A review of “Stoics and Epicureans” (audiobook)

There’s a brief mention of the Epicureans and Stoics in the New Testament. Specifically, in “The Acts of the Apostles,” it is said that “certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks” encountered Paul the Apostle (Source: Acts 17:18). I will leave the discussion of this famous encounter to my footnote in this blog post. But suffice it to say here that they were two of the most popular philosophical schools of the classical world. Many Greeks and Romans came from these schools.

Cicero and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have referenced the Roman statesman Cicero a number of times, even quoting from him. Cicero was also an orator and philosopher, who wrote extensively on a number of subjects. He wrote in his native language of Latin, but these quotations are all in English translation. These references (including quotations) are as follows:

Roman statesman Cicero, who was also an orator and philosopher

A review of “Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity” (audiobook)

“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

– Closing lines of the “Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed” (381 CE), a modified version of the “Nicene Creed” (325 CE) – as translated by the 1975 ecumenical version from the “International Consultation on English Texts” (or ICET)

In the eleventh century, Christianity was split into two groups: the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. These churches are the subjects of this audiobook.

A review of “The Vision of Léon Walras” (audiobook)

So I recently finished an audiobook about Léon Walras (pronounced “Valras”), a French economist who was alive from the years 1834 to 1910. I knew almost nothing about him before I listened to this audiobook about his work, I am sad to say. So I learned a lot from it, which was good for someone like me to know about. (Although I was basically an economics minor, I didn't hear Mr. Walras's name until well after I had graduated. So if you haven't heard of him, you're not alone – although I had heard some of his ideas before, I had never heard of him personally before I graduated.)

A review of “The Bill of Rights and Other Amendments” (audiobook)

“The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution, or on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress … ”

– The United States Constitution (signed 1787), Article 5

The United States Constitution included a process by which the original document could be amended (quoted above). It was designed to allow some flexibility within the Constitution, while at the same time protecting the Constitution from voluminous (and excessively rapid) changes. At the time that I write this, there have been 27 amendments to the United States Constitution, in accordance with this process. The first ten of them were the ones that make up our Bill of Rights. These ten amendments were ratified simultaneously with each other on December 15th, 1791. But obviously, they are not the only amendments to the Constitution. There have been 17 others at the time that I write this, and this audiobook covers most of them in some detail.

A review of PBS’s “Native America”

“An act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi … ”

– Full title of the “Indian Removal Act of 1830,” as passed by the United States Congress

This television history of Native Americans is more cultural anthropology than history

This television history of Native Americans seems to be more cultural anthropology than history. In part, this is because they are focused primarily on pre-Columbian history (or history before Columbus). This may explain why they don’t rely much on written records, whose availability for this period is somewhat limited – although I should acknowledge that some examples of it do exist here. History is defined more as the study of written records from the past, whereas archeology is more about the study of physical objects from the past. There is some overlap between these things, but there are also some significant differences. By this traditional distinction, there isn’t much history in this documentary, although there is much archeology in it. More to the point, there is also a lot of cultural anthropology in it. This seems to be one of the weaknesses of this documentary. I tend to be a little skeptical of cultural anthropology in general. (Although I tend to be more supportive of physical anthropology, which I see as quite different.) Cultural anthropology has some interesting things to say, but it would seem to be more humanities than social science, and makes a lot of assumptions that are hard to support scientifically. These assumptions underlie much of the discussion in this documentary.

A review of “Modern Marvels: The Suez Canal” (History Channel)

Long before the Panama Canal was built, the Suez Canal was opened in 1869. This is the same year that America’s Transcontinental Railroad had been completed. But the Suez Canal was even more important for world history. It allowed ships to pass from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, without having to go around Africa. For a trip from Britain to India, a ship could thus save 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) by going on this route. This may make the Suez Canal the most important canal in the world – arguably even more important than the Panama Canal, which is saying something.

Opening of the Suez Canal, 1869