Links of Note

 * Gregory B. Sadler, Reading Recommendations About Alasdair MacIntyre's Works

* Pierre Aubenque, Cameron F. Coates, & Khafiz Kermov, The Cosmology of Prudence (PDF)

* Ronald Purser, AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself, at "Current Affairs"

* Aldo Filomeno, Humeans Should Suspend Judgment on the Humean Account of Laws (PDF)

* Henry Oliver, Jane Austen's first biographer, at "The Common Reader"

* Daniel D. De Haan, The Power to Perform Experiments (PDF)

* Tara Isabella Burton, Believe for Your Own Sake, Not for "the West", at "Wisdom of Crowds"; 'memetic Christianity' is a potentially useful term.

* Miguel Garcia Godinez, Institutional Proxy Agency: A We-Mode Approach (PDF)

* Klaus Corcilius, Aristotle's De Motu Animalium, at the SEP

St. Ambrose

Today was the feast of St. Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of the Church. From his work On the Holy Spirit (Book I, Chapter 16, section 184).  

If you seek Jesus, forsake the broken cisterns, for Christ was wont to sit not by a pool but by a well. There that Samaritan woman found Him, she who believed, she who wished to draw water. Although you ought to have come in early morning, nevertheless if you come later, even at the sixth hour, you will find Jesus wearied with His journey. He is weary, but it is through you, because He has long sought you, your unbelief has long wearied Him. Yet He is not offended if you only come, He asks to drink Who is about to give. But He drinks not the water of a stream flowing by, but your salvation; He drinks your good dispositions, He drinks the cup, that is, the Passion which atoned for your sins, that you drinking of His sacred blood might quench the thirst of this world. 

The Achievement of Letting Things Appear

 When we move from the darkness into the light, it becomes possible for us to let many things appear that could not appear in the dark. The presence of light lets us see things like trees and tables, which we can touch but not see when there is no light, and it lets us see things like colors and pictures, which cannot be present at all while we remain in darkness. We are all familiar with light as that which lets such things appear to us. However, there is something besides light, something we can call, metaphorically, another kind of illumination, that is also at work when things appear to us; this is the achievement of letting things appear. It comes about in us, and if it did not take place, going from darkness into light would not do us much good. Only because we are engaged in the achievement of letting things appear do we normally prefer light to darkness, and there are also times when we achieve manifestation better in darkness than in the light.

[Robert Sokolowsi, Pictures, Quotations, and Distinctions: Fourteen Essays in Phenomenology, University of Notre Dame Press (Notre Dame, IN: 1992) p. 3.]

Music on My Mind

 

Alex Williams (with Gigi Perez), "Eternity".

Habitude XIII

 Intension and remission of habitude plays an important role in the theory of virtue, so it's worthwhile to jump over to some of St. Thomas's discussions of intension and remission of virtue.

Intension of Virtues Generally

In considering whether virtues are all equal, he notes that virtues can be greater than other kinds of virtue by being more closely tied to reason, so that prudence, for instance, is the highest moral virtue. However, he goes on to say, we can also find virtues being greater than other virtues when dealing with the same species of virtue:

And so, according to what was said above, when considering the intensions of habitudes, virtue can be greater and lesser in two ways: in one way, according to itself, in another way, on the part of the participating subject.  Therefore, if it is considered according to itself, its greatness and smallness is directed according to that to which it extends. But whoever has some virtue, such as temperance, has it inasmuch as it extends to all that to which temperance extends. This does not happen with knowledge or productive skill, for not everyone who is grammatical knows all that pertains to the grammatical. And according to this, the Stoics said well, as Simplicius says in the commentary on the categories, that virtue does not admit of more and less, just like knowledge and productive skill, because the nature of virtue consists in a maximum.

But if virtue is considered on the part of the participating subject, virtue can happen to be greater or lesser, either according to diverse times in the same person, or in diverse human beings. Because in reaching the mean of virtue, which is according to right reason, one is better disposed than another, either because of accustomedness, or because of better disposition of nature, or because of more perspicacious judgment of reason, or even because of greater gift of grace.... [ST 2-1.66.1]

 

Intension of the Virtue of Charity

Union with God is by virtue of the infused virtue of charity, so as one 'draws nigh' to God, one's charity must increase in intensity. This cannot be by addition, because then it would be a matter of adding new charities on top of distinct old charities; rather, it increases in essence (i.e., being): the person with the virtue of charity participates charity more and more fully.

The spiritual growth of charity is in a way similar to the growth of the body. But bodily growth in animals and plants is not continuous change, that is, such that if something grows so much in so much time, it is necessary that it change proportionally in each temporal part, as happens in place-change, but through some time nature works by disposing to growth and not actually growing anything, and afterwards produces in effect that to which it had been disposed, actually growing the animal or the part. So also not every act of charity actually grows charity, but every act of charity disposes to the growth of charity, inasmuch as from one act of charity a human being is rendered more prompt to act again according to charity, and, ability increasing, the human being breaks out into more fervent act of love, by which he endeavors to advance in charity, and then charity actually grows. [ST 2-2.24.6]

Charity, however, since it is directed to God has no limit; that is, in itself it can grow indefinitely without ever reaching a maximum, and as it grows it gives us the ability to endure even greater charity.

A New Poem Draft

 O Antiphons

O Wisdom, who from out the mouth Most High
from end to utter end dost wholly reach,
as strongly, sweetly, thou all order ply,
come, ways of prudence to our hearts now teach.

O Lord and war-chief of the Israelites,
who through the fiery bush to Moses seemed
and gave him law on Sinai's holy heights,
come, that by outstreched arm we be redeemed.

O Root of Jesse, of all the people sign,
the kings before thee cease to speak their say;
the Gentiles to thee prayerwise will incline;
come free us now and make no more delay.

O Key of David, Israel's scepter bright,
who opes all locks and shuts what none may ope;
for those who sit in darkness of death's night
come, lead them out from prison unto hope.

O Dawn and brightness of the righteous sun,
who shinest with a clear eternity,
enlighten with thy glory everyone
and those in shade of death now swiftly free.

O King of Gentiles, whom all nations crave,
foundation making Jew and Gentile one,
come, and mortal man from shadow save,
who was formed from clay to be God's blessed son.

O Emmanuel, the bearer of all law,
from whom the Gentiles seek the living word,
their Savior and their King held high in awe,
come save your people, God, O holy Lord.

The Damascene

 Today was the feast of St. Yuhana ibn Sarjun, Doctor of the Church; he is most often known in English as St. John Damascene. He was Syrian (although he may have also had Arabic background) and lived in the Umayyad Caliphate; his family were Christian civil servants serving under the Muslim governorship. He himself became a monk, and in Greek is sometimes called Chrysorrhoas (stream of gold) as a compliment to the quality of his writings. From his Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, chapter 13:

God Who is good and altogether good and more than good, Who is goodness throughout, by reason of the exceeding riches of His goodness did not suffer Himself, that is His nature, only to be good, with no other to participate therein, but because of this He made first the spiritual and heavenly powers: next the visible and sensible universe: next man with his spiritual and sentient nature. All things, therefore, which he made, share in His goodness in respect of their existence. For He Himself is existence to all, since all things that are, are in Him, not only because it was He that brought them out of nothing into being, but because His energy preserves and maintains all that He made: and in special the living creatures. For both in that they exist and in that they enjoy life they share in His goodness. But in truth those of them that have reason have a still greater share in that, both because of what has been already said and also because of the very reason which they possess. For they are somehow more dearly akin to Him, even though He is incomparably higher than they. 

 Man, however, being endowed with reason and free will, received the power of continuous union with God through his own choice, if indeed he should abide in goodness, that is in obedience to his Maker. Since, however, he transgressed the command of his Creator and became liable to death and corruption, the Creator and Maker of our race, because of His bowels of compassion, took on our likeness, becoming man in all things but without sin, and was united to our nature.For since He b estowed on us His own image and His own spirit and we did not keep them safe, He took Himself a share in our poor and weak nature, in order that He might cleanse us and make us incorruptible, and establish us once more as partakers of His divinity.