First Published: 2022 March 11
I was tempted to write today’s post about how, when I’m underslept1, I lack the ability to do the work I want and need to do. But, I gripe enough without the explicit permission. So, instead I will be writing about the first day in my department’s Graduate Recruiting Weekend this year.
Our group is currently fairly full, so we are not interested in having too many new students. That being said, it did not seem like too many students would want to join us, based on the applications at least. But, the draw of space and chemistry seems to have pulled analytical students this year like my year, and we’ve got new interested students. I wonder if they will remain interested through group joining. Certainly they all seem brilliant and qualified.
Anyways, on to recruiting. I got to hang out at the check-in station for a few hours and chatted with a good number of recruits. Then I showed my recruit our office and we did a lab tour. I went to the poster session, where I finally met one of my committee members. And I ended the night at a dinner where the department did not get enough food for everyone on accident, which is sad. That being said, I still had a great time.
I miss seeing my chemistry friends when I don’t see them, and I love that we’re all in a loose web so I keep making new ones.
as now↩︎
First Published: 2022 March 10
Today was my first concert of the semester. It was fantastic being able to sing so many lovely songs and hear other choirs doing other lovely music. As has become an unfortunate trend this week, I am awake far too late, and as such this blog is suffering. C’est la vie
First Published: 2022 March 9
In preparation for my Second Year Exam, I’ve realized that I should probably learn some actual science. Thus, this meta-series begins. I am nearly positive that a lot of the data I collect will require the use of lock-in amplifiers. If I can get one of the instruments I’m planning to work on done, I’m sure that the number will increase to all of the in-lab spectroscopy that I will do. As a result, I need to learn about lock-in amplifiers. My plan is to work from three sources to learn this topic:
A paper that describes the lock-in amplifier I think I want to build
The book published in 1983 on lock-in amplifiers
Prior theses from group members on lock-in amplifiers
Realistically, I think I’m going to be learning these in reverse order, because the theses will elucidate what we need and use lock-ins for, the textbook will teach me how they actually work, and then I will be able to figure out whether or not the paper’s amplifier will work for what I need.
I guess I should probably stop talking about what I’ll read and start reading. I’m also not sure how anonymous to be with the details I’m giving, but I’ll err on the side of fewer identifying informations. I would feel worse about describing our current limitations if the theses I’m reading weren’t published on the internet.
First Published: 2022 March 8
Tonight I got to see the local University’s production of Sweeney Todd. It was performed by the operatic portion of the univeristy, which is another point in defense of my belief that the two genres are one.
It was done fantastically, and every member of the show did incredibly. As one of the friends I saw it with commented on the Judge’s song, “he did such a good job I don’t want to clap for him.” It does mean that this week has been filled with insufficient sleep, but such is the life.
First Published: 2022 March 8
I accidentally missed the posting last night, because I delayed writing until I went to see a friend perform. It was really fun, and I’m so happy to have friends who make music.
First Published: 2022 March 6
Deuteronomy 26:7: “we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression”
The Lenten Season has begun, and with it the change of emotion for the readings. This Gospel has been interesting to me since I learned that Satan in the Old Testament is not a rebel angel, but one of the faithful.1 It causes me to wonder a bit whether the temptations that our Lord receives are from the Betrayer or from a loyal angel simply doing his job. In the end, it doesn’t really matter, because our Lord resists the temptations, even while starving.
I don’t know if I could stop myself from making bread from stones if I had fasted for a day, let alone forty. We are called to be more like Christ in every way, and self-denial is definitely somewhere I can improve.
I think?↩︎
First Published: 2022 March 5
Yesterday I mentioned that I had an idea for the blog post today. As is too often the case, the ideas I had late at night while half asleep didn’t seem so nice in the light of day.
I was going to blog about, as mentioned bagpipes in funerals, which is a thought that I’ve had for a few years. As I started to talk my way through the post, though1 I realized that the way I wanted to express the idea in many respects cheapened the idea. So, instead I get to meta-blog about how I write nowadays.
I was finding this week that I lacked the motivation and direction to keep writing my story. For a few days I thought it might be that I was just tired of writing, but as I started this weekend, I realized it’s that I haven’t given my mind time to process the story.
I spent about half an hour before bed two nights ago thinking about where the story could go, and when I went to write the story again, the words started flowing out. I guess it’s a good reminder that my mind needs time to sit and think without external stimuli, or at least without mental stimuli. Walking without music or praying has also worked for me, as does driving without music. In the future I should try scheduling more time for silent thought.
If this isn’t how you write I have questions↩︎
First Published: 2022 March 4
I almost forgot to blog today, and nearly fell asleep before doing so. My computer is nearly dead, and my mind is nearly shut down. Tomorrow I plan to write about a thought I had with bagpipes and funerals, which reminded me I needed to do this.
First Published: 2022 March 3
This week I will be smart and read the chapter to try to respond to the questions at the back, rather than freeform note-taking while I read1
What is the meaning of “a being”? What are its two distinct but inseparable elements?
How can we reach explicit reflective awareness of the “is” in being? Do all metaphysical systems agree on this focus on actual existence as the central core of all real beings?
What is meant by the “vocation of human beings” as endowed with intellect arising from the relation of intellect to being? In what sense can being still remain a “mystery” for us?
Explain the difference between “real being” and “mental being”? Examples of each? What is the key criterion for our distinguishing between the two?
Explain the fundamental importance of action as the self-manifestation of being if we are to have a “universe”? Could there be at least one completely inactive being?
Finite (all limited, created) real beings go out of themselves to relate themselves to others through action for two reasons: what are they? Does it make sense to speak, as Maritain does, of “the intrinsic generosity of being”?
In the philosophical vision of St. Thomas, action is the key to a realist epistemology, or theory of knowledge. Why? Why can it then be called a “relational realism”? Why does it also follow from this vantage point that all our human knowledge of real beings (at least in this life) must be incomplete, imperfect?
Why in this book do we take the person as the best model for what it means to be a real being? Compare briefly the ancient, medieval, and modern approaches to the philosophical study of being.
What is the point of choosing interpersonal dialogue as the preferred starting point for a metaphysical study of being? Why is it especially effective in refuting Kant’s attempt to block access to any realist theory of knowledge or metaphysics?
I think it might be helpful for me to try answering these questions both before and while/after reading the chapter, so that I can see how well my starting assumptions/things I have learned in the past line up with what the book claims.
So, my starting guesses as answers:
What is the meaning of “a being”?
My guess from the little bits of Thomistic/Scholastic Metaphysics that I’ve done is that a being is made up of the potential and action, so what they can become versus what they are.
What are its two distinct but inseparable elements?
Whoops, I assume same answer here.
How can we reach explicit reflective awareness of the “is” in being?
We can’t. We can approximate it though.
Do all metaphysical systems agree on this focus on actual existence as the central core of all real beings?
No, because lots of metaphysical systems explicitly disbelieve in actual existence
What is meant by the “vocation of human beings” as endowed with intellect arising from the relation of intellect to being?
I have no clue what this is asking, I’m excited to find out.
In what sense can being still remain a “mystery” for us?
We cannot know the full reality of life.
Explain the difference between “real being” and “mental being”?
I have literally no idea, once again.
Examples of each?
Explain the fundamental importance of action as the self-manifestation of being if we are to have a “universe”?
Without action, there is no way to have a universe, which is inherently in action.
Could there be at least one completely inactive being?
Logically: yes, if there can be a being with only action, then there should be one with no action. Practically: no because then it is not a thing.
Finite (all limited, created) real beings go out of themselves to relate themselves to others through action for two reasons: what are they?
Desire to know themselves. Desire to understand the Divine.
Does it make sense to speak, as Maritain does, of “the intrinsic generosity of being”?
Absolutely!2
In the philosophical vision of St. Thomas, action is the key to a realist epistemology, or theory of knowledge. Why?
Without action there is no way to interconvert.
Why can it then be called a “relational realism”?
Great question, thank you for asking.3
Why does it also follow from this vantage point that all our human knowledge of real beings (at least in this life) must be incomplete, imperfect?
Without being able to fully understand the relational aspects of something, there is no way to get perfect or complete knowledge.
Why in this book do we take the person as the best model for what it means to be a real being?
Thomas does.
Compare briefly the ancient, medieval, and modern approaches to the philosophical study of being.
Nope.
What is the point of choosing interpersonal dialogue as the preferred starting point for a metaphysical study of being?
Because Kant does not.
Why is it especially effective in refuting Kant’s attempt to block access to any realist theory of knowledge or metaphysics?
Kant assumes that we cannot know anything but ourselves, so starting with the knowledge that other people’s existence has meaning defeats it.
Time to read!
What is the meaning of “a being”?
Something which is. More precisely, that which is.
What are its two distinct but inseparable elements?
is, which is the fact of existence and essence. Or, the fact and the substance? Is meaning that it is, and that which meaning what it is.
How can we reach explicit reflective awareness of the “is” in being?
Explicit reflective awareness refers to the fact that it is a wonderful mystery that things are at all, let alone what they are. There are two approaches that the author suggests.
Downward exploration, where we seek deeper and more fundamental facts about a thing.
Outward exploration, where we seek to connect every thing to every other thing until we have a universe within our thoughts. I think at least, I am not totally sure what the goal is in outward exploration.
Do all metaphysical systems agree on this focus on actual existence as the central core of all real beings?
Nope. In many systems, the term being means limited essence or form, which means that the Divine, which exists outside of a bound form, must not be in existence. Since St. Thomas posits that existence in itself is the basis of being, the Divine fits within the meaning, and therefore actual existence treats all real beings.
What is meant by the “vocation of human beings” as endowed with intellect arising from the relation of intellect to being?
Our fundamental calling is to illuminate the universe and bring the unknown into the known.
In what sense can being still remain a “mystery” for us?
It kind of just felt like he said that was true without an argument, but it isn’t a particularly difficult concept for me. Human knowledge is inherently incomplete.
Explain the difference between “real being” and “mental being”?
Real beings exist. That is, they do not only exist in thought. E.g. being kind, being a man. Real beings can generate mental beings, but the reverse is not true.
Mental beings, by contrast, are only real as ideas, such as the past, future, dreams, abstractions, math, and conceptions of absence.
Examples of each?
See above.
Explain the fundamental importance of action as the self-manifestation of being if we are to have a “universe”?
St. Thomas believes that action is the primary distinguisher between the real and mental being. Additionally, it is only through action that real beings interact with each other, allowing the vocation of knowing to take place.
Could there be at least one completely inactive being?
Well, a mental being almost certainly. As a real being, there is no “practical” difference between that and no being. Therefore, it is equivalent to no being.
Finite (all limited, created) real beings go out of themselves to relate themselves to others through action for two reasons: what are they?
We are poor in that we are limited and imperfect
We are rich in that we exist and can share this imperfect knowledge with others
Does it make sense to speak, as Maritain does, of “the intrinsic generosity of being”?
Yeah, I think so. Especially if we agree with the concept of our vocation, there is an inherent need to connect.
In the philosophical vision of St. Thomas, action is the key to a realist epistemology, or theory of knowledge. Why?
We can only see things in the way that we interact as actors. As a result, there is no way to know without interaction. Additionally, action inherently reveals essence, and so provides knowledge.
Why can it then be called a “relational realism”?
Since we are seeing action as springing from essence, rather than essence itself, we can only learn through relation.
Why does it also follow from this vantage point that all our human knowledge of real beings (at least in this life) must be incomplete, imperfect?
Since we cannot see essence itself, we can only learn as through a veil. Additionally, no single act can fully express the nature of a finite being, and we cannot observe all things, both because of physical and mental blocks.
Why in this book do we take the person as the best model for what it means to be a real being?
I mean, in part because Aristotle did and our metaphysics grows from his. However, the argument is that, while our modern collective metaphysics may overprioritize the subjective experience, there is something integral to individual experience. That being said, there is still a concept that we as people share certain traits, and so the person balances these two, the subjective and objective.
Compare briefly the ancient, medieval, and modern approaches to the philosophical study of being.
The ancient focuses on the objective, ignoring the person. The medieval focuses on the centrality of shared human experience, the We. The modern focuses on the centrality of individual human experience, the I.
What is the point of choosing interpersonal dialogue as the preferred starting point for a metaphysical study of being?
Sharing the agreement of a faith-friendly view like Thomistic metaphysics is a harder hurdle than the acceptance of knowledge through relation with other humans.
Why is it especially effective in refuting Kant’s attempt to block access to any realist theory of knowledge or metaphysics?
Since we can communicate, there is an inherent contradiction to Kantian philosophy? I’m a little lost about what Kant argues, so a rebuttal of his argument doesn’t really help me that much.
First Published: 2022 February 23
Today is Ash Wednesday, which is a traditional day of fasting in the Catholic Church.1 Additionally, the Pope dedicated today as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. So, I found myself fasting today.
Something major that I’ve noticed about my fasting self is that I struggle to focus far more. I guess less so I struggle to focus and moreso that I struggle to begin working. Once I start working, I have been able to finish at least as much as normal, though maybe at a slower rate.
This gives me some interesting knowledge. Apparently if I am feeling unfocused and hazy in the future I should consider whether I’ve eaten enough recently.
Moving past my own experience of how fasting is less than ideal2 for my work life3, I do think that fasting helps me refocus my days. I haven’t done as good of a job today recentering myself when I feel hungry on faith, and I think that’s something that I can work about in the future. That’s something I could work on in the future I think, and it would probably make my life better for doing so.