typology as theological diagrammatics
"Christ died, indeed, as the spiritual shepherd of the sheep, but Abel did not die on account of his having literally followed the occupation of a shepherd." (Fairbairn) -- But this is false and in any case assumes (1) that it is not part of the occupation of a shepherd to bring offering of his own flocks to God and (2) that Cain did not kill Abel, in part or in whole, because of the offering.
"Every type necessarily possesses a prophetical character, and differs from what is commonly termed prophecy only in this, that it prefigures, while they foretell, coming realities." Fairbairn
likening oneself to God, living according to nature, following reason
bodily goods, goods of soul, external goods
Plato, Euthydemus 279ab; Philebus 48e; Laws 631bc, 743e
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1.7 1098b
the Clitophon as an attack on Antisthenes (Brunnecke, Kester, Souilhe) -- this has an attraction, despite a certain implausibility
Thrasyllus links Clitophon with the Republic trilogy; Grube thought it a fragmentary preface to Part I of the Republic, a reaction to Republic I, with the rest of the Republic in answer
Human life is built out of layers of final causes.
(1) imminent physical & biological
(2) rational function in the rational community of the human race
(3) volitional
"Every muse is indeed beautiful, but the use is not similar in all." Maximus of Tyre
boulesis (wishing for good), chara (delighting in good) and eulabeia (turning from bad) as found in some form in every virtue
"daimones are in species animate, rational in nature, passional in soul, airy of body, and everlasting in time." Apuleius, God of Socrates
"The person who never made a blunder never made a discovery." Samuel Drew
Romantic love is sexual affection doing good to the one for whom the affection is held.
Romantic love is a valuable thing; but it is less eternal, less holy, and less rich in value than the conjugal bond itself.
There is no revolution that can cure general rot.
self-policing as an essential pillar of free society -- the idea that formal police should be aiding the citizens themselves
The autarchy of eudaimonia is inherently social.
virtues that have a special role in training of virtue: prudence (obviously), filial piety, friendliness, religion
In being a sage, one sage is by nature friend to another sage.
"Our whole kind is naturally inclined toward association, and the first and most elemental form of community is that instantiated in marriage." Hierocles, in Stobaeus, Flor. 4.22.21
Studiositas imitates divine love of truth.
prudence : providence :: justice : moral order :: fortitude : divine forbearance :: temperance : Supreme Ultimate
An essential component for a meaningful life is hope; because we cannot simply force ourselves to hope, but must find reasons to hope, we cannot in any strict sense 'give our own lives meaning'.
The mere fact of changing style or structure of governance does not get rid of sociopaths.
Divine providence is prior to heaven and earth, but is not ancient; it is senior to high antiquity, but is not old.
Good businesses do not so much have stakeholders as make them.
| virtue | consortium |
|---|
| friendliness | friendship |
| liberality/gratitude | beneficium |
| religion | co-religion |
| justice | exchange |
| studiositas | schola |
Even if they marry young and live a hundred years, spouses only have each other a little while.
rule of law as precondition for self-governance
Typological reading is a skill of faith, not a method, although as with any skill or art, various methods can be articulated within it by looking at patterns in how the skill fulfills certain purposes.
reading the OT as typology vs. reading the OT as providential history vs. reading the OT as example
The view that the Tabernacle represents the universe is too widespread to be dismissed lightly, found in Philo, Josephus, some of the rabbis, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Chrysostom, and Theodoret.
A common error of accommodationism in interpreting OT symbolism is assuming that if something is an accommodation it can be nothing else. But there still must be a reason why this and not that is accommodated, and this reason may make it also a type, or a key link in a providential sequence. Accommodation is just adaptation of an existing vocabulary for one's purposes, and those purposes may be manifold.
The reference point for the identification of sexes is the procreative structure of the species.
There is no single art of interpretation, but many interpretational arts.
'Interpret agreeably to Reason' as a general maxim of hermeneutics (Seiler)
Whether it's true that reason enjoins the rule "always use the same words in the same connection in the same sense" depends on what reason is doing. Likewise, whether an intelligent writer employs according to common usage depends on what the writer is doing. A discourse does, however, have to be in some way unified and intelligible to be successful.
dogmatic, polemic, and prophetic functions of parables
conscientious objection a block against persecutory schemes
Discovering the mind of a writer is an exercise in hypothesizing.
The difficulties Calvin consistently has with NT citation of OT texts shows clearly enough that his approach to exegesis of the OT is not adequate; it results in the NT authors repeatedly appearing, by 'pious deflection', to twist and modify as to equivocate with a foreign sense. He does not do as he should and learn from apostles how to read the OT in light of Christ.
the aspects of good kingship
(1) equitable (epieikes)
(2) clement (eugnomon)
(3) unoppressive (abares)
phronesis as including enkrateia and autarkeia
polis = "a plurality of human beings dwelling in the same place, governed by law" (Dio Chrysostom)
rights as just dues
Rights require discernment; they cannot substitute for it.
Societies in the modern world protect the powerful by selectively enforcing deontology and oppress the weak by selectively enforcing consequentialism.
OT is to NT
as providential context (NT as end)
as type (NT as exemplar)
as sharing principles (conformity)
as material condition
People complaining about Aristotle's 'metaphysical biology' always substitute one of their own, and not ever a better supported one.
"The very form of a work of art shows its character as *addressed*." Charles Taylor
Democracy overassimilates justice to fairness, aristocracy to order, monarchy to loyalty. The best societies find a way to triangulate justice by means of these three.
bringing the outer world into free play within oneself
mimesis → free play → expression
Morality contributes to human-wholeness.
higher and lower equalities
the hierarchy of equalities
-- We all in fact recognize that some equality is superficial and some substantive, some trivial and some profoundly meaningful, some morally indifferent and some morally significant.
joy at other's joy: compersion; joy at other's grief: Schadenfreude
grief at other's joy: jealousy; grief at other's grief: compassion
Before one can assess probabilities, one must identify relevant possible states; this can only be done by induction.
One cannot give an account of induction without regard for issues of classification.
"There is truth in a symphony, composed to imitate a tempest, when the music of the symphony, its harmony and rhythm, make us hear a noise similar to the tumult of the wind and the roaring waves, which clash with each other or break against the rocks." Du Bos
All claims about relevance are normative.
animals, plants, and environments of thriving
-- it doesn't seem that this can be equated with a right of place, because (1) getting that specific would require a lot of experimentation and trial & error; (2) ecological balance, limitation of noxiousness, etc., clearly have to play a role; (3) this will often not involve a common good relevant to our choices.
-- but clearly we can see that there is often better or worse here, and sometimes (pets, zoos) this clearly intersects with our responsibilities.
advisory, hortatory, consolatory work as the key parts of ministry (taken generally) as a humanitarian tradition
Codes of conduct often extend punitive reach without extending due process, and in practice they often deviate from being used as an instrument of positive exhortation, becoming an instrument of criticism and coercion.
Sacraments are juridical by being sacraments, acts in the Kingdom of God.
lists: ordered vs unordered; filled vs open; finite vs infinite
Human rights are only possible if human nature is itself a participation in a natural juridical system.
"They alone are god-love to whom wrongdoing is hateful." Democritus (B217/D81)
There is a structural difference between not including something in the scope of a law and having mercy on it as a violation of law, one not given adequate account if we assume that sanction makes the law.
Electron spin is the angular momentum of 'flow of energy' in the electron's wave field. It is analogous to a classical circularly polarized wave. (Cf. Hans C Ohanian, "What is spin?")
the artistic phenomenon of excess to the point of mediocrity
Moderation is the better part of skill
analytic : synthetic :: condign : congruous
the Taijitu as a sort of transcendental ecology
The moral teachings of Jesus are not found only in His words, but in His miracles, in His life and death and resurrection, and in His Church.
All love creates deontic structures.
The divine is that for the sake of which wisdom commands.
Facts are norms for reasonings.
"Nothing good or evil is included in the mere use of a name, apart from the actions which are associated with that name." Justin
"Rulers who prefer popular opinion to truth have as much power as robbers in the desert."
Traditions are structured by fides, virtus, and pietas.
A performance is always a completion of something, the finalization of material into actual form.
play in text
play in read-through
play in rehearsal
play in performance
Ethical values are also aesthetic values, but their role and character qua aesthetic is distinct from their role and character qua ethical, and one artistic challenge is coordinating them both in a way appropriate to each. (Success in this is one of the reason for the greatness of Fra Angelico or Jane Austen.)
Artistic evaluation incorporates aesthetic evaluation, aesthetic evaluation incorporates artistic evaluation -- each imperfectly, yes, but it is the negotiation by which great art is formed.
play-pretend as playing at pretending (If you play-pretend at being a lion, you are not faking being a lion, trying to pass yourself off as a lion, but something much more like playing a game in which you represent yourself as a lion.)
Actors pretend in order to perform, but the performance is not itself adequately characterized as pretending.
"'Pretending' is an intention-dependent concept; one cannot pretend inadvertently." Anscombe
In play-pretending you can pretend to wag a tail you don't have simply by play-pretending (although you could also use a prop). In dissimulation-pretending you would need at least a plausibly tail-like prop.
The key characteristic in Anscombe's notion of consequentialism is *outweighing* (this is why Ross gets counted) such as to rule out *indefeasibility* (this is why Mill is not counted).
When people are being attacked, telling them they cannot ever defend themselves forcefully is in most circumstances not nonviolence but complicity with the violent.
Apologetics must discuss the prophecies because it is part of the faith that Christ was prophesied.
three requirements for partaking the Eucharist (Justin, First Apology, 66)
(1) acknowledged truth of doctrine
(2) cleansed by baptism for remission of sins and regeneration
(3) regulate life upon principles laid down by Christ
"Only bad fortune reveals a great example." Seneca
"Never is the proof of virtue mild."
