We have to break the world into bits with our perception, and I begin to suspect that this has a lot to do with our mission to inject love into everything in our surroundings.

Gerald's succinct chapter summaries, Tim's tale of visualizing himself backwards and seeing things in a new light, and Tom's account (somewhere) of a PoF study group who were asked to distill each paragraph of the book into one sentence, inspired me to reread Chapter Four in a different way.

This is an essay by Marjorie Spock which I wanted to post for the sake of our live conversation group that's about to start.

Group Moral Artistry II
 

I've been thinking lately that it's not as easy to overcome Critical Idealism in my thinking patterns as it first appeared to be. For one thing, I don't always recognize this type of thinking.

TheMartinus' comments in Joel's journal, coming at this time of year, put Uriel to mind as Steiner presented that Archangel of Summer:

"...Then you will come to feel that all this is a kind of background for the cosmic, light-filled deeds of Uriel, and a clear impression of the countenance and gaze of Uriel will come before you.

Vague intimations of thoughts are always flowing through my mind. If I catch hold of one and start working on it, I can turn it into an actual thought.

A farm needs all the different points of view, as an orchestra needs all kinds of instruments.

I think this passage from Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a great example of the Dynamist view of how to reunite with Nature. (I get the feeling she doesn't think much of us farmers!)

As part of my PoF studies, I want to ask myself how the main themes of Chapter Two are expressed in my own character.

For me, doing PoF means giving myself the time to find the concrete examples Steiner provides and try them out, attempting to be that thinker who strives to penetrate by thinking what he must first experience by observing.

Fr. Pinckaer gives a succinct explanation of how freedom came to be identified with "freedom of choice" in the 14th century, and where that has led.

There's hardly a better expression of the trickiness of relying on desire, than Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

How can any choice be made from a position of indifference?

Chapter One of POF is full of historical characters speaking from different viewpoints, telling us in the most sincere way what they believe after having thought very deeply about the issue of freedom.

If I have to experience determinism in its fullness in order to appreciate POF, I'd rather it be through art and literature, especially movies!

I'd like to try using this weblog as an expansion of the notes I've been keeping on the various readings that Tom is providing along with the text, and also some exercises in trying to grasp what ideas mean by applying them to the experiences of my life. I'm grappling w/ just what Sartre means by the Fundamental Project.