, therefore, that thou war in them, etc., as if to say: You can fight a good war first through the good faith which you have...And through a good conscience, since a man easily departs from waht harms him; hence, remorse of conscience is as a certain stimulus which stings a man with a bad conscience, and so he quickly falls away from sin through a good conscience and right faith.

[Thomas Aquinas, Commentaries on St. Paul's Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, Baer, tr. St. Augustine's Press (South Bend, IN: 2007), p. 20.]