DOCSLIB.ORG

A Relativistic Theory of Phenomenological Constitution

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Relativistic Theory of Phenomenological Constitution A RELATIVISTIC THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION A Self-referential, Transcendental Approach to Conceptual Pathology STEVEN JAMES BARTLETT Copies of this Ph.D. dissertation —in print (hardbound or softbound), in PDF format, or microform— are available through ProQuest 789 E. Eisenhower Pkwy. Ann Arbor, MI 48108 734.997.4630 e-mail: [email protected] http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/orderingres.shtml Please refer to dissertation number 7905583 © Steven James Bartlett, 1970, 2013 This publication is made available by the author as an open access publication, freely downloadable to readers through any non-profit online depository under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, which allows anyone to distribute this work without changes to its content, provided that both the author and the original URL from which this work was obtained are mentioned, that the contents of this work are not used for commercial purposes or profit, and that this work will not be used without the copyright holder’s written permission in derivative works (i.e., you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work without such permission). The full legal statement of this license may be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode Volume I: French Volume II: English A RELATIVISTIC THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION: A SELF-REFERENTIAL, TRANSCENDENTAL APPROACH TO CONCEPTUAL PATHOLOGY A Dissertation submitted to the Faculte des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Universite de Paris (X), Nanterre in a double-language format -- French (Vol. I) and English (Vol. II) -- in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Steven James Bartlett, B. A. , M. A. Dissertation Director: Paul Ricoeur Members of the Committee: Jean Ladriere Alphonse de Waehlens Paris, France May, 1970 Defended publically January 19, 1971 PLEASE NOTE: This dissertation was filmed from the original typescript. Some pages in the filmed version occasionally reproduce text with a lack of dis- tinctness, but all of the text should be readable. A RELATIVISTIC THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION: A SELF-REFERENTIAL, TRANSCENDENTAL APPROACH TO CONCEPTUAL PATHOLOGY A Dissertation submitted to the Faculte des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, University de Paris (X), Nanterre in a double-language format -- French (Vol. I) and English (Vol. II) -- in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Steven James Bartlett, B.A. , M. A. Dissertation Director: Paul Ricoeur Members of the Committee: Jean Ladriere Alphonse de Waehlens Paris, France May, 1970 Defended publically January 19, 1971 A RELATIVISTIC THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION: A SELF-REFERENTIAL, TRANSCENDENTAL APPROACH TO CONCEPTUAL PATHOLOGY VOLUME II (English) Abstract A RELATIVISTIC THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION; A SELF-REFERENTIAL, TRANSCENDENTAL APPROACH TO CONCEPTUAL PATHOLOGY Steven James Bartlett The principal objective of the work is to construct an analytically precise methodology which can serve to identify, eliminate, and avoid a certain widespread conceptual fault or misconstruction, called a "projective misconstruction" or "projection" by the author. It is argued that this variety of error in our thinking (i) infects a great number of our everyday, scientific, and philosophical concepts, claims, and theories, (ii) has largely been undetected, and (iii) when remedied, leads to a less controver­ sial and more rigorous elucidation of the transcendental preconditions of human knowledge than has traditionally been possible. The dissertation identifies, perhaps for the first time, a projective variety of self-referential inconsistency, and proposes an innovative, self- reflexive approach to transcendental argument in a logical and phenomenological context. The strength of the approach lies, it is claimed, in the fact that a rejection of the approach is possible only on pain of self-referential inconsistency. The argument is developed in the following stages: A general introduction identifies the central theme of the work, defines the scope of applicability of the results reached, and sketches the direction of the studies which follow. The preliminary discussion culminates in a recognition of the need for a critique of impure reason. The body of the work is divided into two parts; Section I seeks to develop a methodology, on a purely formal basis, which is, on the one hand, capable of being used to study the transcendental foundations of the special sciences, including its own proper transcendental foundation. On the other hand, the methodology proposed is intended as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for dealing with projective uses of concepts. The approach initiates an analysis of concepts from a perspective which views knowledge as coordination. Section I describes formal structures which possess the status of preconditions in such a coordinative account of knowledge. Special attention is given to the preconditions of identifying reference to logical particulars. The first section attempts, then, to provide a self-referential, transcendental methodology which is essentially revisionary in that it is motivated by a concern for conceptual error-elimination. Phenomenology, considered in its unique capacity as a self-referential, transcendental discipline, is of special relevance to the study. Section II accordingly examines a group of concepts which come into question in connection with the central theme of phenomenological constitution. The "de-projective methodology" developed in Section I is applied to these concepts which have a foundational importance in transcendental phenomenology. A translation is, in effect, proposed from the language of consciousness to a language in which preconditions of referring are investigated. The result achieved is the elimination of self- defeating, projective concepts from a rigorous, phenomenological study of the constitutive foundations of science. The dissertation was presented in a two volume, double-language format for the convenience of French and English researchers. Each volume contains an analytical index. Science is the "knowledge of things possible" - [Vinci Is 20] A RELATIVISTIC THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION: A SELF-REFERENTIAL, TRANSCENDENTAL APPROACH TO CONCEPTUAL PATHOLOGY In the honor of Edmund Husserl, who saw "the infinite'open country of the' true philosophy, the 'promised land1 on which he himself. never set foot"*, and to those who will respect this dedication to the tasks of the Glasperlenspiel. * [ideas I: 29] Es ist schon ein grosser und notiger Beweis der Klugheit oder Einsicht, zu wissen, was man verntinftigerweise fragen solle. Denn wenn die Frage an sich ungereimt ist und unnotige Antworten verlangt, so Hat sie ausser der Beschamung dessen, der sie aufwirft, bisweilen noch den Nachteil, den unbehutsamen Anhorer derselben zu ungereimten Antworten zu verleiten und den belachenswerten Anblick zu geben. dass einer, (wie die Alten sagten)9 den Bock melkt» der andre ein Sieb unterhalt. -[Kant Is B S3] S'il fallait attendre de connaitre en tous ses details la question etudiee, nul nfoserait ecrire le peu qui lui est connu. De temps a^autre, quel<jues verites se revelent, minimes cubes de l^norme mosalque des choses. Divulguons la trouvaille, si humble soit- elle; d*autres viendront qui> faisant recolte8 eux aussi, de quelques parcelles, assembleront le tout en un tableau toujours agrandi, mais toujours ebreche par l'inconnu. -[Fabre li X 119J CONTENTS Page General Introduction .....%. i Section One: Chapter 1.0 Introduction to Section One 1 1.1 The Concept of Coordinate System ... 9 • 1.2 The Concept of Vector 26 1.3 The Concept of Particular 34 1.4 De-projection 63 1.5 Valences 93 1.6 The Logic of Structure of the Space-Time Manifold 104 Section Two: Chapter 2.0 Introduction to Section Two 132 2.1 The Structure of Phenomenological Space-Time 146 2.2 Phenomenological Relativity 195 2.3 Phenomenological Ontology 202 2.4 Truth 221 2.5 Causality 23$ 2.6 The Phenomenological Constitution of the Egological ....... 252 2.7 Statics ..... 269 Bibliography • • 2^2 Terminological Index 303 A RELATIVISTIC THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL CONSTITUTION GENERAL INTRODUCTION GENERAL INTRODUCTION GENERAL INTRODUCTION 0-1 The absence of a unitary methodology 0-2 The quandary of the special sciences 0-3 This study 0-4 The normative nature of science 0-5 The structure of theory 0-6 General tradition behind the present work 0-7 Scientific wisdom 0-8 The limitations of knowledge 0-9 The intuitive and the practical 0-10 Empirical objects as ideal possibilities 0-11 Towards a critique of impure reason 0-12 Zu den Sachen selbst 0-13 This work as a theory 0-14 On the theory of experience 0-15 A note to the reader 0-16 The place of this study in future work 0-17 The organization of this study -i- f 0-1 The absence of a unitary methodology Perhaps the day will [L]a litterature philo- come when philosophy sophique s'est, en effet, can be discussed in accrue d'une maniere terms of investiga­ demesuree tout en man- tion rather than con' quant d'une unite de troversy, and philo­ methode au point .qu'il sophers, like scien­ y a presque autant de tists, be known by philosophies que de the topics they study philosophes. rather than by the -[LFLT Intro 10J views they hold. [Goodman 2: xiv]* Divergence of belief and practice among philosophers engaged in theoretical matters is itself strong evidence that clear thinking on many fundamental problems has not spread very far. An unscientific profusion of incompatible philosophical systems obstructs an integrated comprehension of the world. For more than two millenia a perspicuous grasp of the synthetic nature of the world has been the purpose of philosophy. In its ancient sense, philosophy is a search inspired by love for the architectonic design of things. * For an explanation of the reference style used in this study, consult the Bibliography, pp. 2#2ff. iii In times of fragmentation, in a world where great values are remote, and a chasm widens between conviction and rationality, where "principles and conduct are un­ equally mated", this philosophia.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Roots of Human Resistance to Animal Rights: Psychological and Conceptual Blocks
    Roots of Human Resistance to Animal Rights: Psychological and Conceptual Blocks © Steven J. Bartlett 8 Animal L. 143 (2002) Publish Date: 2002 Place of Publication: http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arussbartlett2002.htm Roots of Human Resistance to Animal Rights: Psychological and Conceptual Blocks Animal law has focused attention on such interconnected issues as the property status of nonhuman animals, juristic personhood, and standing. These subjects are undeniably central concerns that dominate discussions of animal rights, but they do not relate to the most fundamental factors that are responsible both for human resistance to animal rights and for our species' well-entrenched, cruel, and self-righteous exploitation and destruction of nonhuman animals. In this comment, the author reviews recent advocacy of animal rights and offers the first study of human psychological and conceptual blocks that stand in the way of efforts on behalf of animal law and legislation. Paying long overdue attention to these obstacles provides a realistic framework for evaluating the effectiveness of attempts to initiate meaningful change. I am in favour of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being. -- Abraham Lincoln I. INTRODUCTION: ANIMALS AS PROPERTY--IS THIS THE PROBLEM? Animals are property. These three words--and their legal implications and practical ramifications--define the most significant doctrines and cases . and the realities for current practitioners of animal law. [FN1] For many people in our society, the concept of legal rights for other animals is quite "unthinkable." That is because our relationship with the majority of animals is one in which we exploit them: we eat them, hunt them and use them in a variety of ways that are harmful to the animals.
    [Show full text]
  • Evil Institutions: Steven Bartlett’S Analysis of Human Evil and Its Relevance for Anarchist Alternatives
    Anarchist Studies 29.1 © 2021 issn 2633 8270 www.lwbooks.co.uk/journals/anarchiststudies/ Evil Institutions: Steven Bartlett’s Analysis of Human Evil and its Relevance for Anarchist Alternatives Brian Martin ABSTRACT The study of human evil, defined in a non-religious sense as serious damage to other people, animals and the environment, can be used to assess different social arrangements. Steven Bartlett’s analysis of the pathologies of human behaviour and thought provides a fruitful starting point for examining social institutions. Systems based on hierarchy and control, notably the military, bureaucracy and the state, provide the greatest facilitation of evil. Egalitarian systems are better placed to restrain the human capacity for causing harm. The study of evil offers a useful approach for understanding both the advantages of anarchism and the obstacles to moving towards it. Keywords: evil, social institutions, anarchism, bureaucracy, the state, the family INTRODUCTION It is easy to observe that humans, as individuals and as a species, do many things damaging to each other, to other species, and to the environment that supports them all. War, torture, terrorism, dictatorship, racism and systematic exploitation are just some of the toxic features of human societies. As well, humans enslave and exploit numerous other species, while humans themselves overpopulate and destroy the ecological systems that support life on earth. This is a roll call of destructive behaviours, individual and collective. One way to try to understand the proclivity of humans to hurt each other and destroy the environment is through the concept of human evil. Because of its reli- DOI:10.3898/AS.29.1.05 AAnarchistnarchist SStudiestudies 229.1.indd9.1.indd 8888 222/02/20212/02/2021 115:12:435:12:43 Evil Institutions 89 y gious connotations, this concept may not appeal to anarchists but, nevertheless, it potentially enables an understanding of a diverse set of social phenomena in a way that offers insights for anarchism.
    [Show full text]
  • Epistemological Intelligence Steven Bartlett
    Epistemological Intelligence Steven Bartlett To cite this version: Steven Bartlett. Epistemological Intelligence. 2017. hal-01429159 HAL Id: hal-01429159 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01429159 Preprint submitted on 7 Jan 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License An open access publication Due to word-count limits of most professional journals, the author has chosen to issue this monograph as a free open access publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, which allows anyone to distribute this work without changes to its content, provided that both the author and the original URL from which this work was obtained are mentioned, that the contents of this work are not used for commercial purposes or profit, and that this work will not be used without the author’s or his executor’s permission in derivative works (i.e., you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work without such permission). The full legal statement of this license may be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode © 2017 Steven James Bartlett EPISTEMOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE STEVEN JAMES BARTLETT Abstract This monograph continues a discussion begun in three earlier papers by the author which described the psychology of philosophers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Idea of a Metalogic of Reference
    THE IDEA OF A METALOGIC OF REFERENCE by Steven James Bartlett Visiting Scholar in Philosophy and Psychology, Willamette University and Senior Research Professor, Oregon State University Website: http://www.willamette.edu/~sbartlet KEYWORDS: theory of reference, transcendental philosophy, metalogic of reference, self-reference, metalogical self-reference, reflexivity This paper was originally published in the Netherlands, in Methodology and Science: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Empirical Study of the Foundations of Science and Their Methodology, Vol. 9, No. 3, 1976, pp. 85-92. Methodology and Science ceased publication in the mid-1990s and all rights to this paper reverted to the author. This electronic version supplements the original text with internet-searchable keywords and, following the paper, references to some of the author’s subsequent publications that further develop this topic. The author has chosen to re-issue this work as a free open access publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, which allows anyone to distribute this work without changes to its content, provided that both the author and the original URL from which this work was obtained are mentioned, that the contents of this work are not used for commercial purposes or profit, and that this work will not be used without the author’s or his executor’s permission in derivative works (i.e., you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work without such permission). The full legal statement of this license may be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode © Steven James Bartlett, 2014 Historical Note his paper sought to state in a concise and comparatively informal, unsystematic, T and more accessible form the more technical approach the author developed during a research fellowship 1974-75 at the Max-Planck-Institut in Starnberg, Germany.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SPECIES PROBLEM and ITS LOGIC: Inescapable Ambiguity and Framework-Relativity Steven James Bartlett
    THE SPECIES PROBLEM AND ITS LOGIC: Inescapable Ambiguity and Framework-relativity Steven James Bartlett To cite this version: Steven James Bartlett. THE SPECIES PROBLEM AND ITS LOGIC: Inescapable Ambiguity and Framework-relativity. 2015. hal-01196519 HAL Id: hal-01196519 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01196519 Preprint submitted on 10 Sep 2015 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License Available from ArXiv, HAL, CogPrints, PhilSci-Archive THE SPECIES PROBLEM AND ITS LOGIC Inescapable Ambiguity and Framework-relativity Steven James Bartlett e-mail: sbartlet [at] willamette [dot] edu KEYWORDS: species problem, species concepts, definitions of species, similarity theory, logic of commonality, Theorem of the Ugly Duckling, Satosi Watanabe, Nelson Goodman, framework-relativity, Löwenheim-Skolem Theorem, Hilary Putnam, human speciation ABSTRACT For more than fifty years, taxonomists have proposed numerous alternative definitions of species while they searched for a unique, comprehensive, and persuasive definition. This monograph shows that these efforts have been unnecessary, and indeed have provably been a pursuit of a will o’ the wisp because they have failed to recognize the theoretical impossibility of what they seek to accomplish.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophical Positions That Self-Destruct
    HOISTED BY THEIR OWN PETARDS: PHILOSOPHICAL POSITIONS THAT SELF-DESTRUCT by Steven James Bartlett Visiting Scholar in Philosophy and Psychology, Willamette University and Senior Research Professor, Oregon State University Website: http://www.willamette.edu/~sbartlet KEYWORDS: self-reference, pragmatical self-referential inconsistency, projective self- referential inconsistency, metalogical self-reference, conceptual pathology, therapeutic philosophy, philosophy of quantum theory This paper was originally published in the journal Argumentation, Vol. 2, 1988, pp. 221-232. The publisher of the journal wishes to have the following statement included here: “The final publication is available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00178023.” The author’s version made available here includes a number of typographical corrections and is supplemented with internet-searchable keywords and an addendum of references to some of the author’s other publications that further develop this topic. This electronic version is made available as a free open access publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, which allows anyone to distribute this work without changes to its content, provided that the author, the original publishing journal, and the original URL from which this work was obtained are credited, that the contents of this work are not used for commercial purposes or profit, and that this work will not be used without the author’s or his executor’s permission in derivative works (i.e., you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work without such permission). The full legal statement of this license may be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode © Steven James Bartlett, 2014 [Originally published in Argumentation 2 (1988), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SPECIES PROBLEM and ITS LOGIC Inescapable Ambiguity and Framework-Relativity
    Available from ArXiv, BioRxiv, CogPrints, PhilSci-Archive THE SPECIES PROBLEM AND ITS LOGIC Inescapable Ambiguity and Framework-relativity Steven James Bartlett e-mail: sbartlet [at] willamette [dot] edu KEYWORDS: species problem, species concepts, definitions of species, similarity theory, logic of commonality, Theorem of the Ugly Duckling, Satosi Watanabe, Nelson Goodman, framework-relativity, Löwenheim-Skolem Theorem, Hilary Putnam, human speciation ABSTRACT For more than fifty years, taxonomists have proposed numerous alternative definitions of species while they searched for a unique, comprehensive, and persuasive definition. This monograph shows that these efforts have been unnecessary, and indeed have provably been a pursuit of a will o’ the wisp because they have failed to recognize the theoretical impossibility of what they seek to accomplish. A clear and rigorous understanding of the logic underlying species definition leads both to a recognition of the inescapable ambiguity that affects the definition of species, and to a framework-relative approach to species definition that is logically compelling, i.e., cannot not be accepted without inconsistency. An appendix reflects upon the conclusions reached, applying them in an intellectually whimsical taxonomic thought experiment that conjectures the possibility of an emerging new human species. _________________________________ The author has chosen to issue this monograph as a free open access publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, which allows anyone to distribute this work without changes to its content, provided that both the author and the original URL from which this work was obtained are mentioned, that the contents of this work are not used for commercial purposes or profit, and that this work will not be used without the author’s or his executor’s permission in derivative works (i.e., you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work without such permission).
    [Show full text]
  • AHP Perspective OCTOBER 2008 Proof.Indd
    O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 8 Association for PPerspectiveerspective Humanistic Psychology aahpweb.orghpweb.org First AHP President and Infl uential Teacher Jim Bugental Is Remembered Bob Edelstein Nader Shabagnam Kirk Schneider Tom Greening Elizabeth Bugental Transformative Political Psychology Reviews Living Deeply The Hidden Whisper Jesus in Kashmir Uncompromising Truth Tim Atkinson Real Wealth of Nations Jim Bugental OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2008 ahp PERSPECTIVE 1 ASSOCIATION for HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY . since 1962, kindred spirits on the edge, where human potential and evolving consciousness meet AHP principles include integrity in personal and profes- sional interactions, authenticity, and trust in human relationships, compassion and deep listening skills, and respect for the uniqueness, value, independence, interdependence, and essential oneness of all beings. KEN EHRLICH AHP–ATP Joint Board Meeting, Calistoga, California, July 2006: back row: AHP President Cuf Ferguson, ATP Co-President Stu Sovatsky, Ray Siderius, Ray Greenleaf (ATP), Deb Oberg, Don Eulert, Colette Fleuridas (ATP), PAST PRESIDENTS AHP Past President Bruce Francis, Olga Bondarenko, Stan Charnofsky, Beth Tabakian (ATP); front row, Kathleen JAMES F. T. B UGENTAL AHP OFFICE & PERSONNEL Erickson, Bonnie Davenport, MA Bjarkman, Ken Ehrlich, Chip Baggett, ATP Co-President David Lukoff. SIDNEY M. JOURARD 510/769-6495; Fax: 510/769-6433, E. J. SHOBEN, JR. [email protected], 1516 Oak St., Suite #317, CHARLOTTE BÜHLER Alameda, CA 94501-2947, ahpweb.org Membership Director: Bonnie Davenport, S. STANSFELD SARGENT [email protected] AHP MEMBERSHIP JACK R. GIBB Web Producer: John Harnish, [email protected] connect with conscious community, GERARD V.
    [Show full text]
  • Sappho's Journal
    The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christ's Journal, by Paul Alexander Bartlett This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org ** This is a COPYRIGHTED Project Gutenberg eBook, Details Below ** ** Please follow the copyright guidelines in this file. ** Title: Christ's Journal Author: Paul Alexander Bartlett Editor: Steven James Bartlett Illustrator: Paul Alexander Bartlett Release Date: April 8, 2012 [EBook #39400] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHRIST'S JOURNAL *** Produced by Al Haines FROM THE COVER OF CHRIST’S JOURNAL: In Christ’s Journal, the author takes a daring step in this unique novel and places the reader for the first time in the shoes of The Fisherman. In this finely crafted and historically realistic portrait of the ancient Biblical world, Bartlett recreates the moving story of the last months of Christ’s life as Jesus Himself may have experienced them when He brought to mankind a message of love and enduring hope. Bartlett’s writing has been praised by many leading authors, reviewers, and critics, among them: JAMES MICHENER, novelist: “I am much taken with Bartlett’s work and commend it highly.” CHARLES POORE in The New York Times: “...believable characters who are stirred by intensely personal concerns.” GRACE FLANDRAU, author and historian: “...Characters and scenes are so right and living...it is so beautifully done, one finds oneself feeling it is not fiction but actually experienced fact.” JAMES PURDY, novelist: “An important writer..
    [Show full text]
  • Encounters with Intellectual Suppression
    ENCOUNTERS WITH INTELLECTUAL SUPPRESSION STEVEN JAMES BARTLETT s I stood in front of the elementary school class, my back to the A other students, my nose pressed in the center of a small circle drawn in chalk on the blackboard, my arms held out horizontally parallel to the floor, my palms facing down, the teacher began piling books on top of my extended hands. She warned me in a loud and harsh voice not to move!, and to keep my nose firmly pressed inside the circle she’d drawn on the black- board. She put a heavy book on one of my outstretched hands, and then another on my other hand, and warned me to balance the books and not, under any circumstances, to let them drop! Then she piled other books on until my arms shook and it was obvious that I could hold no more. Then, she was satisfied. She told me to stay in this position, and if my nose lost con- tact with the blackboard, or if I dropped my arms and any of the books, I would be punished more severely. I don’t remember how long I had to stand there—angry, humiliated and degraded—in front of the silent class, but it was long enough to leave an impression that has remained with me. I had asked an innocent and, I thought, interesting question. We were being taught Roman numerals. I had begun to wonder how it was possible for the Romans to add and subtract, multiply and divide, since apparently this would require a different technique from the one we were taught us- ing our system of writing numbers.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Sappho’s Journal — A Voice from the Past STEVEN JAMES BARTLETT Oregon State University and Willamette University Sappho’s Journal by Paul Alexander Bartlett. Foreword by Willis Barnstone. Autograph Editions, 2007. 172 pp., illustrated. $12.95 ISBN 978-0615156460 One of the most personally engaging ways to keep the classics alive is to enter into the world as it was experienced by a unique and fascinating indi- vidual from long ago. To be able to do this across the intervening rift of many centuries, when that person did not leave behind a detailed autobiography, can only be done, with vividness and authenticity, through the art of fiction. If we rely only on Sappho’s fragments of poetry that have escaped the gradual obliteration of time most of us can only vaguely glimpse the extraordinary woman who wrote some 2,600 years ago. In Sappho’s Journal, novelist and artist Paul Alexander Bartlett allows us to enter into the poet’s inner world, to experience her sense of beauty, her loves and fears, reflections, and dedica- tion. Based on a careful study of an- cient Greece and Sappho’s surviving fragments of poetry, Bartlett has re- created Sappho in a lyrical account of the life, passion, and faith of this re- Ancient Narrative, Volume 7, 97–103 98 STEVEN JAMES BARTLETT markable woman whose intimate journal takes us back to 642 B.C. Perhaps we could let Sappho speak here for herself in a sample passage from Sappho’s Journal: Villa Poseidon, Mytilene 642 B.C. Fog, as grey as a shepherd’s cloak, ruffled the bay for a day and a night.
    [Show full text]
  • The Worldview of Phenomenology
    THE WORLDVIEW OF PHENOMENOLOGY . Steven James Bartlett An invited High Table Address given before the students and faculty of Raymond College, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, December 10, 1969 INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS, NEARLY A HALF-CENTURY LATER Raymond College was an unusual experiment in American higher education, one that unfortunately was not to endure. I learned of the school thanks to the interest that Robert Maynard Hutchins took in my education. He was then the head of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara. Hutchins admired the poetry of my mother, American poet Elizabeth Bartlett; it was she who introduced me to Hutchins, toward the end of my sophomore year as a student in the Honors Division of the University of Santa Clara. Hutchins described to me the unique curriculum that was being offered by Raymond College, begun in 1962 and in its second year of operation. He urged me to give education at Raymond a try. Raymond College was a “cluster college” established by the University of the Pacific. The College offered a privileged, Oxford-style, close-community environment for learning, an extremely small faculty-to-student ratio, with many of the faculty living on campus in the student dormitories, an academic year consisting of three full-length semesters, and a bachelor’s degree obtainable in three years upon passing several days of comprehensive exams. The program of study consisted of some 27 courses, 22 of these required. Classes were very small, often consisting of half a dozen students or fewer; independent study courses, i.e., tutorials, were common and permitted a student to develop a certain level of specialization within a curriculum focused on the liberal arts.
    [Show full text]