RSSCommentary

On Lucretius, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and the nature of life and death

| June 16, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Lucretius, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and the nature of life and death

“Again we are all sprung from a heavenly seed, all have that same Father…” ~ Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Book II If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this that disturbs thee, but thy own judgment about it. And it is in thy power to wipe out this judgment […]

Continue Reading

On Apollonius, Nicomachus and first principles

| June 11, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Apollonius, Nicomachus and first principles

Apollonius image of conic sections and the question of orbital motion *N.B.: This essay is based in part on ideas from Great Books of the Western World, Robert Maynard Hutchins, Editor-in-Chief (1952), Vol. 3, chap. 70 – Principle and Vol. 11 – Apollonius of Perga and Nicomachus of Gerasa. “All that has by nature with […]

Continue Reading

On Euclid, Archimedes and first principles

| June 3, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Euclid, Archimedes and first principles

*N.B.: This essay is based in part on ideas from Great Books of the Western World, Robert Maynard Hutchins, Editor-in-Chief (1952), Vol. 3, chap. 70 – Principle and Vol. 11 – Euclid and Archimedes“Give him a coin since he must needs make gain by what he learns.” ~ Euclid Prologue: Biography Euclid (fl. c. 300 […]

Continue Reading

On Hippocrates, Galen and the nature of ancient medicine

| May 26, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Hippocrates, Galen and the nature of ancient medicine

*N.B.: This essay is based in part on ideas from Great Books of the Western World, Robert Maynard Hutchins, Editor-in-Chief (1952), Vol. 3, chap. 55 – Medicine and Vol. 10 – Hippocrates and Galen“First do no harm.”~ Aphorism attributed to the Hippocratic Oath“We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and […]

Continue Reading

On Aristotle and the nature of animals and slaves

| May 17, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Aristotle and the nature of animals and slaves

*N.B.: This essay is based in part on ideas from Great Books of the Western World, Robert Maynard Hutchins, Editor-in-Chief (1952), Vol. 1, chap. 2 – Animals and Vol. 9 – Aristotle (theoretical works) “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” ~ Proverbs 6:6 “And indeed the use made of […]

Continue Reading

On Aristotle and the idea of judgment

| May 10, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Aristotle and the idea of judgment

*N.B.: This essay is based in part on ideas from Great Books of the Western World, Robert Maynard Hutchins, Editor-in-Chief (1952), Vol. 2, chap. 41 – Judgment and Vol. 8 – Aristotle “We don’t do punishment [judgment]…. The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives….” ~ Will Smith […]

Continue Reading

America the beautiful… America the racist… America the hypocrite!

| May 5, 2014 | 0 Comments
America the beautiful… America the racist… America the hypocrite!

“I support them and give them food, and clothes, and cars, and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? … Who makes the game? Do I make the game, or do they make the game? Is there 30 owners that created the league?” “Black people are the Enemy” (including […]

Continue Reading

Is America still Brave… or have we become a New World?

| May 1, 2014 | 1 Comment

Dystopia—human baby extraction and incubation “Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth”. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), an English writer, humanist, atheist, and a prominent member of the Huxley family, grandson to Thomas Huxley (1825-95), who was also called “Darwin’s bulldog” because of […]

Continue Reading

On Plato’s Theory of Forms

| April 19, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Plato’s Theory of Forms

*N.B.: This essay is based in part on excerpts from Great Books of the Western World (1952), Vol. 2, chp. 28 – Form and Vol. 7 – Plato Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught falsehoods in school. And the person that dares to tell the truth is […]

Continue Reading

On Socrates: life and legacy

| April 12, 2014 | 0 Comments
On Socrates: life and legacy

Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people. ~Socrates Prologue In my ongoing series on the Classics of Western Civilization, we now come to Plato, however, since Plato was a student of Socrates as well as the primary source for what we know of the man, and Socrates left no written […]

Continue Reading

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers: