Trevor Pelkey > Recent Status Updates

Moran describes the perspective of Wendell Berry - an English professor in the 1980s. Wendell Berry was not only a writer but also a farmer. He treated writing just as he did farming - patiently and always favoring quality over quantity. A good sentence - that is, one that is enjoyable and inspiring for a reader - is given plenty of time and thought (time to grow).

Moran outlines the reasons why he wrote this book, arguing that a sentence - in itself - is an invaluable component of [modern] human experience. He explains how a good sentence not only puts one's thoughts in order but also moves us emotionally (or at least has some affectively pleasing element to it).

In the following chapter, Moran begins illustrating how the generation of sentences is a uniquely human ability.

While in Piræus with Glaucon, Socrates visits with some friends - including Cephalus, Polemarchus (son of Cephalus) and Thrasymachus. After conversing with Cephalus about the meaning of the latter part of one's life, the topic of justice comes up. Socrates, Polemarchus and Thrasymachus argue about what justice is and the extent to which it can be perfectly defined.

My experience reading has been smooth and enjoyable lately, but the reading itself is far too inconsistent. My reading is usually unplanned, only taking place when the mood strikes me. As one might guess, this is precisely the reason why I am not reading as much as I would like to. My goal by the end of this week is to have a reading schedule - a practical one that I will be likely to follow through with.

At this point, Obama has officially announced his candidacy for president. As one might guess, his schedule grew to be far more busy/chaotic than it already was - very long days, quick meals, lack of sleep and difficult time spent away from family. Obama notes, however, the helpful presence and contributions of three particular men he was working with - Gibbs, Reggie and Marvin.

Obama is increasingly overwhelmed with the idea of running for president in 2008. This is something he had not planned on doing - even saying outright at one point that he would not do it. But after being encouraged by many people, including Teddy Kennedy, and getting so much attention in the media, Obama comes to realize that the time to run is not later but now.

Obama writes about his struggle in managing his increased involvement in politics and the big changes going on in the background of his personal life (meeting and getting married to Michelle, losing his mother to cancer, and having his first child, Malia). He tells of how he was beginning to wonder if his involvement in politics was worth the personal expense he was having to pay with his family.

Affirmative action is a complicated set of policies that cannot entirely accepted nor entirely rejected. The end that affirmative action was designed to achieve is valuable and necessary, but the means to this end (i.e. the process/series of actions involved) is messy and problematic. There are at least two different approaches: the "soft" approach and the "hard"/"quota" approach.

There are two kinds of "oughts": rational oughts and moral oughts. Rational oughts concern behavior that we SHOULD act out because it is logical to do so (e.g., refraining from touch a hot stove). Moral oughts concern behavior that is "good" or "bad" according to a certain moral principle(s)(e.g., not murdering someone because homicide is bad).