Plato's Phaedo on Ghosts: 80d-82c
Ghosts are souls that are somehow stuck in their involvement in worldly things, and so are not in the best condition. From both the Dixboro Ghost and the ghost in Hamlet , we conclude that these are stuck regarding revenge, or the injustice of their murders and revenge toward their murderers. In the Dixboro story, one mark of authenticity- aside from the question of what ghosts are- is that Martha undergoes a Purgatory, as well as revealing one and preventing another a murder
Oct 28, 20252 min read
On Brian Wilson: God Only Knows
This is said to be the first pop song to use the word “God” in the title, and Sir Paul McCartney- maybe the greatest song writer of all time- called it his favorite song. But on the surface, the lyric makes no sense: I may not always love you, but you need not doubt my love? If you should ever leave me, life would be pointless- yet I would continue? But that it makes no sense on the surface turns out to be helpful, as in a parable of Jesus: Fishers of men? But that it makes n
3 days ago1 min read
Romans Notes
Law and Sin, the Adamic man and grace: how does the Pauline account fit with the Greek account of the soul? The cav'ed man, one could say, is man in Adam and under law. Paul did not read Plato or Aristotle. I don't get the central focus on "justification." Nous is the light that enlightens men. Republic 493- begotten. Because how to fit together Athens and Jerusalem- these are the common terms. Is there not only one nature of man? The law-formed man is artificial- but upright
Jan 232 min read
“Society Must Protect the Robbed and Punish The Robber”: MLK Jr’s Letter From a Birmingham Jail
In a previous blog, St. Martin is referenced regarding our recent corruption. This paper, the Birmingham Jail letter, is pulled out of materials once used in my Introduction to American Government class, taught for ten years at Oakland Community College. Martin is answering critics, since he has some time on his hands while sitting in jail, and he has just answered the argument that civil disobedience breaks the law. King answered with the distinction we call natural right ,
Jan 195 min read
Romeo and Juliet is Historical: Excerpt
Photos from Veronissima- Verona Tourism: The event of Romeo and Juliet actually occurred, about 1302-3, [13] in Verona, and was related in an Italian history translated by Arthur Brooke, used by Shakespeare as a source of the play. The action of a few months is famously telescoped or encapsulated into as many days [14] by Shakespeare, where the haste and rapidity of the tragic events imitates the intensity and haste of love, and emphasizes the fated or un-opposable wave of
Jan 184 min read
The Spirit of the Hippocratic Oath
Photo: Wikipedia: A fragment from the 3rd century. Doctors no longer take the Hippocratic Oath as regularly as they once did, for a number of reasons. The first was that the Christians do not swear oaths to Apollo, and the second was that the oath forbids abortion and assisted suicide. This is from the Greek tradition, independent of the Biblical tradition, which is the basis in America for the opposition to these things. This independent confirmation is stronger than the
Jan 148 min read
Gaza Needs "People Pods"
People Pods Advertisement Interlocking insulated panels that make triangular beds that keep in body heat. Having just heard Dr. Oaken on Diane Rehm, I am thinking of people pods that could be set, like the storage pods are, where they are needed, designed for subsistence living. With a little help from the city, Porta-Johns could be emptied regularly, and perhaps electricity hooked up, for a George Foreman grill. Food storage bins could keep out the mice. I want a giant 3-D p
Jan 133 min read
