Classical literature and business

If you associate our business climate with Ayn Rand the end of western civilization, you may want to check out the blog called "Great Minds Do Business," by Peter Giersch. He hasn't been keeping it up, but it has great posts about Dickens, Mozart, Aristotle, Shakespeare, and Adam Smith. You can read the whole blog in minutes.

Official hiatus

My posting on this blog is sporadic at best.  Right now I need to cut back on some things, so I am going to have an official hiatus until at least the end of May so I can concentrate on some essentials.
 

Writing and Logic for highschoolers!

Starting next week I will be teaching two online courses for Homeschool Connectioins: 

Logic   The emphasis on feelings and de-emphasis on proper, logical thinking has left many Americans prey to advertisers and demagogues. A training in logic can help a reader or listener see the truth and falsehood of statements made on the editorial page or on talk radio shows, so he can make proper judgments about important matters. This six-week course establishes the rudiments of formal logic—the construction and detection of valid syllogism and formal and informal fallacies. The emphasis will be on examples taken from popular media.

Writing for College: : What are the characteristics of excellent writing in the eyes of college professors? This course will use the rhetorical arts to help turn competent writing into impressive writing. What are the essential components of an excellent piece of nonfiction writing? How does one write a compelling introduction and conclusion? How does one argue effectively for one’s position? What are important mistakes to avoid? The course will work with previous writing samples of the students, as well as composition exercises, culminating in the writing of a short argumentative essay.

If you are interested in either of these courses for your highschoolers, go to the links provided above.

You can't argue with this

Frank Beckwith says: "[T]he number three can never be the reddest letter in the alphabet."

Preview of my dissertation

I just discovered that Marquette's library has a preview of my dissertation available online here. It is just the introduction.  If you want to read the whole thing you'll have to either purchase it (!) or go to Marquette's library or theology department.

St. John of Damascus makes an interesting point that I have never thought much about in An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book One, Chapter 1:

God, however, did not leave us in absolute ignorance. For the knowledge of God's existence has been implanted by Him in all by nature. This creation, too, and its maintenance, and its government, proclaim the majesty of the Divine nature. Wisdom 13:5 Moreover, by the Law and the Prophets in former times and afterwards by His Only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, He disclosed to us the knowledge of Himself as that was possible for us. All things, therefore, that have been delivered to us by Law and Prophets and Apostles and Evangelists we receive, and know, and honour , seeking for nothing beyond these.

So, God reveals himself to us through nature, and therefore some knowledge of Him is available through philosophy. Philolosophy is good and useful for knowledge of God.

On the other hand, there is nothing in nature, and therefore philosophy, besides what is known to us through Revelation (Law, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists). So, theoretically, for the believer philosophy is not necessary to have the fullest knowledge of God possible.

Yet, philosophy has the added value of helping us understand revelation better because it helps us make proper distinctions, detect dead ends, have a fuller, more precise understanding of concepts.So, while philosophy doesn't enhance our knowledge of God, it may de facto help us enhance our understanding of what we know.

A Penitential season

Advent is supposed to be a penitential season, yet I don't think of or do much  fasting or any of the things we usually associate, for instance, with Lent.  I know the eastern Churches fast during Advent (which, for them, starts on November 15). A question for you all: what makes Advent "penitential" for us besides going to the communal penance service and lighting the Advent wreath?  Watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas?" Anyone have any thoughts?

Liturgia Horarum

I was digging around for an audio version of the Latin Liturgia Horarum and came up with this nice resource.  It is a handsome web page that presents the entire text of the office in a "book" format.  It also has audio files of the psalms and canticles. I would do a screen dump for you, but I don't know how!

I also found a web site that provides the Gregorian chant for the Sunday and Solemnity offices for the whole year.

Here you find free congregational booklets for the Liturgy of the Hours (Sunday Lauds, Vespers and Compline) in Latin and with Gregorian chant, according to the Ordo Cantus Officii (1983).