Nichomachean Ethics Book Θ Chapter 12
Posted by dwight in Blog on 06. Oct, 2008 | View Comments
(1160b-1161a) With a little added commentary. The bars represent the possible range of policies under various forms of government. The squiggly lines denote the average policy of the various forms of government. It doesn’t fall in the middle because people are sinful.
One Month to Live
Posted by dwight in Blog on 02. Jun, 2008 | View Comments
by Kerry & Chris Shook This was a pretty solid book. It had a little bit of the trappings of pop-christianity, but at the root was a solid message: How would your priorities change if you knew that you had only 30 days to live?
Shōgun
Posted by dwight in Blog on 30. May, 2008 | View Comments
by James Clavell Pretty good book. It gets a little racy at times. I read a brand new copy of this book that is also 28 years old. My roommate found it in his bookstore and it has been there since the publisher sent it to them in 1980.
The Four Loves
Posted by dwight in Blog on 20. May, 2008 | View Comments
by C.S. Lewis The greatness of Plato’s Symposium is to the greatness of this book as the sphere of the Earth is to the sphere of the fixed stars. The four loves are: Affection, Friendship, Eros, and Charity (Storge, Philos, Eros, and Agape). I especially connected with Lewis’ redemption of Eros. The sternest feminist need [...]
Gödel, Escher, Bach:
Posted by dwight in Blog on 16. May, 2008 | View Comments
an Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter This is a pretty good book. It does a great job of “continuing” from where my St. John’s liberal education left off into the 20th century. The author’s style is well-suited for introducing extremely complicated ideas in the most copacetic way possible. However, what the book promises, it [...]
The Pilgrim’s Progress
Posted by dwight in Blog on 06. May, 2008 | View Comments
by John Bunyan Excellent book. I especially like the second part and the aspect of community that it points out. The motley crew of pilgrims all traveling down the road to the King’s Dominion is very encouraging and insightful.
The Book of Mormon
Posted by dwight in Blog on 23. Apr, 2008 | View Comments
An Account Written by The Hand of Mormon Upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun. In comparison to the Koran, this book has much more narrative. When I was reading the Koran, I thought that narrative would make it easier to read. I was wrong. Up until 3 Nephi, [...]
Theaetetus
Posted by dwight in Blog on 16. Apr, 2008 | View Comments
by Plato translated by Seth Benardete This is a very important dialogue. Socrates inquires into the notion of “knowledge”. It is very interesting what he allows and disallows. He offers a delighful argument against the Pythagorean notion that “Man is the measure of all things”
The Mystery of Capital
Posted by dwight in Uncategorized on 02. Apr, 2008 | View Comments
Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else by Hernando de Soto He keeps saying the same thing over and over again: In the Third World and in former Communist countries, the poor have accrued a huge amount of capital, but they are unable to access this capital in the same way that [...]
The Radical Reformission
Posted by dwight in Uncategorized on 01. Apr, 2008 | View Comments
reaching out without selling out by Mark Driscoll I had to resist quoting the entire book here. Mark points out a middle way between sectarianism and syncretism. This involves engaging the culture more than extreme fundamentalists are comfortable with, while also sticking to fundamental doctrines more openly than liberals want to.
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