Epistemological Relativism

It seems that many works of classic literature were meant for much more than aesthetic appeal. These works, no doubt, contain impressive aesthetic qualities such as vivid imagery, well structured prose and/or poetry and a compelling story. If it weren’t for these and many other elements I doubt these works would have and had such wide-ranging and lasting appeal. What is interesting to consider is that these works were predominantly used as vehicles to deliver moral, political and religious messages.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying a work of literature for this aesthetic appeal and one could spend a significant amount of time exploring and admiring this dimension of the text. We must remember, however, that the people who read or heard these works perhaps understood them in a way that exceeded this aesthetic dimension. We know that, for example, Plato loathed the poets for their irresponsible use power. There would be no reasonable explanation for Plato’s low view of this group if the works they produced were merely entertainment. The tales that the poets created and communicated carried with them very specific messages intended to subvert the minds of the audiences. This subversion was, of course, meant to draw the hearer into alignment with the poets view of the world.

Why does this matter? Or, perhaps more importantly, why do I bother with such distinctions? Because inasmuch as these are works of literature with aesthetic appeal they are also a reflection of the thoughts and ideas of ages gone by. We get a glimpse of some of these ideas as they circulated during their periods of authorship. Historical-critical analysis would sometimes use these works to see what types of stories people told in order to work backwards to determine beliefs, ideas and challenges. What we view as merely aesthetic appreciation or entertainment is much, much more. To embark on a mission of classical reading without a grasp of the wider world in which these works were authored is to miss the much larger dimension of the story the authors were trying to tell.

Can we get by with an entertainment only reading of these works? Of course we can and we will still grow in our understanding and appreciation of the authors and their cultures. But when we approach reading with the other dimensions in mind we experience a richer  aspect of the world in which the author and original readers lived. It interesting to note that we, for the most part, do this with modern works. These messages are not lost to us because we are much closer culturally and, at a minimum, temporally to the ideas. We can recognize with a fair degree of accuracy some of these moral, political and religious messages.

Books, Thoughts

Several months ago I came up with a working list of principles to guide the attitudes of the student as well as the teacher. I used the acrostic RESPECT to enumerate these principles. I haven’t added definitions to them yet, but they should be self-explantory. I did write a quick statement that attempts to incorporate all of the relevant ideas. I know, it is the longest sentence ever.

We will strive to be students with Respect for our teachers, our classroom, other students and our learning. We will use our Energy to work diligently, develop Skill in our courses of study, have Patience with ourselves and our surroundings, work with Efficiency and do the job right the first time, be Confident in ourselves and our abilities and remain Teachable throughout our life.

Respect

Energy

Skill

Patience

Efficiency

Confidence

Teachability

General, Homeschool, Thoughts

I just finished listening to the first lecture of Science Wars: What Scientists Know and How They Know It given by Professor Goldman. It sounds as if it is going to be a fantastic ride. He intends to retrace the development of scientific knowledge and methodology outlining where things have gone awry and for what reason. He talks of the epic battle between Socrates and the Sophists and the battle that continues unresolved to this day between rationalism and empiricism. I’m biased of course because epistemology is one of my favorite subjects. I think though that anyone interested in understanding the scientific method and particulary their views on knowledge should listen. The lecture is only $39.95 in MP3 format. It is about 12 hours (in 24 sessions) so be prepared to commit some time to the effort. You won’t be disappointed.

General

There is an almost symbiotic relationship between our acquisition and understanding of the past and our own personal past. The latter many times illicitly shapes the interpretation of the former and the former builds upon the latter’s foundations or, when the conditions are right, lays them anew.

Thoughts

My good friend Felix and I had a lengthy theological discussion on Saturday evening. It was so lengthy and rather complex that I have two pages of notes, thoughts and points for further research that I quickly wrote down after we were finished (which I’m more than happy to share offline). At some point I plan to make some of the items into full length essays, but we’ll see if that works out. We discussed the concepts of supersessionism, dispensational theology, first century Judaism and the Jesus movement, historical epistemology and most importantly how the first century Jews viewed the actions and teachings of Jesus. We were attempting to discover how, when and if these ideas (theology, understanding) were significantly altered when pagans began converting or when the converted Gentile population outnumberd the Jewish population. It is far too much to unpack now and appears, I’m sure, as a random grab bag of concepts. Don’t worry as we develop these concepts “in the next couple of months”, to quote Felix, I’ll post the developments. I can tell you now though that it is interesting and challenging to see how little we can really know about this time period. However, with the little data we do have we intend to come up with tentative answers (conjectures to some, hypothesis to others) that deal with all of the data while offering the simplest answer. Thank you William.

The thing that is most satisfying is the experience you can enjoy when two or more individuals seriously engage in dialogue, inquiry and investigation about issues that are a bit deeper than what popular culutre has to offer. I’m not knocking pop culture as I have my share of favorite T.V. shows just like everyone else, but it is difficult to feel that your time is well spent in those sort of conversations. The sad thing is that I’ve only met a few people that enjoy the former. Yes, I know, maybe I’m looking in the wrong places. I’m definitely open to suggestions.

General, Theology, Thoughts

If anyone is interested, there was an email today on the Latin Study list announcing the start of a new study group. This group is starting in October and will be using Wheelock as the primary text. The schedule and other information is here. Below is the text from the email. In addition to all the good advice and links found on that site everyone embarking on independent or even instructor-led latin learning should read Dowling’s method. Dowling offers some old-school advice that, I think, compliments Wheelock nicely.

Hic incipit feliciter another section of Atrium Latin, using Wheelock’s
Latin Grammar. This group will be known as Atrium Latin Prometheus.

If you are interested in joining the group, please go to the general info
page for Atrium Latin:

http://www.atrium-media.com/latin/atriumlatin.htm

Please read through that page, along with the other links on the page, to
find out how everything works, especially how to format your answers,
described in painful detail at:

http://www.atrium-media.com/atriumlatin/formatting.html

It is also to be stressed that if you do not subscribe to the LatinStudy
list, you will not see the collations and will fill my box with queries
about not getting them, which I will eventually ignore. Semi-related to
this, you should also make any adjustments to an spam filters you have as
are necessary to get mail from both me and the LatinStudy list. (It sounds
harsh, but is, alas, based on experiences I’ve had with previous courses).

This group will be working at roughly a chapter-every-two-weeks pace. The
schedule for the next few weeks is posted at:

http://www.atrium-media.com/atriumlatin/prometheus.html

As you will see for the schedule for the the first assignment is due October
13th; on October 14th I’ll send out the collation of everyone’s answers and
the link template for the next assignment. The link for the first assignment
is at:

http://www.atrium-media.com/latin/wk01.htm

Please note that you must use the following as the subject line when you
send in your assignment:

Atrium Latin Prometheus

If you have any questions arising from the lesson, you can ask onlist or ask
me personally at dmeadows@idirect.com

dm

P.S. This is being posted to the Latin Study list … if you’ve contacted me
offlist about joining the course, you’ll probably get another.

General

I know I don’t usually make it a habit of sharing too much personal information, but I’ll make an exception. We had a birthday party for my daugher this evening. It was a little over three hours long. Because I’m into memory building and also on a budget I decided to try something a bit different. I had this idea on Friday to do a treasure hunt. Since I always tend to go way over the top this was destined to be over-engineered. Thankfully it wasn’t terrible, but it was definitely over-engineered.

I wrote out a message using baking soda and water on a piece of art paper. When it dried it would, of course, be invisible. The message contained a hint to a location and basic instructions. I weaved (if you can call it weaving) a mostly ad-hoc story about a native american who stopped by when we first moved in who told me a story about a treasure trove. He, according to my story, left me with a piece of parchment he could not decipher and was too old to investigate. He left me with the words, “The fruit of the vine will reveal the sign” (the first in a series of period and region specific inconsistencies). I asked the eight or so children what they thought lived on a vine. Jade immediate said, “A Monkey!” while Emily and Wesley said “Grapes!”. We proceeded to the table where I just happen to have some wine and a brush at the ready. We slowly painted on the wine to reveal a series of words. The gasps were priceless and no I didn’t record a thing. I know, I’m terrible.

Following the clue led us to the volleyball court across the street that held the second clue and a piece of a map. This continued until the children had gathered the three parts of the map that led to the treasure. The map was, of course, full of native american english and dwellings, but nevermind that, it had an X! Once the children got their bearings the proceeded to the X and a mysterious and “ancient” inverted pot. Jade was too scared to see what was underneath, but brave Craig of clan Pale Moon investigated. Underneath was the most ancient and yet well preserved native american cuisine. Licorice!

The screaming did die down and we moved on to other things, but after writing silly rhyming clues, burning edges of paper (to get that ancient look), burying treasure and making maps I’m kind of tired. I think that the kids enjoyed it and I know the adults enjoyed making fun of my hack of a native american motif.

General

I finally, after about eight months, decided to write up something for my about page. I tried something a little different than a laundry list, but may add that list at the end at some point since my other format isn’t all inclusive. Go here if you’re interested.

General

This post is more of a semi-random musing rather than the result of intense reflection and research. That disclaimer aside, there is this almost ironic relationship between modern Persian culture and Arab culture. I am going to be painting with broad brushes so please don’t be too offended. Additionally, this is data taken from only one Persian who I work with. I’m sure he is representative of some segment of the Persian community. In fact, he seems to think that his ideas are a good glimpse into the Persian idealogy.

The irony stems from the how Persians view themselves in light of other middle-easterners. They want draw distinctions and uniqueness from that of the general classification of Arab. They think that their way of life offers a level of sophistication above the other Arab countries. So far so good right? Well, what is particularly striking, to me anyways, is that in the 7th century CE the Persians (Sassanid Empire) were occupied (read conquered) by the Arab powers. Yes, I know, the Persians were already in a weakened state for a variety of reasons, but the final occupation and dramatic shift in power occured at the hands of the Arabs.

This is where things get interesting. The Sassanid religion of Zoroastrianism was replaced by the Arab religion of Islam. Actually, much more was changed than that. Language and culture were significantly altered. You’re wondering what my point is aren’t you? Fast forward to the 21st century. Why do Persians, who are insistent on their almost non-arabic roots, who attempt to distance themselves in a number of ways from their neighbors still practice a religion that was almost completely foreign to them prior to the 7th century? This pattern of conquest and assimilation isn’t particularly unique. These types of changes happened dozens of times throughout history. Persia is unique because they, to this day, have some disdain for Arab culture. It is ironic that this disdain includes many if not most parts of Arab culture, but stops at the religion of Islam, an entirely imported religious system.

Thoughts

I finished my second read through of pages 1-24 in W.T. Jones’ “A History of Western Philosophy: The Classical Mind“. The next step in this process will be to read the sources. I’m using this book for now. Fortunately for me the writings we possess for this period are very few indeed. I stopped on page 24 because this is the place in the text where the shift from monism to pluralism occurs. I don’t intend to review the book much less rewrite it, but I do want to highlight some of the material and some of my observations.

It is intriguing to see the shift from beliefs in capricious almost child like gods as the sustaining force of the physical world to an almost entirely godless process-based explanation of the causation and presumed unity of this same world. I can imagine the reponse that these philosopher-scientists received from their contempories and culture at large. People don’t seem to change that much it seems, neither then or now. Most would want their understanding of things to remain fixed, to be of the type that can’t undergo change because it is so certain. Unfortunately for the Greeks during this time the monists were subverting everything that they considered, albeit in error, to be in this fixed category. Even we in this modern age (or is it post-post-modern?) would like the world neatly packaged, but this is of course only wishful thinking. (Yes, I believe we can know things, but that’s a different post.) These “innovators” were not content with the fantasic, super-natural and what we now call mythic accounts that attempted to answer questions about the world and its processes. When they looked at changes in water and air, the effects of fire and dynamic nature of the world they saw public, physical explanations that satisfied their ancient criteria for reasonable, possible and probable. They had real answers.

What many of these proto-philosophers did was explain the world and its unity through ostensive definitions. Thales would say, “See this water? This is the primary stuff of the world.” Anaximander and Anaximenes followed suit with their own unique perspectives. It seems that these chaps wanted to run far away from private musings to public facts that could be debated and challenged and openly discussed. What is a bit funny is the way in which they waffled back and forth between “public” data about the world’s unity and processes on one hand and a form of rationalism that clearly ignored the physical evidence on the other. Xenophanes may have thought reason to be more reliable than perceptions, but doesn’t that get it backwards? This dichotomy is, I think, best explained by the slow progression of these modes of discovery. Who could blame them for wanting to escape the power of the gods by offering rationalistic explanations of the physical world?!

A word about new ideas. We may today be a lot like the Greeks when new ideas are proposed. We may run for the hills, shoot the messenger or simply live in denial. However, newness does not mandate correctness or even adoption. It is not the case that only “new” (or fashionable in my view) ideas are the only ones of value and utility. It is the case, and this is what we forget sometimes, that when these new ideas do come along and they successfully refute the old ideas that we should at a minimum critically evaluate both of them. Not all new ideas are going to pass the reasonable, possible and probable tests enough to persuade us to change our view, but unless our understanding is certain we should be willing to put things to the test. Of course this presumes we want to come closer to the truth whether propositional or the kind that is certain. In the case of Thales, Anaximander, Xenophanes and others, they attempted to refute the old perceptions of the world and offer a new and, in their view, more accurate view of the world. Because of this, even though their conclusions are laughable to us now, I give them props.

Books, Thoughts