Proper Sowing

Roger Scruton on Anxiety and Architecture

2009-07-16T16:55:00.005-05:00

I have not read Roger Scruton's The Aesthetics of Architecture but I assume he more fully develops the point he makes in this interview:

One must think of the people who really use a building, who are those who pass it by. They don't know anything about the structure. But they do jolly well know the impact of that façade. Just think of what's involved in going through a doorway, and the difference between a sheet of glass which you can't actually identify the handle of, and something which arches over you and guides you in.

These elementary experiences are part of the difference between a building which welcomes and a building which creates anxiety. Nobody can deny that modern cities are increasingly places of great anxiety. And if you don't think architecture is one reason for this, it's because you don't have any eyes.

I have never made this connection between anxiety and architecture, but if it is accurate, I think it could be a good criticism of contemporary architecture. The Louvre entrance is arguably the best example of a confusing entrance; the Louvre's multiple glass pyramids that cover an underground entrance are worse than a simple sheet of glass with a hidden handle.

Later in the interview, Scruton says that if it is true that our lives are ones of anxiety, it would be the purpose of architecture to strengthen our lives in the face of anxiety; to simply reinforce this position, Scruton claims, is to show contempt for human beings.

If this is at all interesting, or if you want to hear Scruton briefly talk about liberalism, conservatism, deconstructionism, or pornography read the interview at salon.com

Please note that the interview has two pages to it; the link for the second page is at the bottom of the first.

Living with the Old Grandpa: Chesterton on the Family

2009-07-14T09:35:00.002-05:00

I am not exactly sure who G.K. Chesterton has in mind in his chapter "On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family" in his book Heretics; it could be Kipling with his importance about travel or Virginia Woolf with her membership in the sexually free Bloomsbury Group. The idea Chesterton is attacking is what is significant, as long as the idea of the family for modern writers is actually representative of what his opponents claim.

The claim made about the family by 'certain modern writers,' according to Chesterton, is that "the family is not always very congenial." From this, they would argue that because it is not a place where people live harmoniously with the same disposition, it should be abandoned. Instead of arguing against the first proposition, which is what Chesterton claims the defenses of the family at his time attempted, Chesterton accepts it as true. The family is an uncongenial place, and this is the reason why it is a good institution.

It is good because it conditions one to deal with the rest of the world. "The best way that a man could test his readiness to encounter the common variety of mankind would be to climb down a chimney into any house at random, and get on as well as possible with the people inside. And that is essentially what each one of us did on the day that he was born." The brother who is not interested in our religious life, the Uncle who dislikes theater, the sister who has theatrical ambitions, the Aunt who is unreasonable, the Father who is excitable, the brother who is mischievous, or the Grandpapa who is old and stupid are all examples he uses to show the variety and difficulty of the family. The family is a microcosm of the world. It is a lie to think that by escaping it one is entering a "larger" world. The person who only lives or talks to people she chooses inhabits a false reality. As Chesterton says, "there is nothing really narrow about the clan; the thing which is really narrow is the clique."

Because it is not chosen, Chesterton sees the family which is given to each person as romantic; it comes to us. It forces us to encounter things that we do not like or do not expect. "To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance."

If you wish to purchase Heretics avoid the edition by Quiet Vision Press as my pages fell out after my first time reading through the book.

Happy Birthday...to Pascal

2009-06-19T13:30:00.003-05:00

Today, June 19, is the 386th birthday of mathematician, scientist, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. His most famous work is arguably his Pensees (i.e., 'thoughts' in French), although it is unfinished and consists of many fragments that leave the reader wondering what direction Pascal intended. Nonetheless, merely by skimming through some pages you cannot come away without his attentiveness to the human person, which I think comes, at least in part, from St. Augustine (he is quoted frequently).

The following is an example:

"Truth is so darkened nowadays, and lies so established, that unless we love the truth we will never know it" (Pensees, XXXVI, 617).

This quotation is related to Book XXXII, section 18 in this Augustine work.

If one does not love the truth, then one will never know what is true. Pascal is saying, I believe, that the person cannot use only his/her rational faculties and expect to have complete knowledge of reality; the whole person, not simply one's rationality, needs to establish a relationship with truth.

Auden and Behaviourism

2009-05-27T21:19:00.003-05:00

W.H. Auden has different collections of short statements conveniently called "Shorts." This one is from "Shorts II" in his Collected Poems edited by Mendelson.

"If all our acts are conditioned behaviour, then so are our theories:
yet your behaviourist claims his is objectively true."

Rather than offer my own commentary at the moment I will allow whoever reads this to think it over and respond if you like. I would simply like to add that it would be necessary to ascertain whether or not this is an accurate representation of Behaviourism.

The Name That is Above Every Name

2009-05-26T21:26:00.002-05:00

I enjoy the series offered by The Teaching Company. I was fortunate enough to pick up Phillip Cary's "Philosophy and Religion in the West" for about $1.50 at a library sale. He brought up an interesting connection that I never made, or ever have heard anyone make, in Philippians 2:6-11.

In the NIV these verses are structured as though they were a poem; this is because, according to Cary, these verses were quoted by Paul from an early Christian hymn. Cary's focus is primarily on verse 9, "Therefore God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name."

For a first century Jew, and well, anyone familiar with the Old Testament, this is a very bold claim. What is the name that is above every name? Cary points out (correctly?) that Jesus' name is being identified with God's covenant name, YHWH, from the Old Testament. Some of my favorite passages in the Bible are from the Gospel of John with the various "I am" statements by Christ: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life," "I am the good shepherd," "I am the vine," and "before Abraham was born, I am!" Christ's statements when connected with the specific name given in Exodus 3:14, "I am who I am," provide a rich context. The hymn in Philippians 2 is another example of this.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Living a Christian Life

2009-05-16T20:32:00.006-05:00

Apparently and unfortunately, 20th Century German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is often regarded as a disbeliever in the Resurrection of Christ, despite the many examples that would suggest the contrary. However, this post is not focused on whether or not one can consider him a Christian, since I am unaware of any serious objections to the fact. I would gladly welcome if anyone could point me in the direction of some primary source text, within its context.

Regardless, one may be thankful for the insight provided in Bonhoeffer's Ethics, the second section of "The Last Things and the Things Before the Last." Concerning the Christian's life, Bonhoeffer distinguishes between the ultimate and the penultimate; the former is the justification by grace and faith alone and the latter is the good works that follow from the ultimate.

How are these two related? One common approach is what Bonhoeffer calls "Radicalism." The radical only sees the ultimate; it disregards the penultimate. Radicalism hates what is established, such as creation (129). This is dangerous because it leads to bitterness, suspicion and contempt for men and the world (129); love is only extended to the "closed circle of the devout."

Bonhoeffer labels the other common approach a "Compromise." The compromise concentrates on the penultimate but ignores the ultimate. The way things are at the moment is what is of the most importance. "Compromise always springs from the hatred of the ultimate" (129). The world (creation) must "be protected against [the] encroachment on their territory" (129). Compromise hates the word, but Radicalism hates the real.

Neither of these approaches are correct but there is a solution and Bonhoeffer sees it in Christ. "In Jesus Christ there is neither radicalism nor compromise" (128). There are three reasons why Christ is the solution: 1) His Incarnation, 2) His Crucifixion, and 3) His Resurrection. The Incarnation shows us God's love for His creation, the Crucifixion shows us God's judgment on all flesh, and the Resurrection shows us God's will for a new world. As you can see, the Incarnation rejects radicalism and Christ's crucifixion and resurrection shows the error of a compromise. "There could be no greater error than to tear these three elements apart" (130), which Bonhoeffer thoroughly explains in more detail.

Being mindful of these three important aspects of Christ's life is a part of living one's life in God's will, where humanity's origin is recovered (34). Dante is right: " E'n la sua voluntade e nostra pace" (In His will is our peace) (Paradiso, Canto III, 85).

The page references are from this edition of Ethics.

Advice from Rainer Maria Rilke

2009-05-06T17:00:00.005-05:00

I read Rainer Maria Rilke's book Letters to a Young Poet last summer and forgot that I had taken some notes in a word document. I think there are many important points here but I think that number 2 has had the biggest impact on my own views toward writing; motivation is extremely important and when there is an exhaustible motivation the desire to write will fade. "Must I write?" is a question each writer must ask him/herself.

1. Writing must have individual quality

2. Go inside yourself

Discover the motive that bids you to write

Ask “must I write?”

“A work of art is good if it is grown out of necessity.”

“Go into yourself and explore the depths whence your life wells forth; at its source you will find the answer to the question whether you must create.”

3. Draw near to nature

4. Avoid familiar and usual forms

“For great and fully matured strength is needed to make an individual contribution where good and in part brilliant traditions exist in plenty.”

5. Turn from common themes to those themes of your personal life

6. Depict your sorrows, desires, passing thoughts, and belief in beauty with heartfelt sincerity through images that surround yourself.

7. Turn your attention to childhood memories.

8. Do not be governed by irony

At the depths of things irony never descends

Use it if it springs from a necessity of your being

9. “Patience is all!”

10. Live with the questions in yourself

11. Love your solitude

12. Be near things which will not desert you

13. Hold to the difficult

14. “Only those sorrows are dangerous and bad which we carry about among fellows in order to drown them.”

15. Concentrate on the object rather than personal feelings about the object.

Purchase the book at Amazon.

Solitude or Blank Desertion? Wordsworth and Sufjan

2009-05-05T23:26:00.015-05:00

The spring time always provides me with motivation for spending some time with the Romantic poets. William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is one of my favorites, sorry Percy. I recently had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Lake District, the area in Northwestern England where he lived, and it has deepened my interest in his poetry.

A common misconception of the Romantic period and possibly all poetry, and I would say this comes from a person completely unfamiliar with poetry, is that poetry is simply emotions run rampant. True Wordsworth says that "all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," but he also adds that no good poems are created with out a person of a "more than usual organic sensibility" who "has also thought long and deeply" (Preface to Lyrical Ballads); thought is not supposed to restrict the composition of the piece but it certainly plays an essential role. Thinking, poetic skill, and emotions are at least three of Wordsworth's necessary conditions for good poetry.

The selection I chose to share comes from Book First (lines 357-400) in "The Prelude: or the Growth of a Poet's Mind, An Autobiographical Poem." At the bottom is this poem turned into a song by Sufjan Stevens (the video isn't great but you can still listen to the song). The song does not address the last section of the speaker leaving "in grave and serious mood," but how many combinations of music and great poets are there? If you enjoy this you might also like lines 425-463--Wordsworth ice skating.

One summer evening (led by her) I found
A little Boat tied to a Willow-tree
Within a rocky cave, its usual home.
Straight I unloosed her chain, and, stepping in,
Pushed from the shore. It was an act of stealth
And troubled pleasure, nor without the voice
Of mountain-echoes did my Boat move on,
Leaving behind her still, on either side,
Small circles glittering idly in the moon,
Until they melted all into one track
Of sparking light. but now, like one who rows
(Proud of his skill) to reach a chosen point
With an unswerving line, I fixed my view
Upon the summit of a craggy ridge,
The horizon's utmost boundary; for above
Was nothing but the stars and the grey sky.
She was an elfin Pinnace; lustlily
I dipped my oars into the silent lake;
And, as i rose upon the stroke, my boat
Went heaving though the Water like a swan:
When, from behind that craggy Steep, till then
The horizon's bound, a huge peak, black and huge,
As if with voluntary power instinct,
Upreared its head.--I struck, and struck again,
And, growing still in stature, the grim Shape
Towered up between me and the stars, and still,
For so it seemed, with purpose of its own
And measure motion, like a living Thing
Strode after me. With trembling oars I turned,
And through the silent water stole my way
Back to the Covert of the Willow-tree;
There, in her mooring-place, I left my Bark,--
And through the meadows homeward went, in grave
And serious mood; but after I had seen
That spectacle, for many days, my brain
Worked with a dim and undetermined sense
Of unknown modes of being; o'er my thoughts
There hung a darkness, call it solitude
Or blank desertion. No familiar Shapes
Remained, no pleasant images of trees,
Of sea or Sky, no colours of green fields,
But huge and mighty Forms, that do not live
Like living men, moved slowly through the mind
By day, and were a trouble to my dreams.

Some More Jazz for Another Wednesday

2009-04-29T18:35:00.003-05:00

The jazz today is an intense number from another great group: Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and the great drummer, Elvin Jones.

The Humanities in Higher Education

2009-04-28T18:44:00.003-05:00

Read this article about the decline of the humanities in "Higher Education."

Then, listen to this lecture by Daniel N. Robinson entitled "Higher Education: What Makes it 'Higher?'" Here's part of his answer, it is not rock-climbing walls. I intend to write something about the things he says, but I do not have time to re-listen to the lecture at the moment. But, since it is good and worth the time I will be re-listening to it. In case you think I might be wasting your time, view Dr. Robinson's biography and available lecture series.

Getz and Coltrane for Your Wednesday

2009-04-22T21:48:00.003-05:00

Stan Getz, John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb performance in Germany

Let Us Not Mock God With Metaphor

2009-04-12T18:20:00.003-05:00

Head on over to this site to read John Updike's poem "Seven Stanzas At Easter." In 1960, Updike entered a religious art festival with this poem and won the first place prize of $100; he gave the money back to the congregation.

The first stanza echoes St. Paul's own words about the importance of the Resurrection. Overall, I appreciate Updike's insistence to not "water-down" what the gospel says and be "embarassed by the miracle."

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T14:10:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter

This painting is from Eugene Burnand (1850-1921). It is called "Les Disciples Pierre et Jean Courant au Sepulchre le Matin de la Resurrection" (The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection). It is in the Musee d' Orsay in Paris. I am sure you can you guess which one is Peter and which one is John.

The Dream of the Rood

2009-04-10T21:06:00.006-05:00

(Photo of the crucifix inside the Church of the Gesu, Rome.)

This poem is called "The Dream of the Rood" (ca. 750). The author is unknown. Like Herbert's "The Sacrifice" below, this poem offers another perspective from the Crucifixion--the cross itself (Rood is the old English word for cross). Once again I am going to post a link to the poem since the link offers commentary, but here is a sample.

"On shoulders men bore me there, then fixed me on hill;
fiends enough fastened me. Then saw I mankind's Lord
come with great courage when he would mount on me.
Then dared I not against the Lord's word
bend or break, when I saw earth's
fields shake. All fiends
I could have felled, but I stood fast.
The young hero stripped himself--he, God Almighty--
strong and stout-minded. He mounted high gallows,
bold before many, when he would loose mankind.
I shook when that Man clasped me. I dared, still, not bow to earth,
fall to earth's fields, but had to stand fast.
Rood was I reared. I lifted a mighty King,
Lord of the heavens, dared not to bend.
With dark nails they drove me through: on me those sores are seen,
open malice-wounds. I dared not scathe anyone.
They mocked us both, we two together. All wet with blood I was,
poured out from that Man's side, after ghost he gave up."

Read the entire poem here.

Dark was the night

2009-04-10T09:20:00.003-05:00

Here is Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground." Although it is wordless, the moans and music are laments over the suffering of Christ.

That spectacle of too much weight for me

2009-04-10T09:09:00.002-05:00

GOOD-FRIDAY, 1613, RIDING WESTWARD by John Donne

LET man's soul be a sphere, and then, in this,
Th' intelligence that moves, devotion is ;
And as the other spheres, by being grown
Subject to foreign motion, lose their own,
And being by others hurried every day,
Scarce in a year their natural form obey ;
Pleasure or business, so, our souls admit
For their first mover, and are whirl'd by it.
Hence is't, that I am carried towards the west,
This day, when my soul's form bends to the East.
There I should see a Sun by rising set,
And by that setting endless day beget.
But that Christ on His cross did rise and fall,
Sin had eternally benighted all.
Yet dare I almost be glad, I do not see
That spectacle of too much weight for me.
Who sees Gods face, that is self-life, must die ;
What a death were it then to see God die ?
It made His own lieutenant, Nature, shrink,
It made His footstool crack, and the sun wink.
Could I behold those hands, which span the poles
And tune all spheres at once, pierced with those holes ?
Could I behold that endless height, which is
Zenith to us and our antipodes,
Humbled below us ? or that blood, which is
The seat of all our soul's, if not of His,
Made dirt of dust, or that flesh which was worn
By God for His apparel, ragg'd and torn ?
If on these things I durst not look, durst I
On His distressed Mother cast mine eye,
Who was God's partner here, and furnish'd thus
Half of that sacrifice which ransom'd us ?
Though these things as I ride be from mine eye,
They're present yet unto my memory,
For that looks towards them ; and Thou look'st towards me,
O Saviour, as Thou hang'st upon the tree.
I turn my back to thee but to receive
Corrections till Thy mercies bid Thee leave.
O think me worth Thine anger, punish me,
Burn off my rust, and my deformity ;
Restore Thine image, so much, by Thy grace,
That Thou mayst know me, and I'll turn my face.

Good Friday

2009-04-10T07:48:00.003-05:00

For Holy Week, rather than write posts myself, I will post different art (visual, literature, music) by people much more brilliant than myself. This first poem is from Jesuit priest, innovative poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1899).

New Readings

Although the letter said
On thistles that men look not grapes to gather,
I read the story rather
How soldiers platting thorns around CHRIST'S Head
Grapes grew and drops of wine were shed.

Though when the sower sowed
The winged fowls took part, part fell in thorn
And never turned to corn,
Part found no root upon the flinty road,-
CHRIST at all hazards fruit hath shewed.

From wastes of rock He brings
Food for five thousand: on the thorns He shed
Grains from His drooping Head;
And would not have that legion of winged things
Bear Him to heaven on easeful wings.

Friend and poet of Hopkin's, Robert Bridges, indicated that this poem had similarities with George Herbert's poem The Sacrifice. I apologize for the unnecessary music that is on the following page, either turn off your sound or turn the volume down and hit pause. Read "The Sacrifice" here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T20:18:00.005-05:00

(Photo taken by me at the Glendalough monastic site near Dublin, Ireland)

This Celtic hymn, "The Deer's Cry," or also known as "St. Patrick's Breastplate" is traditionally attributed to St. Patrick. The name for the hymn comes from a legend where St. Patrick and his followers escaped a persecuting king by calling upon God; God then turned them into deer to evade the king. The connection of natural imagery with God would have been significant to a pagan culture that worshiped nature, which is the same thing the Celtic Cross tries to accomplish. Here is the hymn, translated by Cecil Alexander (1889):

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this today to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

The Three Acts of the Mind

2009-03-14T20:22:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately, this simple explanation of logic is not found on the web--at least not easily available. Of course this is not my original thinking on the subject, but something which Peter Kreeft presents in his book, Socratic Logic. This brief introduction has been one of the most helpful tools for my writing and thinking.

The 1st Act of of the Mind deals with definitions; words or terms must be clarified. The 2nd Act of the Mind focuses on propositions, or statements; the sentence is either true or false. The 3rd Act of the Mind is concerned with line of argumentation, e.g., the form of Modus Ponens--If A, then B. A, therefore, B.

Kreeft indicates that these are the three ways to reject or accept an argument. In the case of rejecting an argument, a term is ambiguous, a premise is false, or the form of argumentation does not guarantee the conclusion follows from the premise.

I think a short example should help explain this more clearly, if not, I suggest looking on page 33 of Kreeft's book, which includes a handy chart. If it is raining in Chicago, then it is raining in Illinois. It is raining in Chicago. Therefore, it is raining in Illinois. Beginning with the 1st Act of the Mind, it is helpful to define what you mean by the terms Chicago and Illinois. Chicago is usually assumed to be the midwestern city, the "Stacker of Wheat" as Carl Sandburg would say. Perhaps the most robust definition would indicate the degrees of longitude or latitude. But by doing this clarifying, a person avoids the objection of other towns named Chicago that exist in other states, or other places that use the name Chicago.

The next step is to look at the statements. If we understand Chicago as we defined it, and Illinois as the common understanding of the state in the midwest United States of America, it seems that we can accept that it is true "If it is raining in Chicago, then it is raining in Illinois." The second premise, "It is raining in Chicago" is either true or false, but has to be true in order for the conclusion to be true. A person would ask for evidence that it is raining in Chicago to agree with the premise.

The 3rd Act of Mind, concerned with the form of argument. In this case, the basic valid form of Modus Ponens is used, so the argument is valid.

Will Durant may be wrong in saying that "nothing is so dull as logic," but he is correct by adding that "nothing is so important" as logic.

Read articles and listen to audio by Peter Kreeft at http://www.peterkreeft.com/home.htm

First Post

2009-03-14T20:17:00.004-05:00

I have been meaning to start a blog for some time but never took the initiative to create one. As the heading indicates, most of my posts will be centered around art (mostly literature) , philosophy, and theology. I am sorry to disappoint you if you are looking for an agricultural blog.

Thank you for stopping by.