Tomorrow is the big voting day (see "Electioneering" below). I am eagerly awaiting the chance to play my role in the democracy.

Random question: In the Iliad, why is the consummation of the early battle between Paris and Menelaus denied by Aphrodite, and is the end of this fight a cop-out on Homer's part? It would seem as if Aphrodite's intervention is completely unwarranted and that cynically one could accuse Homer of bringing her in only so that he can continue his story for another twenty-one books. Given that fact that Homer was a great genius, I do not think this is the proper way to read him here, but for the moment I am caught up on this issue.

Has anyone read Maritain's book Prayer and Intelligence? Comments?

Also, it seems that the question of homosexuality has become the test of rationalism at my university (and, from what I can tell, elsewhere). Do you think homosexuality is acceptable? If not, you are irrational and (consequently) bigoted. Now whatever you may think about homosexuality, is it really that obvious that to oppose it is to be irrational? I would like to know why.

I have found this article by Hadley Arkes from 1996 to be informative on the judicial aspect of this issue. In fact, the whole symposium of which this article is a part is quite interesting and well worth a few evenings spent reading it over in detail.

Too many links in this entry; I know. More coherent thoughts in a few weeks after papers are done. In the meantime, pardon the rambling.