Friday, February 05, 2016

Dashed Off III

the Annunciation as the immaculate conception of the Church

Romans 15:16 as Eucharistic

Rv 12 & allusion back to Gn 3 + Second Eve -> Assumption

practices of sympathy with the saints

"Piety produces intellectual greatness precisely because piety in itself is quite indifferent to intellectual greatness." Chesterton

Confucius against sophistry of practice

wonder as an intimation of understanding to come (connected to analogy between inquiry and hope)

directly privative aspect of evil
indirectly privative aspect of evil
   impeding good
   deteriorating good

the Urim & the Thummim and intercession

Christ was anointed to offer Himself by the Spirit, which He does in Session and in the worship given by His Mystical Body; He was consecrated as priest by blood for the sake of His body, that His members might be consecrated a priestly people.

Nothing can touch the truth of Torah and not begin to take on some light.

In 'readiness to appear' we our potential in light of active powers.

Moral law calls forth ceremonial and political supplements.

All accounts of morality should be tried out on the normative principles of rational inquiry.

The human mind aches for human solidarities.

Ground held from the beginning requires no wresting back.

Martyrs die for the faith; but the Church goes further and makes their deaths even more for the faith.

'Ockham's Razor' as a principle of extrapolation

cascading problem-solution chains

Diamond: within; Box: throughout

modal operators are more general than quantifiers:
(1) they work on arguments, propositions, and terms;
(2) quantifiers require duality assumption, modal operators need not

The heart has an objective association with blood, the warmth of life, and the feeling of emotional response. (Gethsemane)

aesthetics as a source of reserve arguments

poetry capable of religious reading - poetry concerning religious matters - religious song - hymn proper - liturgical prayer

transhumanism as modern alchemy

wisdom tending to song

Walton's quasi-emotions as a partial account of acting and dramatic expression

Much of the quasi-emotion account is indistinguishable from an account in which we experience micro-emotions (e.g., audience at horror movie experiencing a flash of startled fear & jumping, then getting over it). But neither account really handles suspense because the feeling of suspense is extended and real, and no plausible account of suspense can make it dependent on fact in a way that excludes fiction.

The quasi-emotion account requires depreciating physiological evidence.

Emotions are not automatically motivating; they motivate by building.

As icon, every icon is an image of Christ as image of God.

Plato's recollection // development of doctrine

the Church as a perpetual interlocking of rites

Precision is the primary requirement of counter-insurgency.

Free markets require healthy conditions for exchange.

sets as search-families

natural teleology vs role teleology

Scientism intrinsically drives toward scientific anti-realism.

Saints in purgatory do not suffer as though they were objects but as though they were active martyrs and confessors, or as though they were soldiers eager to return home but needing one very great and very difficult duty to perform first.

Torah as counter to evil inclination

"every cause pre-embraces its effect before its emergence, having primitively that character which the latter has by derivation" Proclus

providence, rational free-will, and evil as principles of historical interpretation (Schlegel)

In Dickens's novels, material objects and natural events are thick with moral significance.

Human beings are such that they will often put ideas and symbols above kith and kin.

faith, hope, and love as each grounds of perserverance

Beauty persuades, as it pleases on being seen, but it should never be made a mere instrument of persuasion.

Mary's fiat as the creation of a common good

vanity -> sensuality -> selfishness
anger -> malice -> revenge

philosophy as the science of longing (Schlegel)

longing -> true love -> heartfelt enthusiasm

the three goods of society: continuance, union, allegiance or loyalty

the primary purpose of prophecy: connection of distinct things in one sign

degree of overlap
1:1 xEQy
0:n xDy
n:0 yDx
1: (n<1) yPx
(n<1):1 xPy

The French Revolution confused equality with the reversal of aristocracy.

Protestantism as Torah without Temple

right of intimate dignity of person
(1) rights against unreasonable search and seizure: person, communications, effects
(2) rights to privileged communication regarding health and integrity of: soul, body, legal presence in society, marriage

Greek myths are like musical compositions in admitting of varied renditions and performances.

the unexpected plausible

A language in which terms are used only univocally or equivocally is like a mathematics with only natural numbers.

the implicit spectacle of Platonic dialogue
the Platonic dialogue in light of the principles of episodic narrative

Lk 9:51-56 // Acts 8:5-17

language as mediating between personal and social memory.

Living traditions flower into eloquent speech, elegant composition, and lofty meditation.

the contemplative life as the heart of Tradition

traditions as language-forming
Holy Tradition naturally shapes sacral languages.

To read Scripture well is to live the Tradition of the Church.

II Constantinople and universalism based on pre-existence or universalism extended to demons

literature as linguistic precedent

the method of panjiao (doxographic dialectic)

Mou Zongsan on intellectual intuition

zhengming as pertaining to natural law

hierarchy of precedent as essential to common law
also requires clear reporting and archiving of precedents qua precedents. In primitive situations this can be personal memory, but as complexities increase, some new instruments are needed.

Blackstone understands common law as a tradition (explicitly as handed down) -- law as a living tradition

trial by ordeal as really a last resort attempt at acquittal

common law as primarily a bulwark against bloodshed (peaceful resolution)

Justice builds by tradition; we see this in rights to privileged communication, which require not merely an authorizing good but also in practice traditions of communication with identifiable customs and expectations.

Decay of ideas is impeded by multiplicity of signs.

the concept of design promise and its link to extrapolation

agnosticism & doxastic 'free-riding'
to consider: agnosticism as requiring urban conditions to spread?

conditional as Box for ordered term

New Natural Law as part of universal history

liturgy as structured by mission

Bleak House & the Dickensian approach to law

legal institutions as primarily filters for customary law

court of equity: conscience entering into law under a legal aspect -> the concept of trust (being bound in conscience to do or maintain something for someone else, thus trustees and beneficiaries)

measurement uncertainties: resolution, accuracy, precision, linearity, stability, reproducibility

rhetoric and distinctive high-leverage points in argument

There are no morally neutral human actions because there are no human actions that are not human.

the Decalogue as an indirect presentation of fundamental human rights

the linking of sabbath with freedom from debt (sabbatical year)

models of the unity of the human race

faith: trust in Christ as Truth
hope: trust in Christ as Way
love: trust in Christ as Life

kindness as kin to docilitas

self-giving as the foundation of a healthy society

The social doctrine of the Church expresses the fact that salvation sheds light on society and on moral life.
philosophy as essential to the social doctrine of the Church
The social doctrine of the Church arises out of all the faithful through their baptismal and confirmational characters; this is regularized and supported by the teaching authority in the episcopal character.
Casuistics is essential to the proper and reasonable application of the social doctrine of the Church.

The theological virtues are what convert Scripture to life.

Human rights cannot possibly be enumerated in full because human moral life cannot possibly be exhausted in a list.

solidarity = civil friendship = social charity

Human dignity overflows into that with which we have to do. We see this most clearly and perfectly in the great works of reason -- the skillful, the prudent, the harmonious -- but it is found even in stupid things, in some dim echo.

Genuine freedom must be cultivated.
conscience as unifier of freedom and truth
Human freedom is a process of continual liberation.

common good : solidarity :: human dignity : subsidiarity
subsidiarity as a principle of mediation

social justice as appropriateness to common good

The universal destination of goods is itself an implication of human dignity.

Subsidiarity protects the participation required for common good.

Genuine assistance, that is, subsidium, has clear conditions for which it might cease, to let people themselves take over.

Solidarity as a virtue is justice in light of common good.

treatment of environment // treatment of family