The Christian Vanguard

The following is an essay I had to write for class. Footnotes could not be copied over. Basing yourself on Metaphysics Book VIII, Chapter 2 and Meteorology Book IV, Chapter 12 write a concise account of what sorts of things you believe count as Aristotelian substances. Again, I encourage you to draw from other things we have read by Aristotle (for example the material from Physics Book II and On The Soul Book II), if you find it useful to do so. I think the sorts of things that count as Aristotelian substances include anything composed with matter. As Aristotle states, matter is a kind of differentiae, and anything with differentiae is, for if it were not, it wouldn’t be differentiating anything to begin with. So, humans, cats, grass, gold, these types of things are Aristotlean substances. I don’t think artefacts, though they have matter in a certain sense, would count as Aristotlean substances because they don’t have an essence, or form. As Aristotle says, what a thing is is determine...

The following is an essay I had to write for class. Footnotes have been omitted, not by choice. Explain the account of matter that emerges from Metaphysics Book IX, Chapter 7. Though your focus should be on that text (and I do want you to tease out the line of argument there), I encourage you to draw from other things we have read by Aristotle, if you find it useful to do so. Matter, for Aristotle, is potentiality. To explain this, we must first consider what potentiality is. There is a limited range of potentialities, that is to say, X may be potential for Y but not for Z. To illustrate the range of potentials, Aristotle considers health. Not everything can be healed, like perhaps rocks or water, and so they cannot be said to have the potentiality for health, but only certain things have the potentiality for health, like humans or foxes. There is a categorical difference here. But within the appropriate categories, we have a question of how we discover it is potentially healthy (or po...

The follow was an essay I wrote for my class. Footnotes were not able to be copied. Explain the argument of Physics Book 1, Chapter 7. Your explanation should address the following: What question(s) is Aristotle attempting to answer? What role do linguistic considerations (considerations concerning “what we say”) play in the argument The question Aristotle is attempting to answer is how to account for change, or coming to be. This includes coming to be in an accidental way and in an unqualified way. A thing is said to come to be from another thing. This is done in a few always by bringing our attention to how we understand a man becoming musical and the distinctions that arise from those considerations. So when we say, “man becomes musical” or “the not-musical man becomes musical” we say this in regards to its simplicity, or it being non-composed. However, these simple things do not survive change. But we also understand that something survives or persists through that change, so now w...

I have certain tastes. I like cheese. I don't like chocolate. I don't think any seafood is good. I think there is no such thing as good wine . But, those who I accept as authorities contradict me. For example, scripture clearly states, in the wedding of Cana, that some wine is better than others. Aquinas says that some fish is just as good as meat. This is significant because every year, during Lent, fish is a bigger seller. And people have fish frys, and I don't attend because I absolutely do not like fish, or seafood in general. I don't know what to make of this other than I am uncultured swine. 

I have usually thought of Lent as a penitential season in which we just endure sacrifice, suffering, discomforts, whatever. Sacrifice and that's it. You pay a due. But I listened to an interview with the amazing Fr. Pine, and he says that such sacrifices are meant to, at the end of them, increase your desire for God.  I appreciate this point greatly. It comes at a time where I feel I am nearing the end of my suffering (though I cannot say I know this with any certainty. God may strike down all my loved ones in some catastrophe tomorrow) where I have done tons of penance, and tons of prayers. In front of the Blessed Sacrament, I will pray for God to take away my desire for other people, and have me desire only Him. To be able to give myself to Him as He has given Himself to me. Whatever graces are associated with these, I seem to be absorbing. I do have a greater desire, even if still imperfect.  And a big part of this is just following Fr. Pine. I will see him, and t...

St. Francis de Sales, in his Introduction to the Devout Life has some advice on how to remedy evil friendships. It is this, "Cut it short, break it off—do not play with it, or pretend to untie the knot; cut it through, tear it asunder." So, I decided to give it a try. I reached out to a past romance, a brief one, and one I was still acquainted with, but with whom things were still tense. So I apologized to her, for being cruel and unfeeling towards her, and told her that there will be no more communication. She thanked me for the apology, and that was that.  It was difficult, but it has been liberating. Now, to do this with my ex, though I still hold on to her gifts and to her letters, may prove to be more difficult. Baby steps. God help me. 

One year, I went on behalf of my parish to pick up the chrism oil from the Bishop. My seminarian friend, now priest, was also present and he commented how cool and important it was to receive the oil from the bishops because it emphasizes our connection to the apostles. This is correct, but I didn't really appreciate just how true this was until recently when I went to go see a talk by Edward Feser.  My ex girlfriend used to see Professor Feser often at her work location, and she would send me cute letters from her office if she ever got anything with his handwriting or something. "I hope this brightened your day a fraction of how much you brighten mine" she would write. Any of my 3 regular readers would know this. I've written about this before. Any of my 3 regular readers know that particular breakup has taken a recent toll on me.  So, when I was having dinner with the professor, there was a sense in which my mind would take me to the thought that, "Wo...

I have a conversion story that some people find entertaining. I think I am a good story teller, and sometimes, I will hear, "Yeah, I just have a boring testimony, if you even want to call it that. I was just baptized and raised in the faith. Nothing crazy." I make it a point, if I ever hear this, that those are stories that really matter. The boring stories where nothing dramatic happens. Those are more important. Why? Because obviously, some people need grace. The guy who murdered his friend in cold blood and found himself in prison for 20+ years, or the drug dealer who ruined many lives, or the porn star who found a way out of the industry, yes, all these people need grace, and it is very obvious that they need saving grace. And often times, these are interesting stories to hear. But the worry is that such stories of conversion downplay the work of Christ in everyone else's life. The worry is that if you didn't lead that bad or crazy or dramatic of a life, you don...

This past Friday, I went, along with my buddy Andy, to go see one of my favorite bands, Silversun Pickups. It was definitely a different experience from the other concerts I've been to. I usually go see punk or metal bands, and the environment can be pretty aggressive. Not in any dangerous way, but in a communal way. Silversun Pickups isn't like that. I've been in my share of moshpits, had my shins busted up in ska dances, maybe participated a wall of death or two, but there was no such tomfoolery at the Silversun Pickups concert. This is because it causes a different reaction. Which is kind of strange to say, that music can move you like this. I mean, it's very obvious that it does this. We all experience this. But it's still kind of mysterious to me how it is even possible for this to happen. But anyway, I remember trying to show my then girlfriend some of their music, and she immediately shut it down after a few notes. "Too girly" she said. And I wa...