The Iliad - Homer, Books XVI - XVIII: Patroclus mourns the losses of the Achaeans. Achilles tells him to put on his (Achilles') armor and charge out against the Trojans...but don't win everything, just win a little. Trojans are in dismay and flee, thinking Achilles is attacking them. Patroclus is overeager and is beaten back by Apollo, then killed by Hector and another Trojan. Hector takes Achilles' armor and there's a big fight over Patroclus' body. Achilles hears about it, swears vengeance, then runs out (w/o armor) and shows himself - giving a fright to the Trojans. His goddess mother runs off to Vulcan and has him make Achilles some new armor. I'm having a hard time not comparing this to the Troy movie with Brad Pitt. It's interesting to see where they changed the story and try to guess why. Some of it is, of course, for time's sake (Achilles' new armor). Other things are for an uncomprehending American audience (all the "heroes" being kind of jerks, Achilles really caring that much about a heterosexual friend).
On Eduction - Arthur Schopenhauer: "General ideas arise by abstraction from particular observations". Natural education - have own observations and come up with own ideas. Artificial education - get "head crammed full of general ideas" from other people and "so it is that education perverts the mind". Should instead seek to develop the child's own faculties of discernment. Aim of education - knowledge of the world. Must avoid "fatal tendency to be satisfied with words (and becoming prejudiced by ideas) instead of trying to understand things". No idea should be believed by child unless they can see it for themselves, then they will once and for all be "unbiased". Books are bad, primary experiences good. Philosophy and religion only after your 15. Until then, just "collecting materials", exercising memory. Mature mind is "when an exact correspondence is established" by experience alone. Novels bad...except his favorite ones. Confused article with some good identification of problems, but often goofy solutions. How to avoid philosophy/religion until they're 15 is a mystery. Why not avoid science and history as a source of "potentially serious error"? Why assume they're always soiled by being taught ideas, always perfected if "self-taught" by their own experiences? Overly deterministic idea of human development. Why must the grammar stage go so late? How and when do we teach them to abstract properly from experiences?
Second Essay Concerning Civil Government - John Locke, Ch. V-VI: V) God gives the world to men, and also gives reason to use the world for their "life and convenience...support and comfort". Our property starts with ourselves. Mix our labor with things and they are removed from the common ownership and become ours. Property capacity limited by our personal needs. Not used, goes back to common pool. Natural materials are "almost worthless" until worked with human labor. Most useful things are perishable, which is why we take (almost worthless) metals and make coins to stand-in for the useful perishables. VI) Mothers and fathers have equal parental power by both reason and revelation. Children born under parental control only because their reason is undeveloped. Once reason developed, children are free from parental authority and are free to go. Children belong to God, not to parents. Parenting: "inform the mind and govern the actions...til reason shall take its place". All children still honor parents by "inward esteem and reverence to be shown by all outward expressions". His property argument depends on the population size/density. What happens when the population gets too big? Also, it just seems that you can still have property while not using it, though there is something to "squatter's rights". His parental argument also highlights why the West doesn't have a strong patriarchal system like most of the world does.
Federalist Papers #58 - Hamilton or Madison: Last charge against the House: the number of representatives won't grow with the population. There will be a census every ten years and the reapportionment will be based on this, though not to exceed one for every 30,000 inhabitants. Senate has an interest in House and will help keep in check as the States are represented by both. Reapportionments and augmentations will balance each other. A warning though: too many representatives will distort the character of the House. Passion will rule and the few will dominate the many. I'm convinced. Though it seems that today the real division isn't between states as much as it's between parts of states.
The Chemical History of a Candle - Michael Faraday, Lectures I-II: "Christmas Lectures" on science for kids in 1860. I) The topic of a candle is wonderful intro to the study of natural philosophy as it touches on almost all parts of physical science. Outlines various compositions of candles and how they are made. The shape matters because of the physics of burning, which is why fancy candles don't burn well. Wax fuel comes to top of wick by capillary action, but melted wax puts the flame out. Variations in the direction and shape of the flame. II) How does it burn? It emits a flammable vapor, which can be lit from a distance. Two different actions: production and combustion of the vapor. The heat of the candle is "curiously arranged". Substances burnt without going through the vaporous state become exceedingly luminous because of solid particles. Lime light, for example, is almost as bright as the sun. It's Mr. Wizard on steroids. Hard to imagine kids sitting through this. It certainly helped that he had live demonstrations of each point he discussed. His constant references to "you can try this at home" demonstrates his heart as a teacher and love of science.
On the Nature of Things - Lucretius, Book I: Will expound on Epicurus and discourse on "the most high system of heaven...and will open up the first beginnings of things, out of which nature gives birth to all things...[and] dissolves them back after their destruction." Wants to bring religion "under foot" and "us his victory brings level with heaven". First principle - nothing comes from nothing by divine power, all produced by fixed seeds, which are too small to see but are truly bodily because can be sensed. The "void" (i.e. space) must exist also for movement to be possible. So, the universe is made of these two things: "first bodies" and "void", and nothing else. All things have properties (which can't be disjoined) and accidents. First bodies/first beginnings must be solid and without void, though with infinite parts. Fire (air, water, earth) can't be the primary first bodies as some think. Matter in motion changes substances from one into another. Only senses give knowledge (empiricism). Natures beget like natures. New things produced out of new combinations of first beginnings. No limits to universe. All matter in ceaseless motion. Our world was produced by infinite combinations of first beginnings that yielded both us and the world around us. O, where be chemical theory? What else can you do before appropriate experimentation except something like this, really? Especially if you're in a pagan Roman society (hence, it's also hard to disagree with his disdain of "religion"). It is interesting that he admits that materialism is hard for people to swallow. Several authors have admitted that recently - William James comes to mind.
Here's the readings for next week:
- The Iliad of Homer, Books XIX-XXI (GBWW Vol. 3, pp. 233-263)
- On War by Karl von Clausewitz, Ch. I (GGB Vol. 7, pp. 479-497)
- Second Treatise on Civil Government by John Locke, Ch. VII-IX (GBWW Vol. 33, pp. 42-54)
- Federalist #59-61 (GBWW Vol. 40, pp. 182-188)
- The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday, Lectures III-IV (GGB Vol. 8, pp. 390-414)
- The Way Things Are (or On the Nature of Things) by Lucretius, Book II (GBWW Vol. 11, pp. 15-30)
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