My stomach is full yet my heart bare,
I view the horizon and see bleakness,
Light revealing itself to my day, rare,
In my soul I feel lack of completeness,
Churning thoughts uneasily feeling stirred,
Choking by self-consumption ‘ever dying,
Performed for all, but daily tasks demurred,
Longingly seeking passion for trying,
Once I was fulfilled or maybe a dream,
Far away, seems my last fulfilling day,
Steadfast troubles, worries, wear me less keen,
The lines of sanity marred with decay,
Perhaps, in death I may find peace at last,
Then again, perhaps, I may regret fast.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Sonnet in Shakespearean Rhyme
Conflicting beliefs internal strife,
Spinning ‘round contemplative of the sides,
Ying and yang they oppose the other’s life,
Yet my mind wishes in both to abide,
Constant inward battle I must forgo,
Toil amongst toils I find betwixt every split hair,
Dancing in self-made chaos to and fro,
I seek an inner peace both mild and fair,
Yet from these seizures my passions do drive,
Moving forth theses to anti-theses,
Seeking form within dialectic’s live,
Doing ‘way with all mental prostheses,
Well-formed biases drive my soul to find,
Truth beyond the divergence of the mind.
Spinning ‘round contemplative of the sides,
Ying and yang they oppose the other’s life,
Yet my mind wishes in both to abide,
Constant inward battle I must forgo,
Toil amongst toils I find betwixt every split hair,
Dancing in self-made chaos to and fro,
I seek an inner peace both mild and fair,
Yet from these seizures my passions do drive,
Moving forth theses to anti-theses,
Seeking form within dialectic’s live,
Doing ‘way with all mental prostheses,
Well-formed biases drive my soul to find,
Truth beyond the divergence of the mind.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Sonnet for Kant
What is the beautiful what is sublime,
From whence should I begin where is my theme,
The rules by which something came to wellbeing,
An objective notion crossing space and time,
Abstraction must be formed otherwise a crime,
The genius crafts nature but hides the seam,
All things made through rule yet like a stream,
As in flowing exchange structure is prime,
Mindful err I may the concept beauty,
But sublime infinitely undefined,
Medusa’s face I see the rules in play,
Sublime night’s sky only sense of duty,
Mind and body sense beauty entwined,
From something more in sublimity lay.
From whence should I begin where is my theme,
The rules by which something came to wellbeing,
An objective notion crossing space and time,
Abstraction must be formed otherwise a crime,
The genius crafts nature but hides the seam,
All things made through rule yet like a stream,
As in flowing exchange structure is prime,
Mindful err I may the concept beauty,
But sublime infinitely undefined,
Medusa’s face I see the rules in play,
Sublime night’s sky only sense of duty,
Mind and body sense beauty entwined,
From something more in sublimity lay.
Friday, March 9, 2012
In my view, there is a mutual dialogue between the natural and the supernatural. There is a complementary interplay between what we see to be true and what we justify through our subjective existential experiences. When we understand the world through the natural means but ignore the supernatural we alienate the philosophical aspect of our existence. When we operate only on our beliefs in the supernatural we alienate physically demonstrable reality.
When tracing humans origins through history there is clearly a spiritual side to our experiences. Religion, in my view, is the formalizing of spiritual claims into rules and principles which can be shared among a community of like believers. No matter what culture you look at, there is a tradition of religion. Our earliest artistic artifacts are sculptures of deities such as The Venus of Willendorf. These indicate religious beliefs were fundamental to early man’s reality. Long before we understood how atmospheric changes in pressure affect the wind we attributed the natural cause of tornadoes and hurricanes to the gods. There were gods for nearly everything, from lightning to the sun. We needed a reason for natural occurrences and human intentions.
In a day and age where we attempt to find the rules and principles for everything, it becomes apparent we need religion more than ever. Mankind has sought reason through their history, and reason is not synonymous but complimentary to science. Science gives us an understanding of mechanisms and objects. It shows us: what things are, how things work, and possibly why things work. However, you cannot establish a purpose from science. There is no teleology in evolution, only mechanistic change. The Big Bang does not tell us what we should do. There is no foundation for ethics in science. “You cannot get an ought from an is”, to quote Hume. Finally, there is no claim to absolute truth in science, only evidence for or against. However, we must have ethical systems; we must have epistemological foundations; most of all, we must have purpose. Our very consciousness cries out for these things. If there is no formal religion, all spiritual claims are equal: meaningless. They are subjective and cannot impose authority on anyone’s actions. If this is true, then might is right because there is no restraint of purpose and a battle of the wills must be the conclusion to antithetical beliefs.
The Anthropic principle is one of the most motivational arguments in my mind for pursuing interplay between what we can observe through our senses and what we can contemplate through concepts. The majesty of this argument shows that we are here by an infinitesimally small chance and due to an extraordinary amount of fine-tuning. This gives one who understands the gravity (constant principle) of our unique existence a sense of awe and wonder; an inclination to spirituality. If looking to the heavens and realizing we are a speck of a planet in the speck of a solar system which is a speck in the universe, does not bring about a feeling of something inexplicably supernatural, then your life needs some perspective. There is no naturalistic explanation for this awe though it is the natural that leads us to the conclusion.
Kant defined the beautiful object as: a natural or artificial thing that sets the reproductive imagination to play by seeking the rule or rules by which it came into being. The beautiful is a constant pursue for the aesthete. We seek it passionately in many different forms, constantly compelled to find the structure and cause of each object. It is beauty that drives scientists and theologians alike, though through different means. This pathological attribute of the human experience drives us to understand existence.
There are things beyond beauty though. By Kantian aesthetics, the sublime object is always natural, terrifying, and cannot be bound by rules because it posits the infinite, which is beyond the understanding. When we observe the Grand Canyon or a star system through the Hubble telescope we are humbled by realizing something that sets our minds wild because we cannot truly grasp the rules by which it exists. We are humbled by the sublimity. This experience calls us intuitively to try to achieve something sublime and inferences our beliefs in thing we cannot answer. Within our minds are contained questions beyond what we know or what can understand. Does God exist? Are we immortal? Is infinity abstract or real? Is there absolute free will?
After presenting reasons for the necessity of both the natural and supernatural when understanding the reality in which we exist, I would like to show some consequences of this assumption. First, we should all strive to understand both realities in a context which is both fulfilling and challenges us to study these aspects more.. We do not understand reality in whole, but in part which can lead to incorrect conclusions. It is intellectually deceitful to oneself to only pursue understanding in one of these realms.
Second, our sense of beauty and the sublime compels us to pursue both a spiritual life and a natural life. If we do not, then we are like blind women in a garden. We can engage in the senses of smell and of touch, but the visual beauty is beyond our reach. The reward of being an aesthete leads to a gratification of our intimately human desires.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Willendorf
http://www.rowan.edu/open/philosop/clowney/aesthetics/philos_artists_onart/kant.htm
http://www.reasons.org/articles/anthropic-principle-a-precise-plan-for-humanity
My assumption is that: the supernatural exists as an important part of our reality.
Consequences: We should all pursue an objective truth diligently through both mediums. A sense of the beautiful and of the sublime should compel us to believe in higher things.
When tracing humans origins through history there is clearly a spiritual side to our experiences. Religion, in my view, is the formalizing of spiritual claims into rules and principles which can be shared among a community of like believers. No matter what culture you look at, there is a tradition of religion. Our earliest artistic artifacts are sculptures of deities such as The Venus of Willendorf. These indicate religious beliefs were fundamental to early man’s reality. Long before we understood how atmospheric changes in pressure affect the wind we attributed the natural cause of tornadoes and hurricanes to the gods. There were gods for nearly everything, from lightning to the sun. We needed a reason for natural occurrences and human intentions.
In a day and age where we attempt to find the rules and principles for everything, it becomes apparent we need religion more than ever. Mankind has sought reason through their history, and reason is not synonymous but complimentary to science. Science gives us an understanding of mechanisms and objects. It shows us: what things are, how things work, and possibly why things work. However, you cannot establish a purpose from science. There is no teleology in evolution, only mechanistic change. The Big Bang does not tell us what we should do. There is no foundation for ethics in science. “You cannot get an ought from an is”, to quote Hume. Finally, there is no claim to absolute truth in science, only evidence for or against. However, we must have ethical systems; we must have epistemological foundations; most of all, we must have purpose. Our very consciousness cries out for these things. If there is no formal religion, all spiritual claims are equal: meaningless. They are subjective and cannot impose authority on anyone’s actions. If this is true, then might is right because there is no restraint of purpose and a battle of the wills must be the conclusion to antithetical beliefs.
The Anthropic principle is one of the most motivational arguments in my mind for pursuing interplay between what we can observe through our senses and what we can contemplate through concepts. The majesty of this argument shows that we are here by an infinitesimally small chance and due to an extraordinary amount of fine-tuning. This gives one who understands the gravity (constant principle) of our unique existence a sense of awe and wonder; an inclination to spirituality. If looking to the heavens and realizing we are a speck of a planet in the speck of a solar system which is a speck in the universe, does not bring about a feeling of something inexplicably supernatural, then your life needs some perspective. There is no naturalistic explanation for this awe though it is the natural that leads us to the conclusion.
Kant defined the beautiful object as: a natural or artificial thing that sets the reproductive imagination to play by seeking the rule or rules by which it came into being. The beautiful is a constant pursue for the aesthete. We seek it passionately in many different forms, constantly compelled to find the structure and cause of each object. It is beauty that drives scientists and theologians alike, though through different means. This pathological attribute of the human experience drives us to understand existence.
There are things beyond beauty though. By Kantian aesthetics, the sublime object is always natural, terrifying, and cannot be bound by rules because it posits the infinite, which is beyond the understanding. When we observe the Grand Canyon or a star system through the Hubble telescope we are humbled by realizing something that sets our minds wild because we cannot truly grasp the rules by which it exists. We are humbled by the sublimity. This experience calls us intuitively to try to achieve something sublime and inferences our beliefs in thing we cannot answer. Within our minds are contained questions beyond what we know or what can understand. Does God exist? Are we immortal? Is infinity abstract or real? Is there absolute free will?
After presenting reasons for the necessity of both the natural and supernatural when understanding the reality in which we exist, I would like to show some consequences of this assumption. First, we should all strive to understand both realities in a context which is both fulfilling and challenges us to study these aspects more.. We do not understand reality in whole, but in part which can lead to incorrect conclusions. It is intellectually deceitful to oneself to only pursue understanding in one of these realms.
Second, our sense of beauty and the sublime compels us to pursue both a spiritual life and a natural life. If we do not, then we are like blind women in a garden. We can engage in the senses of smell and of touch, but the visual beauty is beyond our reach. The reward of being an aesthete leads to a gratification of our intimately human desires.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Willendorf
http://www.rowan.edu/open/philosop/clowney/aesthetics/philos_artists_onart/kant.htm
http://www.reasons.org/articles/anthropic-principle-a-precise-plan-for-humanity
My assumption is that: the supernatural exists as an important part of our reality.
Consequences: We should all pursue an objective truth diligently through both mediums. A sense of the beautiful and of the sublime should compel us to believe in higher things.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Of Biblical Proportions
1 Corinthians 15:14- and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
Any interesting complain: all religions have different holy scriptures so how can I trust one belief is more likely to be true than another?
Just as religion has different books so does any other subject. The merit of a claim should be weighted on the evidence. Not all science textbooks are created equal; not all artwork is beautiful(using the Kantian definition); not all scriptures are equally valid. So, a scripture should be weighted on the evidence of its claims.
We have today in our possession 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, another 10,000 Latin Vulgates, and 9,300 other early versions (MSS), giving us more than 24,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today!
230 manuscript portions are currently in existence which pre-date 600 AD!
http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/bib-qur/bibmanu.htm
Any interesting complain: all religions have different holy scriptures so how can I trust one belief is more likely to be true than another?
Just as religion has different books so does any other subject. The merit of a claim should be weighted on the evidence. Not all science textbooks are created equal; not all artwork is beautiful(using the Kantian definition); not all scriptures are equally valid. So, a scripture should be weighted on the evidence of its claims.
We have today in our possession 5,300 known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, another 10,000 Latin Vulgates, and 9,300 other early versions (MSS), giving us more than 24,000 manuscript copies of portions of the New Testament in existence today!
230 manuscript portions are currently in existence which pre-date 600 AD!
http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/bib-qur/bibmanu.htm
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Crutch: The Beginning of an Apologetic
We are told leaning on a psychological crutch is bad, but who amongst us sees all, who can foresee the future, who can calculate all possibilities, has perfect knowledge of all things great and small.
Some deny that they have faith, but they do that only based off experience which themselves could be fabricated. A man without two good legs may need a crutch. Another without good eyesight will require glasses. Every man though, requires faith. We trust in things we cannot sense, and we sense things we wish to trust. The human condition requires us to hobble around, constantly running into walls. Common sense is a broad spectrum, for even the most sensible man may err because of things beyond his sight.
“Morals are illusory!” people may cry. “God is dead”, others implore. Yet, when a child is raped, or a homosexual is bullied to commit suicide, “JUSTICE!” is what they cry. The man who tells you there is no good or evil should not be concerned when a man lies with his children or when a woman kills her spouse. Society needs to maintain order some say, indeed, but to what end? If there is no ethical delimma, then order is neither good nor bad, only advantageous or the counter. Should not we then simply seek our greatest happiness? Why worry about who shall be executed or starving people in Africa?
Ontology is the study of being; being is a constant study. He should not be swayed by the fear of impeding death, for death is no more than a permanent inhibition of the senses. Man fears what he does not know, yet he is quite sure of what will happen when the light fades, he fears he may be right.
Some deny that they have faith, but they do that only based off experience which themselves could be fabricated. A man without two good legs may need a crutch. Another without good eyesight will require glasses. Every man though, requires faith. We trust in things we cannot sense, and we sense things we wish to trust. The human condition requires us to hobble around, constantly running into walls. Common sense is a broad spectrum, for even the most sensible man may err because of things beyond his sight.
“Morals are illusory!” people may cry. “God is dead”, others implore. Yet, when a child is raped, or a homosexual is bullied to commit suicide, “JUSTICE!” is what they cry. The man who tells you there is no good or evil should not be concerned when a man lies with his children or when a woman kills her spouse. Society needs to maintain order some say, indeed, but to what end? If there is no ethical delimma, then order is neither good nor bad, only advantageous or the counter. Should not we then simply seek our greatest happiness? Why worry about who shall be executed or starving people in Africa?
Ontology is the study of being; being is a constant study. He should not be swayed by the fear of impeding death, for death is no more than a permanent inhibition of the senses. Man fears what he does not know, yet he is quite sure of what will happen when the light fades, he fears he may be right.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
I Have Returned
I began my summer vacation yesterday. I plan on accomplishing many things over the next 100 days and I figured restarting my blog would be a good way to make sure I keep myself accountable. I plan on: preparing for the Graduates Readiness Exam (GRE), working heavily on graduate school, staying in shape, and working on my relationship with Linden.
To prepare for the GRE I am going to be tutored by Otis, a high school math teacher who goes to my church. I also plan on studying Latin and GRE vocabulary words. My reading schedule should help me to stay on top of terms. My favorite part about preparing for the GRE is I feel like a knight training for combat. When I go in, I will feel fully prepared for whatever the test has to throw at me. My goal is to study for at least two hours a day when I get into the swing of things. I plan on writing an essay a week as well, to keep up with my writing.
Graduate school preparation consists of: developing my resume, staying in contact with my professors, maintaining my GPA, staying on research, and finishing my research proposal. My resume has a lot of information I have yet to put on it and hopefully I will buff it with the information most impressive to the universities I am applying to. My professors whom I wish to receive recommendations from appear to approve of me, but I still need one more professor to make it a trio. Research is very important to me. It is probably the most exciting part of being an undergraduate. I really want to run my hypothesis under lab conditions. My plan is to finish my proposal by the end of the week.
Staying in shape should be relatively easy, as long as I can keep myself entertained. I plan on continuing martial arts through the summer and working on parkour. There is a Hapkido class in Harker Heights I may partake in, depending on Chris’s review of it. I am trying to setup my living quarters for parkour training, but there are just so many darn bugs, specifically hornets, yellow jackets, spiders and scorpions, that may make it painful to train outside.
To prepare for the GRE I am going to be tutored by Otis, a high school math teacher who goes to my church. I also plan on studying Latin and GRE vocabulary words. My reading schedule should help me to stay on top of terms. My favorite part about preparing for the GRE is I feel like a knight training for combat. When I go in, I will feel fully prepared for whatever the test has to throw at me. My goal is to study for at least two hours a day when I get into the swing of things. I plan on writing an essay a week as well, to keep up with my writing.
Graduate school preparation consists of: developing my resume, staying in contact with my professors, maintaining my GPA, staying on research, and finishing my research proposal. My resume has a lot of information I have yet to put on it and hopefully I will buff it with the information most impressive to the universities I am applying to. My professors whom I wish to receive recommendations from appear to approve of me, but I still need one more professor to make it a trio. Research is very important to me. It is probably the most exciting part of being an undergraduate. I really want to run my hypothesis under lab conditions. My plan is to finish my proposal by the end of the week.
Staying in shape should be relatively easy, as long as I can keep myself entertained. I plan on continuing martial arts through the summer and working on parkour. There is a Hapkido class in Harker Heights I may partake in, depending on Chris’s review of it. I am trying to setup my living quarters for parkour training, but there are just so many darn bugs, specifically hornets, yellow jackets, spiders and scorpions, that may make it painful to train outside.
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