Noel B. Reynolds

Who wrote Bacon? Assessing the respective roles of Francis Bacon and his secretaries in the production of his English works

In an earlier study that identified previously unrecognized writings of the young Thomas Hobbes, questions were raised about the authorship of some of Francis Bacons published works. This article reports a follow-up study in which two independent statistical analyses of Bacons English works both conclude that, whereas Bacons autographic writings show clearly that they are authored by the same person; almost none of his published works can be matched statistically with the autographs. The most likely explanation for this dramatic finding is that Bacons well-known reliance on secretaries may have been sufficiently extensive that his writing patterns are obscured or replaced by theirs. This finding suggests a far simpler explanation for a wide array of anomalies in Bacons works than others have offered. The study further identifies some of Bacons works written during a period when Thomas Hobbes was his secretary, which match Hobbess writing pattern.

The ethical foundations of constitutional order: A conventionalist perspective

This paper presents a conventionalist or modified contractarian perspective on constitutional and legal theory as a platform from which to address five important questions about the connections between critical morality and constitutional order. It finds that natural law and critical morality are inappropriately linked to constitutions and laws, but that there is nonetheless a clear moral dimension to all law. Furthermore even though law is explained as a function of human agreements, the very process of agreement commits law to an inherent set of standards which distunguish laws based on agreement from those which rest on coercion. These standards are more familiarly known as the principles of the rule of law.

Biblical merismus in Book of Mormon gospel references

This study extends previously published work that identifies three inclusios in the Book of Mormon, each of which presents the same six-element definition of the doctrine or gospel of Jesus Christ. However, the six elements are not presented as a straightforward list but rather in a series of smaller combinations intended to gradually deepen and extend the reader’s understanding of each one and of its role in the larger life process to which the gospel invites all God’s children. This mode of presentation makes something else clear: whenever some pair or selection from these six elements is mentioned, the entire set is implicitly invoked. In this paper, it will be argued that the biblical rhetorical device of merismus, in which parts of a known list are mentioned to invoke the entire list in the reader’s mind, provides the best explanation for this rhetorical approach. Seventy-nine passages, each of which includes a reference to salvation, are shown to be two-, three-, fouror five-element merisms for the six-element gospel formula. The persistent use in the Book of Mormon of this rhetorical technique for presenting the gospel does not seem to have a New Testament

The Gospel according to Mormon

Although scholarly investigation of the Book of Mormon has increased significantly over the last three decades, only a tiny portion of that effort has been focused on the theological or doctrinal content of this central volume of Latter-day Saints (LDS) scripture. This article identifies three inclusios which promise definitions of the doctrine or gospel of Jesus Christ and proposes a cumulative methodology to explain how these definitions work. This approach reveals a consistently presented, six-part formula defining ‘the way’ by which mankind can qualify for eternal life. In this way the article provides a starting point for scholarly examinations of the theological content of this increasingly influential religious text. While the names of the six elements featured in Mormons gospel will sound familiar to students of the New Testament, the meanings he assigns to these may differ substantially from traditional Christian discourse in ways which make Mormons characterization of the gospel or doctrine of Christ unique. (1) Faith is understood primarily as action displaying complete trust or reliance on Christ and the power of his atonement. (2) Repentance requires turning away

Features of Greek Satyr Play as a Guide to Interpretation for Plato's "Republic"

The paper borrows from recent work by classicists on satyr play and demonstrates significant parallels between Plato’s Republic and the structure, theme and stereotypical contents that characterize this newly studied genre of ancient Greek drama. Like satyr play, the Republic includes repeated passages where metatheatricality can reverse the meaning. The frequent occurrence of all the stereotypical elements of satyr play in Plato’s Republic also suggests to readers that they should be responding to Socrates’ narration as they would to a satyr play, again reversing meaning by communicating a set of literary expectations to Plato’s readers over the heads of Socrates’ interlocutors. As is frequently the case with satyr play, the political purpose of the drama is the critique of tyrannical government. The need for a systematically ironic interpretation of the dialogue is raised.

Pareto Optimality and the Rule of Law

In 1959, James M. Buchanan criticized the collectivist misuse of Pareto optimality by the “new welfare economists” and made a first attempt to extend that individualist concept into the political realm.1 Over the following three decades he further developed his political application of Pareto’s insight to buttress an essentially economic analysis of political exchange that would justify the processes of constitutional democracy in the same way Pareto efficiency justifies free markets. In this paper I will explain why Buchanan’s particular formulations will not work and propose a more comprehensive solution that accomplishes Buchanan’s announced purpose. I will argue that a conventionalist understanding of the rule of law provides a precise and appropriate application of the Pareto criterion in the legal and political realm.