A mystifying headline and subtitle. What is remarkable is that there is no evidence for anything said in the title or the subtitle of this article; the article itself not only provides no evidence for it but provides the evidence against it, namely, that what the title attributes to the Pope was actually said in an editorial of L'Osservatore Romano, not written by the Pope (who has weightier responsibilities than to edit the Vatican newspaper).
In newspaper journalism it's often the case that the headlines are editorial decisions, so the bizarre titles shouldn't be attributed to the reporter for the piece, Erin McWhirter.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Newton's World
Normal Levitt has a critical review of Steve Fuller's Science v. Religion. In the course of the review he makes a number of good points against Fuller; but, as is absurdly predictable with people who write for skeptical magazines like this, he takes the liberty of making claims that go well beyond the evidence:
We have, of course, no evidence whatsoever that Newton "sensed that his own brilliant ideas constituted an argument for the deus abscondatus," in part because Newton's ideas don't constitute any argument for a deus absconditus, which can't be pulled out of any bit of the mathematics of Newton's mechanics, nor from any of his sound physical insights; and in part because Newton shows no indication of associating any aspect of his system with a notion of deus absconditus or anything like it. The brief discussions of the 'divine sensorium' seem to indicate the very opposite. To the extent that Newton's God could be regarded as distant or hidden, this appears to have more to do with what is usually called Newton's Arianism than his sense of his system. Newton's system of the world was incomplete, which is why we could later have people like Laplace; and Newton, taking his mathematics as accurate, noted that (1) it couldn't explain the first origin of things; and (2) it couldn't account for the long-term continuance of the system. Levitt is right that his conclusion, divine intervention, does not follow from the mathematics or from physical insight; the considerations Newton gives (in the Optics or the letters to Bentley) are teleological. Indeed it is often forgotten that one of the points associated with Newton's famous claim not to feign hypotheses was that hypothesis-feigning was what was done to avoid appealing to teleology (he makes this point explicitly in Optics, Book III, Query 28 -- it also seems to be why the discussion of analysis and synthesis occurs in the context it does later on); in making the claim Newton is, among other things, rejecting the notion that science is merely the study of natural mechanisms. Descartes and Boyle constructed suppositions that allowed them to proceed as if nature were purely mechanistic in character; Newton rejects this approach, and does not assume that an accurate account of the phenomena will be mechanistic. Thus (and it is a 'thus', although the line of reasoning is not simple) Newton affirms design arguments because he thinks design arguments are the sort of thing in which scientific work culminates. The degree to which this depends on pre-existing religious dogma is difficult to determine; it would not have been a widespread religious view at the time, since the rise of the design argument as the most popular argument in natural theology is largely post-Newton (being to some degree spurred by Newton himself), but, then, many of Newton's religious views were not widespread religious views at the time, because there was no real sense in which Newton could be considered guilty of "religious traditionalism," deviating as he does from traditional religious views on many, many points.
There is something a bit odd, given Newton's actual comments and the Leibniz-Clarke debate, in thinking of Newton as the great (if inconsistent) anti-interventionist forebear. I would agree that Newton's interventionism is a bit of intellectual blunder, as Levitt characterizes it; but this is not because Newton was being inconsistent but because Newton had a different view of his scientific work than people came to have later.
Newton, no less than his frankly materialist or Deist successors, was well aware that the cosmological picture flowing from his own achievement left little room for an interventionist God — an activist, miracle-working being whose constant attention is necessary to the steady functioning of the universe. He sensed that his own brilliant ideas constituted an argument for the deus abscondatus, a conceptual innovation that was soon to become a standard item of skeptical Enlightenment thought. But Newton’s religious traditionalism, unconventional as it was in some respects, found this notion abhorrent because the impersonal God it cautiously endorsed was a far cry from the Biblical Ancient of Days embedded in his own theology. This led him to argue that his own system of the world must be incomplete and that it must indeed be modified to allow a role for an interventionist God whose intermittent action is necessary to keep planets and comets in their orbits. The key point is that this line of thought did not follow from the mathematics of Newton’s mechanics, nor from any sound new physical insight. It was dictated, rather, by the psychological necessity of reconciling his scientific achievement with his pre-existing religious dogma.
We have, of course, no evidence whatsoever that Newton "sensed that his own brilliant ideas constituted an argument for the deus abscondatus," in part because Newton's ideas don't constitute any argument for a deus absconditus, which can't be pulled out of any bit of the mathematics of Newton's mechanics, nor from any of his sound physical insights; and in part because Newton shows no indication of associating any aspect of his system with a notion of deus absconditus or anything like it. The brief discussions of the 'divine sensorium' seem to indicate the very opposite. To the extent that Newton's God could be regarded as distant or hidden, this appears to have more to do with what is usually called Newton's Arianism than his sense of his system. Newton's system of the world was incomplete, which is why we could later have people like Laplace; and Newton, taking his mathematics as accurate, noted that (1) it couldn't explain the first origin of things; and (2) it couldn't account for the long-term continuance of the system. Levitt is right that his conclusion, divine intervention, does not follow from the mathematics or from physical insight; the considerations Newton gives (in the Optics or the letters to Bentley) are teleological. Indeed it is often forgotten that one of the points associated with Newton's famous claim not to feign hypotheses was that hypothesis-feigning was what was done to avoid appealing to teleology (he makes this point explicitly in Optics, Book III, Query 28 -- it also seems to be why the discussion of analysis and synthesis occurs in the context it does later on); in making the claim Newton is, among other things, rejecting the notion that science is merely the study of natural mechanisms. Descartes and Boyle constructed suppositions that allowed them to proceed as if nature were purely mechanistic in character; Newton rejects this approach, and does not assume that an accurate account of the phenomena will be mechanistic. Thus (and it is a 'thus', although the line of reasoning is not simple) Newton affirms design arguments because he thinks design arguments are the sort of thing in which scientific work culminates. The degree to which this depends on pre-existing religious dogma is difficult to determine; it would not have been a widespread religious view at the time, since the rise of the design argument as the most popular argument in natural theology is largely post-Newton (being to some degree spurred by Newton himself), but, then, many of Newton's religious views were not widespread religious views at the time, because there was no real sense in which Newton could be considered guilty of "religious traditionalism," deviating as he does from traditional religious views on many, many points.
There is something a bit odd, given Newton's actual comments and the Leibniz-Clarke debate, in thinking of Newton as the great (if inconsistent) anti-interventionist forebear. I would agree that Newton's interventionism is a bit of intellectual blunder, as Levitt characterizes it; but this is not because Newton was being inconsistent but because Newton had a different view of his scientific work than people came to have later.
Friday, December 21, 2007
A Poem Draft
This came to me today. It doesn't really represent a particular event; but it's pretty clear that among the influences are the famous stories about the Christmas truces that arose spontaneously between British and German soldiers in 1914.
Christmas on the Warfront
Christmas on the warfront
when all the world's at war:
soldiers, trenched, all shiver
at the cold and things in store.
The guns have now gone silent
and silence has grown to dread,
while the air is heavy with the scent
of smoke and of the dead.
Some are drinking their coffee
to fight off weary sleep,
but one there is who, off alone,
cannot the silence keep.
"Stille Nacht," he softly sings;
the air carries it away.
From the other side a "Silent Night"
comes softly, but plain as day.
One moment of two as brothers,
compatriots, and friends,
until commanders hush them down
and silence falls again.
But though the bodies be at war,
by the manger of Christ's birth
Christian hearts together dream
the song of peace on earth.
Christmas on the Warfront
Christmas on the warfront
when all the world's at war:
soldiers, trenched, all shiver
at the cold and things in store.
The guns have now gone silent
and silence has grown to dread,
while the air is heavy with the scent
of smoke and of the dead.
Some are drinking their coffee
to fight off weary sleep,
but one there is who, off alone,
cannot the silence keep.
"Stille Nacht," he softly sings;
the air carries it away.
From the other side a "Silent Night"
comes softly, but plain as day.
One moment of two as brothers,
compatriots, and friends,
until commanders hush them down
and silence falls again.
But though the bodies be at war,
by the manger of Christ's birth
Christian hearts together dream
the song of peace on earth.
Seven Random Things
Janet tagged me for the seven random things meme, so here goes.
The rules:
Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
(1) Books currently on my desk: Theodore Abu Qurrah, John C. Lamoreaux, tr.
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature
David Hume, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals
The New American Bible
Ephraim Radner, Spirit and Nature: The Saint-Médard Miracles in 18th-Century Jansenism
Nicolas Malebranche, The Search after Truth
Pierre de Bérulle, Oeuvres Complètes, vol. 6: Cortes traites
Bérulle and the French School: Selected Writings, Thompson, ed., Glendon, tr.
Orson Scott Card, Xenocide
(2) Most recent movie watched: Layer Cake
(3) Number of end of term projects that were not picked up by students after grading: 26 (and I had to lug them around half a day!)
(4) Usual drink at Starbuck's: tall Chai
(5) Earliest book I clearly remember reading: Caroline E. Rush, Tales of Mr. Pengachoosa
(6) I came home from work this afternoon to look this song up on YouTube.
(7) One of the philosophical works that was never finished but that I wish had been is William Whewell's story on the earth and the moon (you can find part of it in Todhunter, Chapter XX). It's early science fiction (probably early 1860s).
I tend not to tag, but anyone who wants to jump in should feel free to do so.
(And Joe takes up the challenge.)
The rules:
Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
(1) Books currently on my desk: Theodore Abu Qurrah, John C. Lamoreaux, tr.
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature
David Hume, Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals
The New American Bible
Ephraim Radner, Spirit and Nature: The Saint-Médard Miracles in 18th-Century Jansenism
Nicolas Malebranche, The Search after Truth
Pierre de Bérulle, Oeuvres Complètes, vol. 6: Cortes traites
Bérulle and the French School: Selected Writings, Thompson, ed., Glendon, tr.
Orson Scott Card, Xenocide
(2) Most recent movie watched: Layer Cake
(3) Number of end of term projects that were not picked up by students after grading: 26 (and I had to lug them around half a day!)
(4) Usual drink at Starbuck's: tall Chai
(5) Earliest book I clearly remember reading: Caroline E. Rush, Tales of Mr. Pengachoosa
(6) I came home from work this afternoon to look this song up on YouTube.
(7) One of the philosophical works that was never finished but that I wish had been is William Whewell's story on the earth and the moon (you can find part of it in Todhunter, Chapter XX). It's early science fiction (probably early 1860s).
I tend not to tag, but anyone who wants to jump in should feel free to do so.
(And Joe takes up the challenge.)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The One Overlooked Thing
A parable. Once there was a great and ancient monastery, a pillar of civilization and Christian life; but it had begun to go into a great decline. There were ever fewer monks and ever fewer supporters; the monks were becoming lax and indifferent; and the monastery seemed to contribute less and less to the religious life of the outside world every year. During this time a new abbott came to be in charge of the monastery, and he took himself to thinking about how he could remedy the situation. But nothing he tried seemed to work.
One day the abbott heard of a hermit in the nearby mountains who had come to have a great reputation for wisdom and holiness and true prophecy, and, not knowing what else to do, he journeyed to see this man and ask his advice.
"It is easy enough," the hermit said. "Indeed, it is so easy that I wonder that you did not see it before. You have done many great things in your monastery, and many noble things trying to reform it. But you have overlooked one thing. The reason your monastery has begun to fail is that Christ is not honored there."
"But we pray daily," said the abbott.
"Yes," said the hermit, "and many people pray, even Pharisees. But you misunderstood me. It is easy enough to honor Christ in the abstract. But Christ is among you, in person, in disguise, as though it were a masquerade. Or else his angels are, and that is much the same, for the honor given the messenger is honor given to the one who sent him. And yet no honor is given to Him; and there is your problem. I tell you truly, Christ is among you, unbeknownst to you, and in a disguise you cannot pierce, and you are inhospitable to him."
The abbott returned to his monastery, deep in thought, and when he arrived he called together all the monks and told them of the hermit's words. They were all taken aback, and did not know how to proceed; for the hermit always spoke truth, but how could they honor Christ if they did not know who he was?
There was only one way. They treated everyone with love and honor. When they gave someone a drink, they gave it as if it were to Christ or his angel. When they gave someone a meal, they gave it as if it were to Christ or his angel. When they prayed and sang the psalter together they prayed and sang as if Christ or his angel were the person next to them.
And the monastery flourished as it never had before.
One day the abbott heard of a hermit in the nearby mountains who had come to have a great reputation for wisdom and holiness and true prophecy, and, not knowing what else to do, he journeyed to see this man and ask his advice.
"It is easy enough," the hermit said. "Indeed, it is so easy that I wonder that you did not see it before. You have done many great things in your monastery, and many noble things trying to reform it. But you have overlooked one thing. The reason your monastery has begun to fail is that Christ is not honored there."
"But we pray daily," said the abbott.
"Yes," said the hermit, "and many people pray, even Pharisees. But you misunderstood me. It is easy enough to honor Christ in the abstract. But Christ is among you, in person, in disguise, as though it were a masquerade. Or else his angels are, and that is much the same, for the honor given the messenger is honor given to the one who sent him. And yet no honor is given to Him; and there is your problem. I tell you truly, Christ is among you, unbeknownst to you, and in a disguise you cannot pierce, and you are inhospitable to him."
The abbott returned to his monastery, deep in thought, and when he arrived he called together all the monks and told them of the hermit's words. They were all taken aback, and did not know how to proceed; for the hermit always spoke truth, but how could they honor Christ if they did not know who he was?
There was only one way. They treated everyone with love and honor. When they gave someone a drink, they gave it as if it were to Christ or his angel. When they gave someone a meal, they gave it as if it were to Christ or his angel. When they prayed and sang the psalter together they prayed and sang as if Christ or his angel were the person next to them.
And the monastery flourished as it never had before.
Some More Notes and Links
* I will be hanging around Baltimore for the Eastern APA; so if anyone will be there and wants to meet up for coffee or lunch or something, let me know.
* I don't think I've ever mentioned it before, and I haven't seen it praised elsewhere, but I think that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has, hands down, the best religious website I've ever come across. I use it fairly regularly. It's clear, information rich, and beautifully designed. The liturgical calendar is exquisite, it has a nice icon gallery, and much more. There's something for everyone. I wish that other websites were more along these lines.
* An online book about Saint Charles of Mount Argus (ht)
* How self-refutation paradoxes are too quick at "Just Thomism"
* An educational hero
* Apparently scientific research funding has taken a huge hit in the budget this year. I sometimes get rather passionate about scientific issues, but this is one for which I have no sympathy. What does everyone expect will happen when scientific research becomes dependent on the politics of government spending? Deals with the devil always have a catch.
* I just recently came across this Frank Miller quote about the comic book superhero Daredevil: "I figured Daredevil must be Catholic because only a Catholic could be both an attorney and a vigilante."
* Johnny and the Sprites teaches about the common good. (ht)
ADDED LATER
* Mark Colyvan, The Philosophical Significance of Cox's Theorem (PDF); Is Probability the Only Coherent Approach to Uncertainty? (PDF)
* Currently reading: da Costa, Bueno, and Volkov, Outline of a Paraconsistent Category Theory (PDF)
* I don't think I've ever mentioned it before, and I haven't seen it praised elsewhere, but I think that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has, hands down, the best religious website I've ever come across. I use it fairly regularly. It's clear, information rich, and beautifully designed. The liturgical calendar is exquisite, it has a nice icon gallery, and much more. There's something for everyone. I wish that other websites were more along these lines.
* An online book about Saint Charles of Mount Argus (ht)
* How self-refutation paradoxes are too quick at "Just Thomism"
* An educational hero
* Apparently scientific research funding has taken a huge hit in the budget this year. I sometimes get rather passionate about scientific issues, but this is one for which I have no sympathy. What does everyone expect will happen when scientific research becomes dependent on the politics of government spending? Deals with the devil always have a catch.
* I just recently came across this Frank Miller quote about the comic book superhero Daredevil: "I figured Daredevil must be Catholic because only a Catholic could be both an attorney and a vigilante."
* Johnny and the Sprites teaches about the common good. (ht)
ADDED LATER
* Mark Colyvan, The Philosophical Significance of Cox's Theorem (PDF); Is Probability the Only Coherent Approach to Uncertainty? (PDF)
* Currently reading: da Costa, Bueno, and Volkov, Outline of a Paraconsistent Category Theory (PDF)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
What You Can Get Me for Christmas
From Loome Books:
But 420 pp. seems short; I don't have any critical apparatus with me, but as I recall the Search was published in two parts; if it's a one-volume first edition from 1674, it isn't the full Search after Truth but just books 1 to 3. Then you'd also have to hunt down and buy me the 1675 edition, of books 4-6, to match, and that just doesn't seem fair to ask. ;)
Book #AR272
MALEBRANCHE, NICOLAS (1638-1715). De la recherche de la veritè ou l'on traitte de la nature de l'esprit de l'homme, & de l'usage qu'il en doit faire pour éviter l'erreur dans les Sciences. Paris: Chez André Pralard, 1674. First Edition. The first and most important work of Malebranche, "De la recherche de la veritè" established him as the premier Cartesian philosopher of his day. 12mo, xl + 420pp. Newly rebacked in blind-tooled calf preserving original sprinkled calf boards, gilt lettering on spine, five raised bands. Small tear to lower center of title-page, two library stamps on title-page, library stamp on page 137, lacking diagram.
Price: $1,800.00
But 420 pp. seems short; I don't have any critical apparatus with me, but as I recall the Search was published in two parts; if it's a one-volume first edition from 1674, it isn't the full Search after Truth but just books 1 to 3. Then you'd also have to hunt down and buy me the 1675 edition, of books 4-6, to match, and that just doesn't seem fair to ask. ;)
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