" Aristotle with A Bust of Homer" - Rembrandt

So, yeah, I'm an Aristotelian. So what? He's yet to abuse my intelligence by seriously asking me to believe principles which would require me to abandon my common sense. Not to mention the fact that St. Thomas accepted his proofs, and we all know how cool he is.

Ne'ertheless, I think I really need to stop being paranoid about my seminar readings.

I've approached the readings of junior seminar with not a little trepidation; my kneejerk reaction to the moderns has been a certain reserve, arising out of some need to save my philosophical backside from the corrupting influences of the psychotic moderns. It's like I keep thinking whatever disease they had might be catching (oops - that's a midwestern phrase. I apologize. Translation: to " . . . be catching . . .", or " . . . be catchin' . . . " = to be contagious).

I went and spoke with the Dean today on this issue, as I didn't know whether these fears were based on real or imaginary concerns, and I wanted to ascertain if such reservations were going to be damaging to my thesis research. What I gathered from the conversation is that my observation of error in the first principles of the moderns is what I am supposed to see, and that those rejected first principles can be simply observed in order to see the conclusions that follow from their admission. In other words, due attention to the consequences of error is hardly going to corrupt my soul. Also, I really should trust the program more - they're not giving me anything I can't philosophically handle.

It's true that every year I grow in trust for this college - they are teachers truly worthy of forming my mind. It's amazing the way they've organized everything - it's organized perfectly towards my being able to build a proper philosophical system for myself. This is truly an amazing place.

Pax Christi,

Em

This is where I sit, when I post. Inside this here building. ^

This week has been interesting. Once again, Monday and Tuesday were rough. They always are. Kant is absurdly difficult to digest, Newton is trying to murder my mind, and I would love to like Leibniz but everyone keeps telling me he was wrong. *pout* I like the assignable lines, dag gum it. I find ratios easier to comprehend when they actually exist.

Thesis defences began this week. I've attended two so far, and they both passed, thank goodness. Both seniors were exceedingly nervous, but they passed. :) Greg's is tomorrow, as is Pat's . . . I'll be going to both, I think.

And I think to myself - I only have one more year!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

I spoke to my little brother today. He went to a St. Patrick's Day roller skating party last Friday, evidently. He was telling me that he took six quarters and played video games (which are, and always have been, banned in our home) .

"There were aliens and big ugly spiders and bleeding alien parts all over the place when you blew them to pieces with your gun!!! *Manic laughter*" said Graham

. . . . "Bleeding alien parts . . . " said I, (more Manic laugher from Graham) " . . . um, Graham, did Momma know you were playing this game?"

"Uh, yeah, but . . . well, she didn't seem too happy but she didn't tell me not to."

Mom says the game was scarcely above pac-man graphics, so she figured it was okay. Bad graphics = morally acceptable. Tee hee, kinda strange requirements, but then again it seems like a pretty good rationale. ;) Just as long as they stay at the skating rink. Too many young men here at school sit in front of computer screens until all hours of the night. Working on papers? NO, not at all - but, rather, playing computer games, which suck their brains out of their heads through their eyeballs. So yeah, seems to me like a pretty bad habit to get into.

So, yeah, have a good rest of the week. I'm going to go print some spine-labels.

-ME

Random Thoughts

Have you ever felt the need to open the window in the car - not because of carsickness, nor because of fouled air - not because the music is so unsavory you want to drown it out with road noise, nor because someone is taking a smoking break (alas!) in the presence of your delicate and valued lungs -- but because the world is so beautiful you just can't stand to watch it go by on the other side of a glass panel? Have you ever had the need to roll down the window just because you didn't want to participate in sensing the world through such an irreligious and man-made medium? Or am I just weird like that?

My section was glad to find out (from good ol' St. Thomas) that our participation in the beatific vision will not be determined by our natural intellectual capabilities, but by our love and desire for God (charity). A certain loveable blonde member of my section said, "Now, that's really a big relief, right? I mean, . . . hey, now, why is that so funny when I say it?"

I don't think I've ever written about them here, but Obsession #2 and I teach a 4th grade CCD class on Sunday mornings in a nearby town. We've been teaching our 6 little munchkins how to say the rosary this semester.

Now, on a general note, this whole year has been a wonderful experience - kids at this age are especially facinating, as are past the age of reason, and far enough past it that they are familiar with the use of rationality, but at the same time they're not old enough to have had those faculties abused into skepticism by the educational system. Plus, we have a wide diversity of talents and capabilities among the children. We have one little girl who has a lot of natural depth; she asks amazingly deep philosophical and theological questions while retaining every answer we give and relating them all to one another. Her capabilities are just breathtaking. We had a little boy last semester (whose mother, we suspect, didn't like him to learn anything but coloring-book Catholicism and therefore pulled him out) who was extremely perceptive and bright. There's also a pretty little blue-eyed girl who seems naturally gentle and pious - she's been the most heartbreaking one, in a way, since it's not so much the power of her mind but of her heart that is exceptional, and she has a natural instinct towards the love of God, but you can tell that she's starting to figure out, on her own, that her parents are not interested in any real religious devotion at all. It's painful for us to see that distress her innocent little soul. Most of the children in our class are put through our course as a kind of formality; the faith is not really lived at home. Few parents realize that the faith isn't something that can or should be taught like geography or math - an hour a week (much less time than is even given to scholastic endeavors) isn't going to do a lot for these children, but my love and I are determined to make it count for as much as possible.

So, the first week in Lent we began the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary (we've been going through each mystery in-depth, reading scripture passages out loud and discussing them in group), and our pious little girl pipes up when we asked if anyone knew what the first Sorrowful Mystery was, "Oh, yes, I know that one - for a long time I didn't know what "agony" meant - I thought it was 'The Acne in the Garden' and that just didn't make any sense!"

More later - - -

Love to you all!!!!
Emily

So this week has been . . .

pretty bad. I think Issac Newton should've been arrested for his methods of not proving what he claims to prove. He's an extremely exasperating person to try and understand; leaving out big chunks out of his proofs, so that all the slavish details of the proof might be assigned to an unfortunate (and increasingly frustrated) posterity. He was a big, nasty meanie - that's what.

On the good news side of things, Obsession #2 found out that he's admitted into a graduate program in Florida. He's extremely relieved, and I'm happy I'm going to be living in Florida in a year,

(See Aerial Tour of the Ave Maria's Permanent Campus -http://www.naples.avemaria.edu/This_is_ave_maria/video.asp, and updated info at http://www.avemaria.com/)

instead of Austria,
(See explanation of residence - http://www.iti.ac.at/about/about_campus.htm and pictures at http://www.kartause-gaming.at/)

Now, why, you ask, would you be so excited about living on a campus built on a Florida swamp? Especially when it may have been possible for you to live in a stunningly beautiful hotel in such a charming part of Europe?

Two to four times a year, a $1,000 to $2,000+ flight? And that's only for two of us. There's sure to be 3+ by the end.

I think not.

Not to mention the fact that there would be no relatives and no way for them to visit me practically.

I'll take the American swamp, thank you. :)

And wow, having checked out the second link for the swamp above it hardly looks like we're going to be slummin'. Niiiiiice, huh? These are artist's sketches - the campus is scheduled to be completed the summer we get married. See interesting news story @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186202,00.html. Great fun!


Anyhow, that's good news. We're very happy. Hopefully, if Obsession #2 can do really well with their graduate studies (which shouldn't be too hard since he's already taken a lot of the courses in-depth here, he takes test exceptionally well and he's already rather proficient in Latin) he'll easily gain admittance to the doctoral program, as well, which looks pretty cool.

I hear I have one former classmate there with her husband already, and they're expecting in the fall. -Weird!-

So many changes, so fast!
Have a blessed weekend!
-Emily

What have I learned from all this?

That there are a lot of intellectuals who aren't so very fond of using their intellects.

BOY, do I have my work cut out for me or WHAT.

Suddenly, changing diapers and scrubbing bathtubs sounds great. Hereby leaving the bothersome rest-of-the-world to Obsession #2. I'll just take care of the kids, hold down the fort and put my darling back together again each night when he comes home. ;) Sounds like a pretty sweet setup to me. *GOSH* I love being a woman. Such blissful freedom; I relish the fact that I don't have to be something to everyone and anyone - I get the priveledge of quietly being everything to a few someones.

I tell you what, I've just been fighting with people left and right this week. I had a letter published in a national Catholic newspaper which has caused a few ripples here at school. Not very many, mind you, since the letter was about motherhood and it's place - most people here agree on that point. I have had only two people object and it upsets me a bit, since I generally like the people who have objected and I can't figure where they're coming from. :( -- *foo*

Man, I'm tired.

*gotta go work now, tho*

Luv to ya'll,
Em

So yeah

I've not really been given any time to calm down. People have been hounding me on one philosophical point after another since Tuesday afternoon.

*Sigh*

So, my next attempt at an inane and amusing point is about philosophical summaries on the internet. (e.g. the 'e-philosopher') The idea is really pretty funny when you think about it.

Now, it's been my experience that theoretical wisdom isn't something the majority of people can just pick up on their lunch break. Practical wisdom can be gleaned from presence-of-mind and experience, so maybe over a couple hundred lunch breaks you could say you were more wise in a practical sense. But this is not the case for theoretical wisdom. It requires definitions, a bunch of technical language, lots of little distinctions; quite honestly, it takes a lot of work.

So, what ends up happening is that a lot of people breeze through random stuff pretty perfunctorily. Nowadays they think that they can absorb it from college textbook summaries or with the assistance of the all-knowing internet, which tries to make everything seem easy - kinda like microwave macaroni and cheese. It's a rather amusing thought, you know? Clikity clack clack clack and *bing* - metaphysics from the technological toaster oven. You've just gotta love the conveniences of our so very modern world ;)

And as I sit at the front desk of my library, sneezing from the mold and dust, I reflect that, despite my allergies, I really like books. I like real, original books. Written by real, original authors. With pages that I can, you know, turn, with my finger. . . . I really am a terribly old-fashioned person, aren't I?

Oh well. ;) I'm not that bad. It's not like I live in the stone age. I mean, come on, I have a blog.

*giggle*

Have a happy rest of the week!

Pax Christi,
Em