The Man of Destiny - George Bernard Shaw: Young (though, still General) Napoleon's letters are stolen from his gullible lieutenant by a man who looked surprisingly like a woman after a French victory over the Austrians in Italy. Strange lady shows up claiming to be the thief's "brother". Napoleon's not fooled and demands the letters back. She makes him feel guilty for asking. He says she must be English, because they're the type to steal something from someone, then feign the moral high ground and make the victim feel guilty for asking for amends. Funny, lively writing. The conclusion (thus, the whole point of the play?) seemed a little bitter. It seems satire is always flirting with that line of bitterness and mockery and I wonder where exactly that line is.
Meditation Upon a Boomstick - Jonathan Swift: A broomstick has a noble beginning in the woods, but then is chopped down, turned upside down, and makes other things clean while making itself nasty. Man is a broomstick. We set up to be universal reformers, but are infested with the very same pollutions within. On the one hand - great metaphor. On the other - also seems a bit bitter. Am I just too sensitive this week?
The Republic of Plato, Book V: What about the rest of the community - the women and the children? The women should undergo the same education as the men. The best women should be chosen for their place in the guardian group marriage. Yes, group marriage. Not only do they share their spouses in common, they share the same residence, same property, and same children as well. Nobody is to know who is related to who. This will remove all animosity and ground the greatest good - unity. We need philosopher-kings. Philosophers are lovers of the truth and seek the absolute and eternal being of the thing in question, not the opinion of it, which is a "mix" between truth (being) and ignorance (non-being) of the thing. It's funny that we have to come up with creepy group marriages and communism to overcome the evil in man (supposedly). It always consists in addressing the problem of the temptation, not the one being tempted. It's reforming externals, not internals.
Federalist Papers #47 - James Madison: The new constitution will keep powers separate and distinct as far as is needed. Neither the model of such a principle for Montesquieu (British constitution), or that which exists in the various state constitutions forms some kind of "absolute" separation between the powers. I wonder how many of the changes/problem areas that have arisen in the federal government since then (especially in the 20th century) would be examples of the concerns that these opponents of the constitution had.
The Starry Messenger - Galileo Galilei: Describes how he built a "spyglass" after hearing about the idea from a lensgrinder in the Netherlands. Perfects his spyglass, comes up with a way to measure distances between objects he views. Then describes observations and theories about the surface of the moon and new "fixed" stars. Then discusses his observations leading to the discovery of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter (as later named, though I'm surprised he didn't suggest it himself). Along with other history of science/mathematics texts in this series, this seems like it'd be a great tool for teaching science to middle school/high school kids because it's not bogged down in esoteric technicalities and it's even the kind of thing they could recapitulate themselves. Galileo's occasional chest-beating did get old (actually, it was a bit comical).
The Process of Thought, Ch. VIII - John Dewey: Reflective thought requires a series of judgments, and they must be relevant to the problem at hand (lest the thoughts be useless). Want to form good habits of judging pertinently and discriminatingly. Need to determine the relevant data (facts) and elaborate on the meanings they suggest (law). Analysis is clearing up this confusing data. Synthesis is bringing the remaining facts together. It quickly becomes apparent how important it is to form these good habits of thought from a young age. Maybe we should be using things like the Galileo text as guides to that end?
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