Monday

Miscellaneous Rambling

Happy first day of fall, my favorite season of the year. * * * * * * * I like everything about fall: the cooling weather, the harvest, the color. I even kinda like the shortening days, albeit in a conflicted way. I don't like the cold of winter, but I do like the indoor-life of winter, at least for awhile. Indoor life is cultured life and, though I'm hardly cultured, I enjoy reading and writing. The return of winter marks a return to more robust pursuits in those areas. * * * * * * * I may have found a new favorite podcast: History of Philosophy without Any Gaps. They started posting in 2010 and are up to the thirteenth century. This really is history without any gaps, with episodes devoted to all sorts of medieval thought. * * * * * * I've listened to two of their podcasts so far, on my old Stoic friends, Seneca and Epictetus. I'll continue to plow through the Stoics, then I'll probably listen to the podcast on Pyrrho (link to my article on Pyrrho in Philosophy Now; subscription might be required) before jumping into the medieval offerings. * * * * * * * Speaking of the Stoics, I think I may have found the ultimate Christian thinker that incorporates Stoic ideas: Maximos the Confessor. I'm still groping my way here, but I believe Maximos combined the Stoic emphasis on dispassion with the Christian emphasis on love. According to Maximos, if you love completely, you eliminate your likes and dislikes, which results in apatheia (detachment). It's almost like Stoicism combined with St. Francis, with a dash of St. Therese Lisieux and a smattering of Hindu emptiness (but just a smattering, mind you, since that doctrine is, ultimately, wicked). I heard that Fr. Al Lauer (RIP) ascribed to this central spiritual principle and explicitly acknowledged St. Maximos as its architect, but the heck if I can track down where I heard it. I think it was on a Journey Home episode, but I can't remember. I've emailed the show. We'll see if they can help.