tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post8574152670381591520..comments2023-08-10T05:32:21.163-04:00Comments on An Examined Life: Notes on SubstanceVitae Scrutatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12808120163472036743noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-73572931450776698832007-09-03T11:36:00.000-04:002007-09-03T11:36:00.000-04:00Jonathan,Thanks for your kind words, and keep up t...Jonathan,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your kind words, and keep up the good work!Vitae Scrutatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808120163472036743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-38470247661119994402007-09-02T07:33:00.000-04:002007-09-02T07:33:00.000-04:00Now for a brief remark on the personal aspects of ...<I>Now for a brief remark on the personal aspects of that work: comments like this make the considerable investment of time and money (with no real financial or academic return) worthwhile.</I><BR/>Great work, Crimson. And my pleasure (and edification) to read you and Scott every day. (Special thanks to Scott for pointing your work out so I can add you to my bloglines daily reading!)John Farrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18280296574996987228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14247942.post-61058818514220026422007-08-31T19:16:00.000-04:002007-08-31T19:16:00.000-04:00I'll start with the substantive and then move to t...I'll start with the substantive and then move to the more personal.<BR/><BR/>On the substantive matters, you said:<BR/><I>If I were to categorize myself in this way, I would have to say that I am more of an Aristotelian Platonist than a Platonic Platonist, but perhaps things are confusing enough around here already without getting into that.</I><BR/><BR/>Confusing it may be, but I can't help but think that this might be the whole issue. In Perry Robinson's <A HREF="http://energeticprocession.wordpress.com/2007/08/31/my-backyard/" REL="nofollow">recent post</A> regarding the <I>filioque</I> that, given the Orthodox doctrine of God, "an attempt to use Aristotle's relations, purified by late Platonism to give philosophical content to the Trinity is out of bounds." Bill Tighe's summary of the Catholic/Orthodox conference at Fordham (in this month's <I>Touchstone</I>) attributes something similar to Carol Harrison, which seems consistent with her published position in <I>Rethinking Augustine's Early Theology</I>. David Bradshaw and John Romanides have made claims about the type of Aristotelianism at work in the West as well. <A HREF="http://examinelife.blogspot.com/2006/12/more-idle-speculation.html" REL="nofollow">Your own earlier post</A> made this point well, and ultimately, preventing Western "Aristotelian Platonism" from being tarred with these charges might be the key intellectual battleground for Western philosophy. <BR/><BR/>Right now, that perennial philosophy is taking a beating from just about every hostile philosophy looking for a target, from the materialists to the idealists. I say that to highlight just how important guys like you, Philip Blosser, and John Farrell are for keeping the feet of Western thinkers on solid ground when practically everyone is trying to knock them down. It turns out, of course, that true religion is consistent with true philosophy, but we are defending reason, not just religion. My zeal for that defense began in response to the attacks I saw at Harvard (hence, "Crimson" Catholic), and it's no coincidence that was the occasion for my return to the Church. <BR/><BR/>Now for a brief remark on the personal aspects of that work: comments like this make the considerable investment of time and money (with no real financial or academic return) worthwhile. When somebody like you or Mike L. with the intellectual wherewithal (including all those credentials I don't have) says that I've written down something helpful for the cause, it has the benefit of giving me some objective criteria for judging whether I really am succeeding in my aims. So thanks! And I hope people are reading Lee Faber's blog (lyfaber.blogspot.com) as well, because his recent posts on Scotus have been extremely informative.CrimsonCatholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08623996344637714843noreply@blogger.com