classics digests, reflections and reviews
Art in a Democratic Society What is more insidious than any censorship, is the steady influence which operates silently in any mass society organised for profit, for the depression of standards of art and culture. The increasing organisation of advertisement and propaganda—or the influencing of masses of men by any means except through their intelligence—is all against them. The economic system is against them; the chaos of ideals and confusion […]
Read moreThe Suffering of An Idealist The Stoic philosophers teach that pain in and of itself is neither good nor evil. I tend to agree with them, because pain can be a means to a good, “no pain no gain”. Suffering is not the mere feeling of pain, it is a painful realization that some good is being or has been destroyed. When I was a youth, I believed very strongly […]
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The Insufficiency of Humanism Tribulation generally signifies nothing else but some kind of grief, either pain of the body or heaviness of the mind. All the wit in the world cannot bring about that the body should not feel what it feels. But that the mind should not be grieved with either bodily pain or occasions of heaviness pressed unto the soul, this thing the philosophers laboured very much about. […]
Read moreBackground and Advance Apology I’ve been hesitant to write about suffering and Christian hope, because I have very little experience or knowledge of either, having lived a mostly sheltered life. I fear that my posts might be too superficial, even offensive, to people who are in the midst of suffering. But, I somehow backed myself into this position, by writing two blog series that converge on the subject of suffering, one […]
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The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes, and secret motions of things; and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible. New Atlantis is a Utopia ruled by scientist-kings, viz. the elite with supreme knowledge of causes of Nature. Bacon’s vision is awe-inspiring, in both senses of the word. On the one hand, it is mind-boggling to ponder the vast […]
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More’s erudition, great sense of humour, witty and lucid style make Utopia an enjoyable read. He draws upon ancient Greek philosophy and Utopian literature, most notably Plato’s Republic and Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus, and weaves a fascinating, though controversial, account of an ideal state. Among other things, there is a governing principle which has appealed to me since my youth and I think is necessary for a just and vibrant society. Another […]
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Why Pythagoras Called Himself a Philosopher Pythagoras was the first who called himself a philosopher; a word which heretofore had not been an appellation but a description. When Leon the tyrant of Phlius asked him who he was, he said, “A philosopher”. He likens the entrance of men into the present life to the progression of a crowd to some public spectacle. For there men of every description assemble with different views. One […]
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