Below are the 14 most recent journal entries recorded in plusroot's LiveJournal:

Sunday, April 27th, 2008
5:40 pm	Rock Garden Tour Yesterday, April 26, I went to the annual Spring Tour of the Wasatch Rock Garden Society. This tour visited four select rock gardens in the Salt Lake Valley. Due to the cold weather this Spring, gardens were blooming a bit late. Despite that set back, the gardens were superb. The tour visited gardens from Millcreek Township to White City and West Valley City. During the tour, we carpooled with Ruth MacAngus of The Growing Empire Nursery and learned a bit about the plant buniess. The tour showed the best gardens in the valley. I believe that rock gardening is the ideal garden for the high desert plains (Salt Lake and Denver). This zone allows gardeners to display plants from both the mountain and high desert region. Current Mood: satisfied (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, April 14th, 2008
7:39 pm	Freedom of Association Advocates of liberty, myself included, hold to the ideal of "freedom of association." The ideal starts with the observation that guilt does not flow through association. The ideal is often manifest in criminal law as the belief that the state should not judge an individual for simply knowing a criminal. While the ideal is applicable to criminal law, it is not applicable to the voting process. The converse is not true. It is fair for individuals to weigh the associations of a candidate in their voting decision. For that matter, it is critical that voters scrutinize the associates of a candidate because it is likely that the candidate will appoint many of their associates into positions of power after the election. In high profile campaigns, we aren't just electing an individual. We are electing a team that is identified by the candidate's name. We should scrutinize all the members of the team. To re-iterate, the term "freedom of association" applies to the statement: The government should not judge individuals for their associations. The converse is not true. People tread a dangerous path when they back a team based solely on the reputation of the team's captain. After all, it is not uncommon for a group with nafarious ends to put forward an unknown candidate with the hope that no-one inspect the intentions of the group. This addage applies to all parties. Is applicable to both the primary and general elections. In many ways it is more applicable to primary elections, since this is where we choose the future direction of the a party. Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
2:58 pm	Happy Easter Well, it is really two days after Easter, but I am still a novice on this blogging thing. This post is what I was doing on Easter. Last year we discovered that Coco's usual stomping grounds are covered with bits and dabs of left over Easter eggs. She spends her walk hunting down and eating red, blue and green Easter egg shells. So we have to go to distant places for walks. As Easter fell on an odd day, we took her up Mill Creek Canyon. Dogs can be off leash on odd days. The snow was about one National Forest Sign high; So, Salt Lake will be in for a heavy run off in the months to come. I am looking forward to the wildflowers. Today we went up Neffs Canyon. (Comment on this)
Friday, March 14th, 2008
10:23 pm	Rocking the Garden I went to a presentation by David Joyner of the Utah Rock Garden Society. His garden has evolved to a state where it has over 2000 identified species. I have about that many types of undentified weeds in my garden. The next meeting will be about rock gardens in Tibet. Tibet has some of the biggest rocks in the world; so it is likely to be a great meeting. (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 8th, 2008
10:30 pm	Mulching The snow is starting to melt; So it is time to get out and turn the mulch pile. The most difficult challenge of mulching is a dry climate (Salt Lake City) is the lack of water during the dry summer months. You can't simply spray the garden hose on the mulch pile as the chlorine in the water kills the agents that do the mulching. So, what I do is plan the mulching cycle to happen in the late winter as the snow melts and their is fresh pure moisture for the mulch pile. It is far better to mulch garden waste than to burn fossil fuels hauling it away to the dump. Mixing mulch back into the soil reduces the need for fertilizer. Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Friday, March 7th, 2008
9:58 pm	Updating the Rational Style I've been bad and have not posted anything on this blog for a year and a half. I've done several fun things like visiting Hamilton Montana and I took a trip to Denver to visit my good friend Lucy. For the most part, however, I've been feeling that the state of political discourse in our nation has taken on a mean edge, and I have been at a loss trying to figure out how to counter it. I think that Michelle Obama is correct in noting that the state of political discourse has become mean, and base. However, I disagree with Mrs. Obama on the source of the problem. I believe that the problem is with the foundations of reason in the modern era. It is not simply a matter of one partisan group being bad. It is a problem that exists with the prevailing Rational Style. My current project is a chapter by chapter update of the The Roots of Sound Rational Thinking which I will self publish. I have also started a site called Affirmative Rationality which is simply a call for others to join in the process of upgrading the rational style. I will use this blog to tell you of updates. Current Mood: guilty (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 10th, 2006
4:54 am	Alpine Loop On October 3, I took a quick trip along the Alpine Loop which runs to the East of Mount Timpanogos in Utah County. Technical difficulties and puzzling diversions delayed uploading the pictures. Anyway they are on the site ProtoPhoto.com Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 12th, 2006
12:09 am	Speech by Pope Benedict XVI on Faith, Reason, Secularism and Fanaticism Today, on a tour in Germany Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech emphasizing the bond between reason and faith. He also touched on problems with extremist Islam, religious fanaticism, terrorism, forced conversions and holy war. I did a quick look on the Internet for the text of his speech but all I found were comments and summaries. Ian Fisher of the New York Times brought up the idea that Benedict “…pursues what is often considered a more provocative, hard-nosed and skeptical approach to Islam than his predecessor, John Paul II.” Ian Fisher went on to say, “But the section on Islam made up just three paragraphs of the speech, and he devoted the rest to a long examination of how Western science and philosophy had divorced themselves from faith - leading to the secularization of European society that is at the heart of Benedict's worries. This, he said, has closed off the West from a full understanding of reality, making it also impossible to talk with cultures for whom faith is fundamental.” Fisher then quoted the Pope, "The world's profoundly religious cultures see this exclusion from the divine, from the universality of reason as an attack on their most profound convictions," he said. "A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures." On his tour, The Pope visited Munich where he had been Archbishop under his given name, Joseph Ratzinger. He then visited the village of his birth and gave the speech in Regensburg Bavaria where he had taught theology. We will spend time with his brother Georg Ratzinger, also a priest. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, September 11th, 2006
10:42 pm	John Le Carre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, 1963 A couple weeks ago my husband, son and I watched John Le Carre's  The Spy Who Came in from  the Cold  [1966] on tape. We were riveted to our chairs. The black and white movie stars Richard Burton and is stunning from start to finish although so morose that I would not recommend it for children.  I  have added it to my  extra special list.   The music was eerie and foreboding.  Smiley was a minor character in this story. The hero, a 50 year old British spy at the end of his career, becomes a pawn in a complex set of tricks on both sides. At the climax,  the beautiful girl asks. Why? The cameras focus on the hero’s  face as he admits, “it is the rule of expediency”. They drive on in silence. In the next episode the beautiful girl is expediently killed by a gunshot as they attempt to climb over the Berlin Wall. Instead of jumping to safety, the hero goes to her aid. He is also shot. Smiley on the other side begs him to save his life but to no avail. Yesterday I  finished rereading the book.  For all his brilliance, Le Carre seems oblivious to the point he himself makes so well.  The necessities of the spy business make it hard to distinguish the morality of individuals on both sides but that does not mean that the causes they fight for are morally equivalent as Le Carre implies several times. Mundt, the British spy the British hope to save is a dispicable character while Fiedler,  the  Communist  who is mistaken executed  as a traitor, is an honorable man. Of course it is a novel but  ideas  become  spread through the land by way of stories. I  am  taking notes and making comments in my Le Carre File.   (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
10:41 pm	Jerry Muller and Analysis Problems In my opinion, Jerry Muller reduces the quality of his work with numerous distortions. These flaws are so serious that, although I greatly admire the bulk of Muller’s study, I cannot recommend this book to anyone.   I have owned this book  almost  two years and, even though I learned much and I am greatful to have a copy,  I hesitate to urge others  to read it. That is odd, isn't  it?  I feel this way about several  books I own.   Before giving examples of the blunders I see in Muller’s work and suggesting some alternatives, I would like to mention a few of analytical problems that make my task difficult.  Analysis Problem 1: Many of Muller’s mistakes and fallacies are subtle and difficult to pinpoint. Being elusive, people can easily  adopt his blunders as their own without realizing what they have ingested. The more elusive scholarly blunders are, the harder they are to refute and the more damage they tend to do.  Analysis Problem 2: It is exceedingly time consuming to identify and honestly refute scholarly blunders. Because of the time factor, crucial mistakes are left untouched in case after case. To our detriment, they usually do not go away but often get worse with time. These blunders need fixing but who has the time.  Analysis Problem 3: Scholarly blunders do not negate the constructive insights and information of the work in question. Because I believe the deep errors in Muller’s book are serious does not mean I fail to appreciate the upbeat part of his writting.   Analysis Problem 4: Addressing scholarly blunders in anyone’s work, especially a person with as much talent and knowledge as Jerry Muller, sounds petty.  Analysis Problem 5: Any critic addressing scholarly blunders has his/her own set of blunders that compromise the value of the critique. In my case, the blinders on my eyes make it difficult for me to talk about the blinders on another’s eyes. If I have anything worthwhile to say, it will have to speak for itself.  I hope eventually do this same type of critique on many books. My present objective is to practice. With practice I may develop the skill I need to do the job I would like to do.  I want to be able to address serious errors I see in important writing without attacking the writer. This is especially important when critiquing high caliber studies such as Jerry Muller.   Does Jerry Muller reify the term 'capitalism'?  If he does, is this a serious problem?  (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
11:52 pm	"The Mind and the Market" by Jerry Muller, I have been reviewing The Mind and the Market by Jerry Muller, a book I bought 2 years ago. This book is packed with need to know information and astute observations. He includes many neat, relevant summaries in a short space. But with that said, Muller time after time does a back twists on people and ideas that reduces the quality of his work. I hesitate to recommend it because I feel the effect of his errors is much more serious than value of the better half of what he says.  If I get time in the next few days I will give some examples.    Muller, Jerry Z. The Mind and the Market, Capitalism in Modern European Thought, ©2002, [I bought this book Aug. 17, 2004] [B745] Current Mood: aggravated (Comment on this)
Monday, May 22nd, 2006
11:20 pm	Plato's Cave, The Forms, and The Dialectic The reason I ordered “The Philosophy of Mind” by Edward Feser is because in a short article he touched over a dozen themes that strike me as crucial. I am wondering what he does in a full book. Theme: Plato’s cave,  Plato’s theory of the Forms and Plato's Dialectic :  “Strauss’s glib dismissal of the Forms was oddly reminiscent of the scientism or positivism whose stranglehold over modern intellectual life he was wont to criticize.” [Edward Feser, NatRev 2006may22 p52] I wrote a web essay, Dialectic, Which is Which,  where I quoted Plato’s story about the cave at length. Plato’s theories of the forms and his understanding of the dialectic belong together.  I recommend the whole article as a simple review of the term dialectic before  romantic German Transcendental sentiment became so pervasive.  The second part of this article, which deals with latter day dialectical theories, is not yet published on line.  I am anxious to read what Feser’s says about The Dialectic. Current Mood: groggy (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 21st, 2006
11:13 pm	The Noble Lie Continuing with Feser’s thoughts about Smith's thoughts about Stauss's thoughts, he touches on several crucial recurring themes and questions. Theme: The noble lie. 1] Major Question: Is the great-soul leader or artist justified in telling lies for the good of the community or the good of posterity?      Minor Question: Did Leo Struass advocate the noble lie for a noble cause? 2] Major Question: Who decides who is the great-soul leader or artist? 3] Major Question: Who decides what is and what is not a lie?      Minor Question: Should silence, tack and obfuscation be considered a lie. 4] Major Question: Who decides what is and what is not a noble cause? Note: I am writing down crucial themes and crucial questions because I am trying to figure a way to organizes various opinions about these issues to help me make worthwhile decisions. I do not support the notion of the noble lie for a noble cause. It polarizes society and is an open invitation for abuse. Deep abiding respect for truth, right reason and honesty are the basis of decency and civil discourse.   Respect for truth means a conscientious study in how to tell the truth and how to appreciate the truth value of a proposition. It is not easy to do. I have much to say on this subject in my web site. See especially Chapter Eight: Urge to Honesty; Chapter Nine: The Lure of Illusion. I ordered a copy of Edward Feser’s book, The Philosophy of Mind”. I will explain why later. Current Mood: busy (Comment on this)
Saturday, May 20th, 2006
2:51 pm	Edward Feser, Leo Strauss, Faith and reason “We cannot have faith without reason and we cannot use our reason without faith.” [vvPlus] Today I read "Leo Strauss 101", an article in "National Review" [2006may20] by Edward Feser. Feser tells us his thoughts about Steven B. Smith's thoughts about Stauss's thoughts. Smith has just published "Reading Leo Strauss", to save people like me a lot of time. I will probably never read Smith or Strauss, but I have found an interest in Feser’s ideas. He tunes in to the same themes that stir my mind. However, he may not be a kindred spirit because his solutions may be significantly different  from mine. . Theme: Philosopher versus Sectarian. Apparently Strauss held that, “…the thinker who decisively chooses one set of answers over the others has ceased to be a philosopher and become a ‘sectarian … … hence the inevitable conflict between philosophy and divine revelation, reason and faith, Athens and Jerusalem.’.” [NatRev 2006may22 p52] I agree we need to discuss this theme, but I disagree with the casting the problem in the above terminology. Why do I disagree? Reason One: Terms defined as above wastes valuable time that could be better spent. Reason Two: A person does not cease being a philosopher when they make up their mind about important issues. People can have firm opinions without setting their thoughts in stone. I am not sure how clear Strauss is on this issue. Reason Three: The above passage seems to be setting ‘reason’ and ‘faith’ against each other. I argue that it is the other way around and maintain that 'reason' and 'faith' are complements. We cannot have faith without reason and we cannot use our reason without faith. The real issues are: How do we use our reason well? And Where do we place our faith? I have written about this in several places in my personal files. Question: Does Leo Strauss present ‘reason’ and ‘faith’ as if they are contradictions contending against each other for dominance? I will keep looking for more evidence. vvNote: Tomorrow I will write more about Edward Feser and Leo Strauss.  I will reveal  which book I ordered. Today is my first blog day.. Current Mood: amused (1 Comment |Comment on this)