The King’s Coffee is more than just a caffeinated beverage. It’s a culture. In a world where Red Bull and Monster energy drinks get people their caffeine drug fix or where Starbucks serves up sugar comas by the environmentally-friendly disposable cup, coffee seems to have lost the fine traditions and culture that have surrounded it in its long history. But not here.
Here, there is inspiration. The rustic and uniquely librarian feel to the shop encourages the next great idea, whether you’re a student cramming for a test, an entrepreneur talking over the next big thing with your business partners, or even just a part-time philosopher like me. Building on centuries of coffee tradition, we believe that the coffee house is a source of intellectual discussion, break-through ideas, and the search for truth. From handcrafted wooden tables to our old-fashioned library, the contemplative atmosphere of The King’s Coffee encourages adventure into uncharted ideas. Literary classics can be removed from the library shelves and perused while you sip your coffee or even purchased before you go.
If you will be staying with us as you enjoy your coffee, you can select your favorite, unique coffee mug from our Wall of Mugs. No two mugs are exactly the same and each one has been handcrafted to create a unique experience with each visit to our shop. When you’re finished with the mug, you may either return it or purchase it at the register. If you choose to purchase, know that it is the only one exactly like it and no duplicate will ever be crafted. The uniqueness of your experience at The King’s Coffee is ultimately the measure of our success to create an inspirational and intellectual prolific atmosphere. Though we do also offer to-go cups and lids, we encourage our patrons to enjoy the quiet and thought-provoking atmosphere of the shop.
As much as coffee is a stimulant of the intellectual exercises, we believe that it unlocks the artist in all of us. The walls of the shop are adorned with beautiful artistic originals from local artists to create a perpetual art show for our patrons. Art may also be purchased off the wall and new works will be rotated in as they are received for display. The finer arts will permeate the audible surroundings as well, exhibiting only the finest classical music selections.
Finally, the coffee itself will reflect all of the values inherent to the mission of The King’s Coffee. All of our beans are roasted to perfection on site, treated with the highest care to ensure freshness and quality. Coffee is freshly ground to ensure that your cup of coffee is handed to you in prime flavor. Temperatures of brewed coffee are monitored to prevent coffee from burning and becoming bitter, and only the purest quality spring water is used.
So step into The King’s Coffee and revitalize your intellectual inspiration with a mug or two of our fine coffee!
Stepping off my connecting flight from Kansas City to Charlotte, NC en route to Cleveland, I entered the men's bathroom to perform my necessaries. As I made my way through the door, I almost froze with shock as I thought I was looking at Bernie Mac (God rest his soul) or a very close relative of his. From crazy hair to comical smile, I was certain that he could've made a career being a Mac-alike. It hadn't occurred to me why he was there in his airport uniform, but I made my way to the urinal to fulfill my purpose.
Then, the man who looked like Bernie Mac began to talk to the patrons of the men's restroom. "How are you all doing today? Early? Man, you've gotta wake up with a smile! Since 4 am? Well, I was up by then too! I just want to see everyone smile. How're you doing, sir? I'm good, I'm good, I don't complain. Because nobody listens. How're you doing, sir? Oh, can I help you with that? Don't want you to have any trouble carrying anything and hurting yourself! Alright, alright..." Without trying to be too gratuitous with my details, this sort of upfront chatter was making my bladder very shy, standing before the urinal.
Was the airport paying this guy? It all seemed very invasive and awkward, since the unspoken rule in men's bathroom is that everything should be left unspoken. I was reminded of my similar apprehension when I was pulled aside twice to have my bags checked before getting on to my previous flight. I had been immediately uncomfortable at the thought of being poked and prodded like you hear on all the news stories. Gee, couldn't Bernie Mac just stop talking and let a guy tinkle in peace? I half-expected him with his overly-enthusiastic attitude to give ever man trying to take a whiz in the row of urinals a hearty "good game" butt slap to encourage excellent urination.
This man's identity has been cleverly concealed by the photographer's crappy iPhone camera
Speaking of the news, I never watch it, but the airport TVs were full of them, all playing one news program or another. The interesting thing was that they were all national network news programs: not local new. National news has absorbed the consciousness of many people. From the presidential elections to the latest disaster, everyone wants to know what's going on around the country. What is Congress fouling up now? How's the stock market doing? What's the latest news with big business? While waiting for my second plane, a man standing in the middle of the gate's sitting area spoke loudly about his company's business strategy and expansion plans, as if to make a big scene of his importance. It was quite comical, and I even snuck a picture, but he seriously was wholly absorbed with global business.
This, I think can be applied to the Hollywood scene as well. Programs like TMZ have made all kinds of money off of gossip and scoop stories on the lives of the "rich and famous". Some people follow their lives more closely than they follow those of their children. America is obsessed with the celebrity scene and any latest juicy, chewy piece of fat to fall from the tables of the mass media is enough into a frantic feeding frenzy and bring us back, begging for more.
I think this even ties into something I was recently having a discussion about regarding "philanthropic" endeavors, especially those worldwide. Wiki-pedia defines "philanthropy" using the notion of enhancing "what it is to be human". Does anyone doing "philanthropy" know what it means "to be human"? And why do these efforts always seem to happen in Africa or some disaster stricken area? What's wrong with right here, in my neighborhood?
These three things all have a common source: an inordinate global concern and a dangerous unwillingness to take personal responsibility for ourselves and our own community. Those who contribute to the alleviate "world hunger" often fail to alleviate the very real pains and struggle of their friends, family, and the needy of their own community. Philanthropy is opposed to true charity, as it seeks to draw attention towards "real world" needs... and the efforts of those who make them. More often then not, my experience has been that philanthropy is a feather in people's caps, and not a nail in their hands and feet like charity is. Anyone can give money to feed the kids in Africa and feel like they did their good deed, but can you give a hug to your mother or father, or a helping hand on your brother's homework, or an hour or two helping your grandparents rake the leaves in their backyard?
We consume the celebrity gossip because the moral missteps of the accomplished and powerful make us feel better about our ethically bankrupt lives. In this same vein, it allows us to neglect our own areas of deficiency, so as not to expose what the level of self-knowledge we lack. We absorb this information because it counts as entertainment to hear about the scandals, the divorces, the political opinions, and the drama; but really, seeing this a source of entertainment helps to placate our own nagging consciences about the miserable and messed-up lives we're leading. In many cases, our lives are not any better than those of Hollywood. We just count ourselves lucky that they're under that kind of scrutiny for our entertainment and comforting, and we're not.
People focus on national or global political "issues" because they can remain anonymous about them. We can scream at our televisions at home, and not need to bring our concerns in front of an actual group of people. Mass media and social networks have allowed the citizen to be anonymous in his opinions, never needing to have the courage to risk his identity to stand up for his beliefs. I do believe that our nation is in a very dangerous time with the liberties that have been taken at the national level, but let it not be an excuse to neglect valuing our own local government and business success.
So, do I place my own life into consideration and determine what things I need to change? Do I treat those immediately around me with love and kindness, because "charity begins at home"? In what ways do I look to be a force for the common good of those within my neighborhood or community by setting a personal example for others?
I know I'm asking these questions, but to be honest, I hadn't really thought of an answer because Bernie Mac was still talking and I still couldn't pee yet.
If I began a sentence with "I was listening to some Christian rock and...," most people have one of two reactions. If you're one of those people that would get really excited and eager to talk about your favorite Reliant K song, I'm sorry to say I'm going to disappoint you with this post. On the other hand, if you're one of those people who says that Christian rock is for uncool, churchy kids, then I'm going to surprise you by revealing that some of the most Christian music I have ever heard is actually from a popular band.
"Jacob Wrestling with the Angel" by Rembrandt
My primary criticism of much of the popular Christian music that I've heard is that it lacks the human element. Personally, I find much of it nauseatingly upbeat and predictably appealing to my feelings (if I had any). As a result, much of it fails to wrestle with faith, as Jacob wrestled with the angel. For this generation, faith doesn't come easy, and I think it doesn't come easy for anyone. There are far too many challenges to it for it to be simply a walk in the park. Personally for me, it's a regular struggle to push past my own rational outlook on the world and seek to understand the Divine Being who is the source of all good. Therefore, simply praising and worshiping is not something I completely "get".
Whether you have this same conflict as I do or not, everyone has their own reasons to struggle with faith. It might not be perpetual, though. Often times, it's a thing that works in a cycle: you find an inspiration to your faith, you cultivate and treasure it. Then, when you're feeling strong on your feet, you forget what go you there, which is why you fall flat on your face soon after. But ultimately, the true Christian will arise once more and fight his way back to faith and this time, in an effort to keep it.
Therefore, the Christian rock that is going to popularly engage this generation of people is going to appeal to this seemingly contradictory notion of zealously high aspirations for our faith, frustration and anxiety at our repeated failures, and a committed conversion back to our faith in God. The band I have in mind, then, is none other than Mumford & Sons, and more specifically, their album, "Sigh No More".
Mumford & Sons
The album contains more Christian themes than I myself understand, and yet it maintains a firm grounding in the human person, with all of our struggles and trials. Anyone who is truly a Christian knows that it takes hard work to be one. If you don't feel like your sweating blood sometimes, just to keep your faith, then I would say you're not a Christian: your faith is not being tested, you are not truly following the path of Christ in suffering and sorrow. It is a constant struggle, one in which we occasionally, or even frequently fail to meet. But the hallmark of such an epic fight for our souls is to dust off and try again.
It all begins with the statement: "Serve God, love me, and mend". (Sigh No More) Service to God, love others, and then take care of yourself. This, of course, is none other than the Golden Rule, learned from Jesus Christ. Our lives belong to God and it is through our interaction with others that we can show our affection for God, by keeping his commandment first with the people around us and then with ourselves. The song continues with a statement so hopeful, I must reproduce it here in its entirety:
Love; it will not betray you Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free Be more like the man you were made to be
First, Love is what sets us free, and as God is caritas, the highest, ultimate form of love, that voluntary servitude towards God and others will paradoxically give us freedom, not take it away. It is in this choice of service that we demonstrate that we are free to do so. The third line suggests that to love like this is Man's true purpose, which is confirmed in the second song of the album, The Cave. The desire for freedom is once more urgently desired, "Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how, to live my life as it's meant to be." (The Cave) The imagery of the song makes unmistakeable references to Homer's The Odyssey, in which the homeward hero, Odysseus, instructs his crew to tie him to the mast of the ship as they passed by the island of the deadly Sirens, temptresses of the sea who draw sailors to their deaths on the rocky island shores. The song draws on this desire to resist their temptuous call, even taunting the sirens with the lines, "The harvest left no food for you to eat. You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see, but I have seen the same, I know the shame in your defeat," (The Cave) for it was believed that the Sirens were cannibalistic. The third song of "Sigh No More", Winter Winds, speaks further of this same hope, reminding us that "remember spring swaps snow for leaves, you'll be happy and wholesome again, when the city clears and sun ascends." (Winter Winds) Hope that is a sure mark of the Christian, for while the rest of the world despairs in its damnation, this soul understands that he was made to be united with God and He will deliver him.
Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse
However, pride, doubt, and rebellion begins to creep in. Despite the obviously Christian references of Roll Away the Stone, it is not a positive song towards faith. In fact, it is contemptuous and bitter towards God: "It seems that all my bridges have been burnt, but you say that's exactly how this grace thing works." (Roll Away the Stone) To be honest, I sympathize with the verses of this song because faith often results in the free choice of the Creation against the Creator. It is certainly not Man's purpose to do this, as we have seen, but we do it anyway because our created natures "know better" than the omnipotent nature: "But you, you've gone too far this time, you have neither reason nor rhyme, with which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine." (Roll Away the Stone)
My interpretation of White Blank Page, the fifth song on the album, presumes to put words in the mouth of God, as I believe he reacts to this rebellion. The opening verses of the song question Man's desires and probes his very soul for fittingness:
Can you lie next to her And give her your heart, your heart As well as your body And can you lie next to her And confess your love, your love As well as your folly And can you kneel before the King And say I'm clean, I'm clean
To me, this echoes a soul's Examination of Conscience, in which the Christian surveys their words, thoughts, and actions for any sins committed for which reparations need to be made. It is true, a man in rebellion against God cannot answer these and still claim to be His servant. However, it is with great sadness that the words mournfully carry on, "But tell me now, where was my fault, in loving you with my whole heart." (White Blank Page) Who can claim no fault or harm towards us and also have loved us with His whole heart? My guess is Jesus Christ.
The human soul is now steeped in bitterness towards his Creator. He has forsaken Him and has turned towards his own passions, "Stars hide your fires, these here are my desires, and I won't give them up to you this time around." (Roll Away the Stone) But it is in I Gave You All that Man must express his unmistakeably anguish at having been separated from God.The lost and wayward soul has given his God everything he has, and yet "... you rip it from my hands, and you swear it's all gone. And you rip out all I have, just to say that you've won," like a small child who takes what is not his and hides it behind his back, claiming complete ignorance of the wrong.
Devils from a fresco in the Rila Monestary in Bulgaria
Now, the devil has his prize. Man has forsaken God for his own passions, and now Satan claims what is his. He taunts Man, "Weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart. Weep, little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start." (Little Lion Man) This hits very close to home for me and for anyone who recognizes, despite their best intentions, there is always that evil voice, whispering in your ear and telling you about all the things you could never do because you lack the strength and courage to do them. This song is by far the most angsty and frustrated of the entire album. Even the chord progression sounds like a demon's jig over his winnings. The devil gloats to us that despite all our strength, all our virtue, we are still subject to his power and "your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck." (Little Lion Man) In fear is the way the devil likes to keep Man, and it is in our fears that Satan reigns supreme.
If Little Lion Man is Satan's triumphant jeering, then Timshel, the proceeding song, is God's invitation to return to His grace. Upon seeing the peculiar title of the song, I was immediately curious about what it meant. As it turns out, timshel is commonly understood to be Hebrew for "thou shalt", as it is found in the Ten Commandments. However, in John Steinbeck's book East of Eden, two characters have a discussion of its meaning, and one of them reveals that it's original meaning has been confused and that it actually means "thou mayest". He claims that the "mayest" distinguishes itself from "shalt" because it puts emphasis on Man's freedom to choose, and not on the deterministic and inevitable implications of "shalt". Mumford & Sons makes this a critical, tender moment after the previous harsh, and at times vulgar tune of Little Lion Man. The soul now realizes that despite his despair, "you have your choices, and these are what make man great, his ladder to the stars." (Timeshel) Man's freedom is what makes him like God, in his image and likeness. God does not leave Man to these choices, alone and unaided: "you are not alone in this, as brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand." (Timshel) However as the song ends, the final haunting words, "But I can't move the mountains for you" (Timshel) put the ultimate responsibility on Man to make the right choices. God's grace is sufficient to do anything, and He gives it to us all time, but if we are not willing to to do the will of God, His grace will fall on fallow ground or choked by thorns. (Luke 8:4-15)
Thorns, or Thistles and Weeds, which coincidentally enough, is the title of the next song, rise up and choke our faith in Christ's Parable of the Sower. The lyrics tell us to "plant your hope with good seeds, don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds, rain down, rain down on me." (Thistles and Weeds) In keeping with the Parable of the Sower, the teachings of Christ are the good seeds we should seek to plant within us, and those of the world only yield destructive fruits. The song creates an air of impending doom, as if the vices of this world threaten to strangle any faith that we have.
Landscape with the Parable of the Sower
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Threatened by this evil, Man cries out to be free of these vicious habits and temptations. Our souls were made for higher things, but when our back have been turned to God's graces, these higher things are impossible to realize. Very soon, a soul must admit that he's been wrong, that "now my heart stumbles on things I don't know, my weakness I feel I must finally show." (Awake My Soul) That 'weakness' of dependence on God is a lie from the devil. Of course, we are weak, but the notion that we are autonomous, that we have no dependence on anything is a clever deception of the devil to take advantage of our pride: "How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes, I struggle to find any truth in your lies." (Awake My Soul) But Man knows in the depths of his heart that he is dependent and that he cannot live without a higher Helper. The Helper, which is a term used by Christ in reference to Holy Spirit, offers to us, "Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all, but lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall. Lend me your eyes I can change what you see, but your soul you must keep, totally free." (Awake My Soul) God permits us to keep our souls and our freedom. He does not take that timshel away, but gives us that responsibility to make those choices. He allows us to fall sometimes because that is how we realize our dependence on our Creator, "For you were made to meet your maker." (Awake My Soul)
The eleventh song on the album, Dust Bowl Dance, deviates strangely from the rather abstract, introspective tone of the rest of the album. It tells the story of a young man whose farm is being foreclosed upon after a recent famine. The young man's anger and bitter frustration with those who would take his land is frighteningly apparent with, "I'll go out back and I'll get my gun, I'll say, 'You haven't met me, I am the only son.'" (Dust Bowl Dance) However, this song is retrospective because the crime has already been committed, "Well, yes sir, yes sir, yes, it was me, I know what I've done, 'cause I know what I've seen." (Dust Bowl Dance) After the evil Man does in a moment of passionate rage, the soul feels the crushing weight of its sins and the feeling is one of intense contrition, "So collect your courage and collect your horse, and pray you never feel this same kind of remorse." (Dust Bowl Dance) And this is how we reapproach our God who we have denied: with sorrow and true contrition for our sins. The soul, having made this painful journey illustrated in each chapter of this album, now looks to return to God and seek his forgiveness.
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt
It is fitting then, that final song of the "Sigh No More", After the Storm, draws on some imagery from the Parable of the Prodigal Son. After his defiance to God, after his bitter rebellion against his Creator, Man's pride fails him and he cannot run anymore, "And after the storm, I run and run as the rains come and I look up, I look up, on my knees and out of luck, I look up." (After the Storm) His soul is weary of his insurgency against the Lord, for he has found the bottom of the pit which he himself has dug. He sees the meaninglessness of his own acts, but still desires to not waste away, "But I won't rot, I won't rot, not this mind and not this heart, I won't rot." (After the Storm) Now, the soul must return to his God. His loneliness in his appalling state has shown him that God is the only one who can welcome him back: "And I won't die alone and be left there. Well I guess I'll just go home, Oh God knows where." (After the Storm) Though his sorrow for his own sins makes him realize the grave injustice that he has done to his Maker, it does not stifle all his hope. With God, there is a better life, and these verses make that abundantly clear:
And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there, With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.
And with that, Sigh No More reaches it's conclusion, and the Christian begins once more in his quest for unity with God. So am I totally full of it? Am I just making this up and really this album is another rant meant to fulfill any lingering teenage angst? Maybe, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the most Christian rock album I've ever heard.
Remember those stories that had you fill in key words or phrases to create a totally random and hilarious story? It'd typically go something like, "This morning, I woke up to the sound of a (noun) while I was dreaming about (an activity you hate doing) ..." You would ask a friend to give the your necessary words or phrases without telling him or her the context of the words. When you were finished, you'd read the short story from beginning to end and have a good laugh over it.
I bring this up because I was thinking about what kinds of answers would fill in the blanks if modern popular music provided the answers. Probably something like this:
I was awoken this morning by tik tok, on the clock, but the party don't stop no, after a long night of livin' a Teenage Dream. I put on my ripped jeans, skin was showin' before going downstairs to have some breakfast. Next thing I know, I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket, but before I do, my mom says to me, "HEYYYY, SEXY LADY!!!!".
Ok, maybe this is a silly exercise, so are these lyrics. Although the truth is that you could do this to Shakespeare and he'd look pretty comical, the point is that these are the things were hear from popular music and have been for a very long time.
PSY performing "Gangnam Style"
However, I am sensing a shift in the preferences of a growing portion of today's music lovers, and it's exactly because the younger generations are realizing that life isn't about the instant gratification anymore. They've been there, they've done that for long enough and they're finally over its glamor. So how is this reflected in musical tastes?
Whatever is "popular" appeals to a baser part of our souls. People choose what is "popular" not because it enriches them; rather one chooses what is popular because it is in keeping with the status quo. Since "everyone is doing it", no one is going to criticize or attack your for doing it yourself.
Sometimes, though, this conception of "popular" wavers and falters under the underestimated strength of the human heart. Sometimes, a truthful light shines through and those who are open to it gather around it. I believe that some interesting trends in contemporary can be seen in this way: as encouraging and cultivating inspirations of what we all truly long for in the deepest desires of our hearts.
The first expression of such a longing is in hurt. Artists such as Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and ADELE come to mind here. The primary subject matter of their songs center around themes of sadness, hurt, and loneliness. Broken and shattered amidst the heartbreak in the world, this music expresses confusion and laments, "I often think about where I went wrong, the more I do, the less I know." ("Don't You Remember" - ADELE, click here for full lyrics) Living the disillusioned life has indeed brought about this pain because the indulgence in what is "popular" has promised the maximum pleasure, but only delivers the deepest, cutting pain. This hurt is always present in the shame at who we have become and what we have sacrificed, "'Cause every town's got a mirror and every mirror still shows me, that I am my own ragged company." ("Ragged Company" - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, click here for full lyrics)
These artists and others have become "popular" because they speak for the hurt and shame that we all have. Their appeal is in their lamenting that we can all identify with. Though it would be a mistake to believe that one day, this is all the world will listen to, this is what a large number of people are gravitating towards because 'misery loves company', and these artists make explicit what lives implicitly in all of our broken souls.
Acknowledgement of one's misery is the first necessary step, but even more imperative is the discover of our innate desire for the good and the willful resolution to obtain it. Florence + the Machine and Mumford & Sons rank among the most popular influences on this genre which encourages people to be "more like the man you were made to be." ("Sigh No More" - Mumford & Sons, click here for full lyrics) It's true, these songs are about pain and hurt, but their defining characteristic is not in complaining to the world about endless woes. Courage is necessary to carry on after being let-down, the ability to pick up the pieces and find peace in carrying on. This kind of music has gained significant popularity because the listener it attracts is "done with [her] graceless heart, so tonight [she's] gonna cut it out and then restart." ("Shake It Out" - Florence + the Machine, click here for full lyrics)
Though we must not fool ourselves into thinking that because a few artists are gaining some traction in popular culture, the whole world will suddenly embrace this truth and desire for the full meaning of our lives, but what I think it does mean is that there is a growing number of people out there who are realizing that their lives have purpose and they are called to acts of heroism and virtue.
A calling to deny those passions that come so easily to us and ascend to lives of greatness and meaning is the heart's true desire. "Party rocking" and living "gangnam style" feed the body, but they leave the soul starving for sustenance. Pop culture is popular and will remain so, as long as it feeds our vices and encourages our lukewarmness. But life's true adventure is proving to ourselves, even when no one is watching, that we were made for great deeds and noble hearts.
This is a post from the series, "The Highest Human Science". Click here for a complete list of all posts in the series.
Finally! The Greeks figure it out that rational thought is the proper exercise for Man's reason. It's no surprise, actually, that the nation that would sire one of the worlds most delicious entrees would also produce such intellectual superiority (I am, of course, speaking of the gyro which is pictured below on a soft pita with tzatziki sauce and garnishment). The Greeks shed the burden of the ritualistic imposition created by religion, just as the shed all their clothes before competing in the Olympic games (which they also created). Truly, this was a nation of intellectual giants.
NOT Ancient Grease
Ok, well, maybe the guys we're going to talk about today weren't the most accurate in their theories, but credit must be given where it's due: these guys used their heads as best as they could and they paved the way for their countrymen to become some of the biggest intellectual giants of all time. It all began around the 6th or 7th century B.C. The Greeks were mostly concerned with public affairs and political matters, but around this period, Man's reason would soon be used for scientific purposes and asking the big questions about life, purpose, and meaning.
Beginnings were small, however, and the first question that came to mind was the one every child asks: what is this made of? And just as a child's answers are rather amusing, so were the answers proposed by the 'Pre-Socratic' philosophers. Thales, for example, believed that since moisture was the nourishment of all living bodies, water must be the substance of which everything consists. On the other hand, Anaximenes believed this substance was air. Further, Heraclitus believed it was fire, and still, Anaximander believed it was the "boundless" or indeterminate. Essentially, these brave intellectuals were trying to answer the question of material cause according to theories of materialistic monism, or the theory that everything is materially made up of one substance.
The Gyro
Despite the apparent silliness of the pre-Socratics, three philosophers of the era distinguished themselves as great and innovative thinkers in the open ocean of rational thought. Heraclitus, also mentioned above, put forth the distinctly unique thought that reality is change or becoming. This is best explained by the notion that nothing is what it was a split-second before. The very fact that you have an interaction with an object, changes something about that object. However, the contradiction to this thought is in admitting that to some degree, things must stay the same in certain respects. A large rock doesn't change much under one gust of wind, though under by many years, it may change the entire appearance of the rock. So to some degree, a rational man must maintain that an object stays the same (I don't become a completely different person when I eat a gyro, which coincidentally, I would love to be doing right about now). Therefore, in the same instant, something is both changing constantly (the thing itself) and not changing at all (because through change, it isn't a "something"). Of course, this is blatantly contradictory and though an interesting thought, is now not worth any more discussion here.
The Material Monist Lineup, from left: Thales, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, and Anaximander
The next thinker of note is Democritus. His philosophy can be characterized as looking for the one constant thing in the world of flux and change theorized by Heraclitus. The void was the solution to this riddle, and since it was indeed "nothing", it both existed and did not exist. The substance that did exist in the void, the plenum, was made of indivisible particles called "atoms" (though this is the origin of the name, these are very different from the the modern notion of atoms). Using this framework, he proceeded to explain that the organization of the universe was arrived at though a series of coincidental and lucky circumstances. This was built upon the notion that events are purely mechanical and determinant; therefore, the fact that a particle collides a certain way with another is due to laws of physics, whereas the reason why both particles were moving in those particular directions to begin with is purely random and dictated only by chance. This makes the fallacious assumption that just because we cannot see the first cause of a particle moving in a particular direction (just like we can see and predict the result of a collision, due to the laws of physics),
Anaxagoras however had probably one of the most uniquely insightful, though incorrect attempts at explaining the ever-changing world. His belief that something could not become something it did not possess within it already. For example, the physical qualities of a tree, such as hardness of back, greenness of leave, etc., must all be properties contained within the seed. Furthermore, the material causes of that tree (e.g. bark, leaves, wood, etc.) must all be contained within that see as well. How else was it possible that the seed should become a tree? Or, better yet, bread contains every element of bone, blood, and flesh that it will eventually dissolve into when it nourishes the human body (that'll make you think twice about eating out again). Granted, this idea is pretty silly; however, it was a step in the right direction of understanding and taking into account the natures of actuality and potentiality which are integral to understanding Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophy.
This is a post from the series, "The Highest Human Science". Click here for a complete list of all posts in the series.
In 1917, the French Catholic philosopher, Jacques Maritain, wrote in his Elements de Philosophie (Introduction to Philosophy) that "philosophy... is the sovereign science. Therefore, it is competent to judge every other human science, rejecting as false every scientific hypothesis which contradicts its own results." By this, Maritain is claiming that every other human study which is governed by reason is ultimately subject to the study of reason itself, which is none other than philosophy.
In today's culture, philosophy is seen as boring, a joke, or as excellent screenplay material for the latest science fiction films, such as "The Matrix" and "Minority Report". In liberal arts universities, it's a core requirement, though the reason why it's a requirement is often forgotten. It appears, more often than not, that philosophy is included in these curriculums to simply make students aware of many different way to view the world, but without any guidance as to which ones should be taken seriously and which ones should be discarded into the dump heap of nonsense.
But this is to completely miss the point of philosophy, and Maritain demonstrates the correct understanding with the statement I just quoted above. In the modern desire for self-autonomy, each human study (he uses the term "science", but to distinguish from the strictly natural sciences, I will use "human study") has claimed sole authority over every aspect of its domain. In the case of fine arts, artists have defined their work as self-expressive and reflective of subjective passions or ideas. They no longer seek to inform themselves of what "good" art consists and instead determine that it must be anything and everything that comes from the artist, a classically self-absorbed notion that is typical of the vain.
The Matrix: because the "bullet stop" trick just isn't possible without philosophy
In other cases, some studies not only claim complete dominion over their subject matter, but plot to overthrow the authority of other fields of study. The natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) assert that their studies directly nullify the authority that theology possesses over its subject matter, such as using scientific evidence to disprove the existence of God. Psychology and many other social sciences, have also been hijacked by this mentality, using wildly inappropriate extrapolative methods to reduce the immaterial, yet real human soul to nothing but determinate chemical interactions in the material organ of the brain.
Human studies need authority to guide them in the right direction. If they can be held accountable to no authority, then the study will contradict itself and break down into nonsense. Philosophy is primarily concerned with the study of human reason, therefore it establishes the infrastructure that makes every other study possible. For example, the scientific method is based on a form of logic (philosophy's domain) called "inductive reasoning". It's a very powerful short hand method of reasoning, but it remains fatally flawed in the sense that no matter how many times you verify your hypothesis, you cannot guarantee with 100% certainty that it is correct.
So why do we study philosophy? We study philosophy because it is solely devoted to the study of human reason, and since every human study is based on human reason, philosophy has it's "fingers in every pie", so to speak. Though it allows physics to judge its own study by principles of physics, it is responsible for wielding authority over the principles of philosophy on which physics and every other human study depends. It keeps the other studies "honest" in their intellectual endeavors and acts like referee in in interdisciplinary disputes.
Though knowing philosophy won't make a student an expert in any one field of human study (except maybe philosophy), it empowers the student to judge the validity of a study's conclusions. In conversation, the student of philosophy can participate in any study, and armed with the understanding of the very infrastructure of human reasoning, he can independently judge and remain intellectually critical of every other study. By "intellectual criticism" I'm not talking about snobbish remarks or obnoxious policing, but there are many fields of human study that are largely without a formal education in philosophical principles, so they make all kinds of logical errors in their study. The student needs to be able to actively discern the truth of a conclusion reached in a study and judge whether or not this agrees with reason.
That is why I have begun this series, entitled "The Highest Human Science". I will be drawing most of the source material from Maritain's "Introduction to Philosophy", which is an excellent guide to understanding the basics of philosophical study, but there will occasionally be other sources sprinkled here and there as we go. Stay tuned into the blog for upcoming posts in this series! I end this introduction post with one of the most crucially informative philosophy videos ever.
*Adapted from Jacques Maritain's book, "An Introduction to Philosophy" (trans. by E.I. Watkin)
In Book III of Plato's Republic, Socrates and Glaucon discuss the role and content of musical compositions to be included in their fictional, utopian polis. The beginning of this topic involves them throwing out all bad or unhelpful forms of music in an effort to preserve those that will be good for the polis as a whole.
He correlates/compares particular modes of music with particular activities. For example, lamentations have a particular mode that imitates a sorrowful person. Other modes can be associated with drunkenness, idleness, and softness. Still others are associated with battle and courage. When confronting the question of why music selection is so important in the polis, Plato claims that "rhythm and harmony permeate the inner part of the soul more than anything else," and that the music will inform the souls of the city's people as much as an academic education can.
Plato also believes that music is instrumental in aiding people to determine "goodness". People very familiar with good forms of music (and poetry) will be able to "sense it acutely when something has been omitted from a thing and when it hasn't been finely crafted or finely made by nature." Essentially, that person will be better equipped to discern right from wrong, simply by having an education in good music. A harmony of soul will allow the person to reject those things that jeopardize that harmony.
Ok, wait, seriously? Does this mean we have to listen to Christian rock all the time or classical music? While I, personally, am a strong advocate for tuning in to classical music regularly, I do not think that's what we should be taking away from this point.
It's practically scientific fact that certain types of music affect our moods, and this makes perfect reasonable sense because we all have our happy playlists and our angry playlists, right? So this shouldn't be too crazy.
James Hetfield of Metallica; Exhibit A of Musical PTSD
However, prolonged exposure to a particular kind of music can have lasting effects. Similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), listening to a single genre can influence your nervous system and hormones in such a way that they create semi-permanent conditions, just like constant shelling and gunfire. For example, listening to only grunge and other forms of hard rock can acclimate your body's hormones to stressful levels, regardless of if you are listening to music at that moment or not. The music conditions your body to release hormones that induce stress and adrenaline into your system. If the exposure to this music is regular, then the stress hormone release is also regular until it becomes the norm, whether you are listening to the music or not.
So, now the question I always want to know the answer to: what would the virtuous man do? What music would the virtuous man listen to? Well, the answer is not as easy as pointing to one particular artist/band or even one particular genre. And it certainly is not found in listening to the 10 hour version of Trololo (I think that if you can make it through 10 hours of this, you'll be a master in the virtue of fortitude, but I'm sure your prudence would be sharply called into question). So where is it?
To be a good person, one must do good things, eat good food, have good friends, etc. No good man will desire to surround himself with evil because he only delights in good things and everything less than that is abhorrent to him in varying degrees. So if goodness is to permeate the virtuous man's life, this must also apply to listening to good music. Therefore, our next inquiry is to discover of what things good music consists.
I am not necessarily referring to the gospel group, Virtue,
(above) when I refer to "virtuous music"
Just as food contributes to the goodness of our bodily health, music contributes to the health of our mind. The saying, "you are what you eat," applies just as much to music as it does to food. If certain kinds of food create unhealthiness in your body, then you will become unhealthy. If certain kinds
of music create unhealthiness of the mind, as described above, then the mind will become unhealthy. We care about the health of mind and body because it is integral to the soundness of one's soul. Our minds and bodies enable us to live virtuous or vicious lifestyles, and those lifestyles inform our character and, ultimately, our souls. Just as a hammer without a sufficient grip on the handle is unwieldy and inept at performing its task, we too will be inept at living a properly good life if our bodies are disordered.
So if music is so important to the health of the soul, we probably should pay a lot of attention to what good music is, so as to properly nourish our souls. Good music consists of that which brings us to realize our human good, namely virtue. After agreeing in the above paragraph that music does have an effect on the soul, it stands to reason that it must have either a positive or negative effect. And since "the good" is the aim for all of our actions, why would we ever desire to listen to "bad" music? (Note: by "bad", I am not referring to poorly performed or untalented music; I am referring to music that deteriorates the mind and corrupts the soul)
Music informs our minds and souls, just as the rhythm of a drum cadence informs a marching army to march in step. In the case of the human soul, good music is going to be that which inspires virtue in the individual. It lifts man's heart and mind to higher things and inspires him to perform heroic feats in everyday life. In times of struggle, it must comfort and console him, but always encouraging him to keep his goals of character firmly fixed. Music moves the human heart, and for the man who aspires to virtue, it must always move him towards his goal of being the virtuous man.
Therefore, good music inspires and directs man's desires, will, and actions to the achievement of virtue, and therefore, this is the best kind of music.
And now, here's a small sample of music that inspires me personally to virtue!
Immediately, I obediently scrunched my eyes shut and
turned my face to my skinny, boyish legs. I wasn't missing anything important,
my mom would always tell me. Sometimes, I would become curious and try to catch
a glimpse, but Mom would have none of it. She made sure that each of the boys
had their eyes shut and faces turned away.
A brief moment later, the passionate kiss between the film's main
characters had ended, and I was allowed to resume watching.
Akiss?
Seriously? Were you home-schooled or something? That's nothing compared to the
other stuff out there!
Yes, it was just a mildly zealous kiss between a man and a woman,
but I thank God every day for the first woman who taught me to value affection
and guard my heart. It's true, I have not always been good at it. I have never
stopped trying though, hoping one day to return to that childlike innocence.
Can one reclaim that innocence that we sacrifice over age and
experience? In Genesis, Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil. They did so willingly because their pride directed them to challenge the
only restriction that God placed upon them.* So after their sin, could Adam and Eve re-enter the Garden of Eden?
Could they return to the paradise of blissful innocence? No, they could not,
and because of original sin, neither can we. There is no going back, and what is gone is gone now for good.
Last weekend at Mass was Scout's week, and before the Final
Blessing, the pastor distributed a good Christian award to 15 young Cub Scouts
for completing the merit requirements. The boys, no older than 10 years old,
processed from their pew towards the front to the side of the sanctuary, but as
they did, I noticed that the last boy was wearing jeans that had the pant hem ending awkwardly right above is skinny ankles. No doubt, the poor kid was beginning to hit his growth
spurt. And at that instant, my heart wept for him.
In his innocence, he was oblivious to what lay ahead of him. He
has no idea that in a short time, his boyish heart will be violated and
assaulted by a cruel society, intent on stealing that precious gift. It
will be gone forever, and if he values virtue, he will weep for this loss as I
do. In that moment, I made a quiet, but urgent prayer for the safety of their
hearts, now and in the future. I prayed that they might desire to become
virtuous and upstanding men and that this award might be the first step in that
direction. And it's not just for boys that I worry about: I worry for the girls. They will be abused, objectified and disrespected to a degree lower than animals. Any semblance of integrity will be challenged and lost in the hormone-driven high school and college years by the "skin race", an escalation of how much they can bare for a boy's hungry eyes. A frightening thing is that most girls never realize this, but the most disturbing thing is that even if they realize it, they may never have the courage to reclaim their dignity and restore their innocence.
However, I do not believe all is lost with the departure of childlike innocence. St. John in the Book of Revelations writes:
"And I heard a
loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with
men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death
shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more,
for the former things have passed away." And he who sat upon the throne
said, "Behold, I make all things new." (Revelation 21:3-5).
Christ has taken what was, and he has fulfilled it and glorified
it. He took a human body, made filthy and a vehicle for immorality by Man, and
glorified it in the Resurrection. He took on a human heart, made bitter and
selfish by Man’s sin, and glorified it, making it an eternal model of perfect
charity. Christ makes these things, and all things new and better. Therefore, it is Christ who has made our innocence
new.
With that statement, two things are important to realize. First,
this is not something we can do alone, for Christ works on this through us. This
innocence is a unmerited gift that God gives to those who are open to receiving
it. Therefore, its attainment is not directly related to any effort that I make
to achieve it; rather, my effort to remain in God’s holy grace and foster a
real relationship with Christ is what will open me to this gift.
Second, because our childlike innocence is made new and glorified
by our struggle, it is better than the innocence of the child. Just as the
resurrected body is more perfect than our sinful body, the glorified innocence
renewed by Christ is more perfect than that given to Adam and Eve in Eden. This
is because we have chosen it for ourselves and the longevity of this resolution, through struggle and toil, confirms this choice with greater glory and rewards, both temporal and eternal.
It will always be a challenge to every man, young or old, to seek and find that holy innocence renewed by Christ, but once discovered, it will chase away our fears, replaced by a lasting peace that we will carry with us until our deaths and into Eternal Glory.
I use Google Calendar every day. It's incredibly handy and helpful, and all my appointments and events are on there. With alerts, I can be reminded of events that I might otherwise forget. I have separate calendars for my different kinds of events (birthdays, fitness training, etc.) The plethora of different views allows me to see my schedule in any way I might (or might never) want.
I hate Google Calendar. And any kind of calendar/schedule-maker that is easy to use. If it's easy to use, people will use it, and with calendars and schedule-makers, that just won't do.
The Face of Boredom
When you have a schedule, you subtly believe you know what is going to happen during your day. You set the events of your day and you move from one appointment to the next, one task to the next, and one pre-planned moment to the next. It's true that society could hardly function without schedules, but it's just a cultural symptom of our obsession with productivity and efficiency.
This is bad for two reasons: First, because your day is "planned", nothing new or exciting can happen. You know the sequence of events (in fact, you have determined most of them). You become the ultimate master of your own destiny and therefore, there are no surprises.
Second reason: how mind-numbingly boring is that? The chief problem afflicting our culture today is not poverty, hunger, or filthy interstate rest stops... it's boredom. When we use a schedule to line up every minute detail of their days, weeks, years, and lives, we perpetuate this heinous evil and rob ourselves of engaging stimulation.
Maybe each day feels the same because they ARE the same.
"Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today."
For most people with schedules, each day feels exactly the same. It's like you know what's going to happen tomorrow. In corporate America, a select few people have truly exciting jobs, but for the rest of us, it can be a drudge. If you're expecting the same unexciting day as yesterday, what are you looking forward to? Tomorrow will come and go, and you might ask yourself why do you really care?
Maybe we like schedules to feel in control of our lives. In an effort to be certain of as many things as possible, we plan our lives as a sequence of calender events and appointment invites. It's like giving someone a wrapped gift that you picked out. They may have no idea what's inside, but you do. For that reason, there is no surprise for you. Imagine always giving people wrapped gifts and never receiving one yourself.
What is this ultimately taking a toll on? Reliance on schedules negatively affects our ability to be spontaneous and adventurous that romantically invaluable skill. Imagination is the heart and soul of spontaneity. A common error is to believe that one must be erratic or impulsive to be spontaneous. However, it is imagination that gives the human soul the agility to be spontaneous. But there are few things that kill imagination, and consequently spontaneity, more than pre-planning your life and relying on rigid structures. Consequently, we become slaves to our schedules, both self-imposed and imposed from the outside.
Spontaneity also has a profound influence on one's courage. When an unexpected opportunity or challenge arrives, our ability to rise to it will be diminished, just because it does not fit into whatever we expected. Life is meant for action, and courage is what enables us to take appropriate action in any circumstance. Without courage, we miss out on life's rewards. Life is not always pre-canned or predetermined, and the most critical moments in life are usually those ones that are not planned or expected. Most of us don't need to chase after tanks on horseback or stop an alien invasion or escape from an island of genetically-engineer dinosaurs to satisfy our spirit of adventure and test our courage (if you do, you might be a fictional character), but that courage and adventurousness needs to be reclaimed.
Seize the moment. Push yourself to heroics. Do not settle for blindly following the established order, and do not be afraid to throw the schedule out and blaze your own trail!
I'll bet Indiana Jones didn't schedule this... and he turned out just fine.
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