Author: Sister Miriam Joseph File Type: epub Who sets language policy today? Who made whom the grammar doctor? Lacking the equivalent of lAcademie francaise, we English speakers must find our own way looking for guidance or vindication in source after source. McGuffeys Readers introduced nineteenth-century students to correct English. Strunk and WhitesElements of Styleand William Safires column, On Language, provide help on diction and syntax to contemporary writers and speakers. Sister Miriam Josephs book,The Trivium The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric, invites the reader into a deeper understandingone that includes rules, definitions, and guidelines, but whose ultimate end is to transform the reader into a liberal artist.A liberal artist seeks the perfection of the human faculties. The liberal artist begins with the language arts, the trivium, which is the basis of all learning because it teaches the tools for reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Thinking underlies all these activities. Many readers will recognize elements of this book parts of speech, syntax, propositions, syllogisms, enthymemes, logical fallacies, scientific method, figures of speech, rhetorical technique, and poetics.The Trivium, however, presents these elements within a philosophy of language that connects thought, expression, and reality.Trivium means the crossroads where the three branches of language meet. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, students studied and mastered this integrated view of language. Regrettably, modern language teaching keeps the parts without the vision of the whole. Inspired by the possibility of helping students acquire mastery over the tools of learning Sister Miriam Joseph and other teachers at Saint Marys College designed and taught a course on the trivium for all first year students.The Triviumresulted from that noble endeavor.The liberal artist travels in good company. Sister Miriam Joseph frequently cites passages from William Shakespeare, John Milton, Plato, the Bible, Homer, and other great writers. The Paul Dry Books edition ofThe Triviumprovides new graphics and notes to make the book accessible to todays readers. Sister Miriam Joseph told her first audience that the function of the trivium is the training of the mind for the study of matter and spirit, which constitute the sum of reality. The fruit of education is culture, which Mathew Arnold defined as the knowledge of ourselves and the world. May this noble endeavor lead many to that end.Is the trivium, then, a sufficient education for life? Properly taught, I believe that it should be.Dorothy L. SayersThe Triviumis a highly recommended and welcome contribution to any serious and dedicated writers reference collection.Midwest Book Review

Author: Nicola Gennaioli File Type: pdf How investor expectations move markets and the economy The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 caught markets and regulators by surprise. Although the government rushed to rescue other financial institutions from a similar fate after Lehman, it could not prevent the deepest recession in postwar history. A Crisis of Beliefs makes us rethink the financial crisis and the nature of economic risk. In this authoritative and comprehensive book, two of todays most insightful economists reveal how our beliefs shape financial markets, lead to expansions of credit and leverage, and expose the economy to major risks. Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer carefully walk readers through the unraveling of Lehman Brothers and the ensuing meltdown of the US financial system, and then present new evidence to illustrate the destabilizing role played by the beliefs of home buyers, investors, and regulators. Using the latest research in psychology and behavioral economics, they present a new theory of belief formation that explains why the financial crisis came as such a shock to so many peopleand how financial and economic instability persist. A must-read for anyone seeking insights into financial markets, A Crisis of Beliefs shows how even the smartest market participants and regulators did not fully appreciate the extent of economic risk, and offers a new framework for understanding todays unpredictable financial waters. **Review One of Bloombergs Best Books of 2018 (Cass Sunstein) One of Barrons Book Picks from Industry Leaders in 2018 (Robert Shiller) There is evidence from behavioral economics that people are not entirely logical, and do not actually rely fully on logic or standard statistical techniques. This behavioral economic perspective is embraced by Nicola Gennaioli of Bocconi University and Andrei Shleifer of Harvard University in their remarkable new book, A Crisis of Beliefs.---Robert J. Shiller, *New York Times* Economists are at last catching up with the seminal work of the late Hyman Minsky. In a book written for academics, but of wider relevance, the authors conclude that, first, investors make mistakes second, those mistakes are systematic, predictable and incompatible with the view, that expectations are rational and, third, a new perspective, called diagnostic expectations, rooted in human psychology, does a good job of explaining these mistakes. Moreover, they argue, surveys indicate when expectations are becoming riskily euphoric and so should help predict crises.---Martin Wolf, *Financial Times* An as smart as you would expect take on the hypothesis that investor over-extrapolation of recent price trends can cause financial crises, including our recent financial crisis.---Tyler Cowen, *Marginal Revolution* Something is wrong with the economics profession if events like those of 2008 do not change its thinking. Those wanting to be in the vanguard of the new thinking should be reading A Crisis of Beliefs.---Lawrence Summers, *WashingtonPost.coms Wonkblog* A decade after the financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath, economists are still grappling with its nature and significance. An important recent contribution is A Crisis of Beliefs. . . . They make a convincing case for taking seriously the evidence provided by surveys and anecdotes that characterize the beliefs held at the time by households, investors, and policy makers.---Arnold Kling, *EconLib* For a decade now, people have been looking for a silver lining to the disasters of 2008-2018, hoping that this period will bring about a more productive integration of finance, behavioral economics, and macroeconomic orthodoxy. So far, they have been searching in vain. But with the publication of A Crisis of Beliefs, there is hope yet.---J. Bradford Delong, *Project Syndicate* What caused the financial crisis of 2008? Whats likely to cause future crises? Gennaioli and Shleifer offer an original, compelling and intriguing answer investor psychology. . . . Gennaioli and Shleifer offer a parsimonious account of boom-bust cycles one that relies mostly on what goes on in peoples minds.---Cass Sunstein, *Bloomberg* A Crisis of Beliefs offers a brilliant new analysis of the root cause of financial meltdowns and credit cycles more generally market participants mistaken beliefs. Gennaioli and Shleifer show how survey evidence that ferrets out expectational errors can provide early warning signals of impending market corrections and a powerful new tool to prevent future financial crises. This book leads the way beyond rational expectations.Janet Yellen, Distinguished Fellow in Residence, Brookings Institution, and former Chair of the Federal Reserve, 20142018 About the Author Nicola Gennaioli is professor of finance at Bocconi University in Italy. He lives in Milan. Andrei Shleifer is professor of economics at Harvard University. His books include Inefficient Markets An Introduction to Behavioral Finance and The Grabbing Hand Government Pathologies and Their Cures. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts.