Loving literature and old books can draw someone toward scholarship, but it does not by itself produce the habits which scholarship demands. You must learn linguistic discipline, methodological patience, command of secondary literature, archival competence, a willingness to spend months on a very narrow problem, and the ability to turn your enthusiasm into an argument that survives expert scrutiny. I saw this during a seminar I took in Fordham University’s Medieval Studies De

I was never able to bring this paper together. It didn't help that I was on-call the last week before the final day of class. One-line summary: Memory as recollection of knowledge acquired before birth (Meno and Phaedo), memory as impressions on a wax tablet (Theaetetus), and the effect of writing on memory (Phaedrus). Plato on memory: Meno 81a–86b: Plato's famous doctrine of anamnesis, or recollection. Socrates argues that what we call learning is really recollecting knowled

"The Snow Is Dancing" is the fourth movement of Debussy’s Children’s Corner. In Paul Barton’s recording, he notes that he alternates between the sustain pedal and a special harmonic pedal, which helps create the blurred and suspended sound of the piece. What struck me first was the constant light motion. The notes seem to flicker back and forth instead of moving in a strong melodic line. The effect really does suggest snow falling and being moved around by the wind. There doe

I've had my head down in books or in work, and I just realized I never posted the rest of my outlines for the Timaeus. I wish I'd tracked my questions more carefully, like I did the first week. It was such a rich and amazing reading. I may go back through my class notes and try to reconstruct those. 27c–29d The Opening Distinction: Being and Becoming Timaeus begins by distinguishing between what always is and never becomes, and what becomes but never truly is. What always is

17a-19b Recap of the Republic Socrates briefly recaps the ideal city described the previous day. He refers to the division of classes, including guardians and producers such as farmers and craftsmen; but he speaks mostly about guardians. He addresses the equality of women among the guardians; the communal sharing of wives and children; regulated breeding for civic harmony; and an educational system ordered toward cultivating virtue and selecting the best guardians. Keywords:

The Timaeus is one of Plato's odder works. It’s one of his most unusual dialogues in genre, tone, and method. It's not even much of a dialogue. It's mostly one man talking. Some have proposed that it is an unfinished dialogue, even an experimental work. I think there is something to that claim. I sat with Dr DT Sheffler in a seminar where we did a close reading of Timaeus. I found it odd, given my background with medieval literature, that I'd never read it before. It was one

G.K. Chesterton’s “The Secret Garden” is less a detective story than a moral parable. Father Brown solves the case by reading souls, not...

One of the unsung roles in the history of philosophy is that of the preservers. These are the scholars, scribes, and chance caretakers...