Aristotle vs. Aquinas on Love

The Core Difference

Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas are remarkably close in their understanding of love, but Aquinas takes Aristotle’s philosophy and places it within a Christian framework centered on God and grace.

Aristotle	Aquinas
Love is fundamentally wishing the good of another for their own sake.	Love is to will the good of another (velle bonum alterius), ultimately leading them toward God, their highest good.
The highest human love is friendship (philia) grounded in virtue.	The highest love is charity (caritas)—friendship with God that overflows into love of neighbor.
Love develops through shared life, mutual goodwill, and virtue.	Love also involves virtue but is elevated by grace, making supernatural friendship with God possible.
The goal is eudaimonia (human flourishing).	The goal is beatitude (union with God), which surpasses earthly flourishing.

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Aristotle: Love as Friendship

For Aristotle, love is not primarily a feeling.

In the Nicomachean Ethics, he teaches that:

A true friend is “another self.”

The highest form of love exists between two virtuous people who each desire the other’s flourishing. If your friend becomes wiser, healthier, more courageous, or more virtuous, that is good for their own sake, not simply because it benefits you.

Love is therefore an activity—a habit of consistently choosing another person’s good.

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Aquinas: Love as Willing the Highest Good

Aquinas agrees with Aristotle but asks a deeper question:

What is the greatest good a person can receive?

His answer is:

God Himself.

Therefore, when Aquinas defines love as:

“To will the good of another.”

he means willing whatever truly brings that person toward their ultimate fulfillment—union with God.

This is why Christian charity extends even to enemies. One may not feel affection for them, but one can still genuinely desire and work for their ultimate good.

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What About Emotion?

Neither philosopher believes love is merely an emotion.

Aristotle

Emotions matter, but they should be educated and governed by reason and virtue.

Aquinas

Emotions (the “passions”) are real and important, but love itself is fundamentally an act of the will.

You may not feel warmth toward someone, yet you can still love them by freely choosing what is truly good for them.

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The Biggest Difference

Aristotle

Love perfects our human nature through virtue and friendship.

Aquinas

Love does all of that—but ultimately perfects us through communion with God.

Grace does not replace nature; it perfects it.

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A Helpful Summary

Aristotle:

Love is wishing and choosing another person’s flourishing through virtuous friendship.

Aquinas:

Love is willing another person’s highest good, which is ultimately union with God.

Aquinas does not reject Aristotle’s philosophy of love. Rather, he builds upon it, arguing that the natural virtues and friendships Aristotle described are fulfilled and elevated by divine grace into the supernatural virtue of charity.

FLUX TV

Raspberry Pi Architecture & Execution Plan (v1)

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Vision

FLUX TV is a dedicated television operating system that transforms a vintage CRT into an interactive archive.

Each FLUX video becomes its own television station.

Visitors browse the archive using a physical television remote exactly like changing cable channels.

There is never a desktop.

There is never a mouse.

There is never a visible operating system.

Only television.

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Final Hardware

Sony Trinitron CRT

↓

Sony Remote
(RM-YD092 for now, RM-Y116 eventually)

↓

IR Receiver
(Inteset for first exhibition, Flirc later)

↓

Raspberry Pi 5

↓

HDMI → Composite Converter

↓

CRT Television

---

Development Computer

Mac mini

The Mac mini is never part of the installation.

It exists only to develop and deploy FLUX TV.

Responsibilities:

• write code
• use Claude Code
• SSH into Raspberry Pi
• upload videos
• push software updates

---

Raspberry Pi Responsibilities

The Raspberry Pi becomes the appliance.

It should:

• boot automatically
• launch FLUX TV automatically
• never show Linux
• never show a terminal
• never require a keyboard
• never require a mouse
• recover after power loss

Power on = television.

---

Raspberry Pi Setup

Install:

Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit)

During installation enable:

• SSH
• Wi-Fi
• hostname

Hostname:

fluxtv.local

Create username/password.

---

Development Workflow

Mac mini

↓

SSH

↓

Raspberry Pi

↓

Claude Code edits files directly on the Pi

The Pi is the real computer.

The Mac simply controls it.

---

Folder Structure

~/FLUX_TV/

Videos/

    FLUX_001.mov
    FLUX_002.mov
    FLUX_003.mov

Metadata/

Static/

Config/

Logs/

Scripts/

---

Channel Philosophy

Each video IS a television station.

NOT

CH 23

Instead

FLUX_023

The filename becomes the identity.

Future:

FLUX_341

FLUX_728

FLUX_1043

---

Video Playback

One channel

↓

One video

↓

Loop forever

The television NEVER advances to the next channel automatically.

Only the visitor changes channels.

---

Channel Surfing

CH+

↓

Next FLUX volume

CH-

↓

Previous FLUX volume

Wrap around forever.

---

Number Entry

Remote:

2

3

↓

(after timeout or Enter)

↓

FLUX_023

loads instantly.

Support:

001

023

341

1000

---

Overlay

Upper-left corner.

Courier New.

White text.

Example:

FLUX_023

Appears for approximately two seconds.

Fades away.

---

Static Transition

Every channel change:

Current video

↓

250–400 ms CRT static

↓

Overlay

↓

New video begins

The transition should feel like changing cable channels.

---

Looping

Every video loops forever.

If FLUX_023 ends:

↓

FLUX_023 starts again.

Until someone changes channels.

Perfect for galleries.

---

Startup Sequence

Power

↓

Pi boots

↓

FLUX TV logo

↓

Black screen

↓

FLUX_001

↓

Loops forever

No desktop.

---

Remote Controls

Power

↓

(optional splash screen)

Channel +

↓

Next FLUX

Channel –

↓

Previous FLUX

Numbers

↓

Direct channel entry

Enter

↓

Confirm channel

Info

↓

Metadata overlay

---

Metadata Overlay (Future)

FLUX_023

Philadelphia

2026

Duration

Camera

Project

Fade away.

---

Gallery Mode

Designed to run:

• all day
• all week
• unattended

Requirements:

• auto login
• auto launch
• auto recover
• disable sleep
• disable updates during exhibition
• hide cursor
• hide desktop

---

Updating Archive

From Mac mini:

Export:

FLUX_342.mov

↓

Copy into:

Videos/

↓

FLUX TV detects new file

↓

Channel automatically exists.

No manual configuration.

---

Future Features

• Random channel
• Scheduled programming
• Secret channels
• Search
• Metadata
• Web dashboard
• Remote management
• Statistics
• Favorites
• Multiple televisions

---

Claude Code Workflow

Claude Code becomes the lead engineer.

Mac mini

↓

SSH

↓

Raspberry Pi

↓

Claude writes code directly.

Development always happens remotely.

---

Software Stack

Operating System

Raspberry Pi OS

Media Engine

mpv

Playback Logic

Lua

Future UI

Native overlays

Development

Claude Code

Version Control

Git

---

Version 1 Goals

✅ Boot automatically

✅ Fullscreen playback

✅ Loop current channel forever

✅ Channel Up

✅ Channel Down

✅ Number entry

✅ FLUX_### overlay

✅ Static transition

✅ Hidden operating system

✅ Remote support

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Version 2 Goals

• Metadata
• Search
• Random channel
• Favorites
• Channel guide
• Secret channels
• Scheduled broadcasting
• Web administration

---

Long-Term Vision

FLUX TV becomes the official playback platform for the FLUX archive.

Every completed FLUX film becomes a permanent television station.

Instead of opening files in Finder or browsing folders, visitors explore the archive exactly as people once explored television—by surfing channels.

The television itself becomes the archive.

The Raspberry Pi disappears.

The operating system disappears.

Only FLUX TV remains.

FLUX TV

A Programmable CRT Television Installation

Vision

Transform a vintage CRT television into a dedicated FLUX playback device that behaves like its own television network.

Instead of television stations, each “channel” corresponds to a different FLUX video.

Channel 001 → FLUX_001
Channel 002 → FLUX_002
Channel 003 → FLUX_003
...
Channel 999 → Future videos

The goal is for visitors to interact with the television exactly as they would a normal TV. Pressing Channel Up or Channel Down changes to another FLUX film, creating the illusion of a living broadcast archive.

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Hardware

CRT Television

• Any composite-input CRT
• 4:3 aspect ratio
• Mono or stereo audio

---

Raspberry Pi 5

Acts as the hidden media computer.

Responsibilities:

• Stores every FLUX video
• Boots automatically
• Outputs 480i video
• Controls channel navigation
• Receives remote commands
• Maintains channel database

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HDMI → Composite Adapter

Converts Raspberry Pi HDMI output into standard composite video.

Pi HDMI
      ↓
HDMI → AV Converter
      ↓
Yellow / White / Red
      ↓
CRT Television

---

IR Receiver

Connected to Raspberry Pi GPIO.

Allows an original TV remote to control the installation.

Supported commands:

• Channel Up
• Channel Down
• Numbers
• Volume
• Power (optional)

---

Software

Channel Database

Example:

001 → FLUX_001.mov
002 → FLUX_002.mov
003 → FLUX_003.mov
004 → FLUX_004.mov
...
033 → FLUX_033.mov

Future videos simply continue.

034
035
036
...

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Boot Sequence

Power on.

↓

Raspberry Pi boots automatically.

↓

FLUX TV launches.

↓

Channel 001 begins playing.

No desktop.

No mouse.

No keyboard.

No operating system visible.

Only television.

---

Controls

Channel Up

001
↓

002
↓

003
↓

004

---

Channel Down

Reverse direction.

---

Number Keys

Typing:

0
0
7

Immediately jumps to:

FLUX_007

---

Idle

If nobody presses anything:

Current channel loops forever.

---

Optional Effects

Static Transition

Every channel change briefly displays TV static.

Example:

████████████

zzzzzzzzzz

████████████

Duration:

0.2–0.5 seconds.

Then the new film begins.

---

On-Screen Display

Momentarily display:

CHANNEL 014

FLUX TV

Then fade away after 2 seconds.

---

CRT Audio Pop

Play a tiny speaker click before playback.

Makes channel changes feel authentic.

---

Future Features

Random Channel

Remote button:

RANDOM

Jumps to any FLUX volume.

---

Favorites

Store favorite videos.

Favorite 1

Favorite 2

Favorite 3

---

Playlist Mode

Continuous broadcast.

001

↓

002

↓

003

↓

004

Loops forever.

---

Scheduled Programming

Example:

8:00 PM

FLUX_021

8:10 PM

FLUX_022

8:20 PM

FLUX_023

The installation becomes a true television station.

---

Live Broadcast Mode

A Raspberry Pi on the network streams a live camera feed.

Special channel:

099

LIVE

---

Archive Mode

Browse every FLUX volume visually.

001

002

003

004

...

Select one and play.

---

Exhibition Mode

Power is restored after being unplugged.

↓

Television automatically turns on.

↓

Raspberry Pi boots.

↓

FLUX TV launches.

↓

Channel 001 begins.

No setup required.

Runs unattended indefinitely.

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Long-Term Vision

FLUX TV becomes a permanent playback platform for the entire archive.

Instead of uploading videos into folders, every completed film is assigned a television channel.

Over time the system evolves into a living broadcast network where the archive can be explored by simply changing channels.

The experience feels less like browsing files on a computer and more like discovering an alternate television station dedicated entirely to the FLUX archive.

Photo by HCB 😉

A printable 198-page contact-sheet index of the full 1,188-photograph FLUX archive, with QR codes linking every thumbnail back to its individual photo page.

I made a printable contact-sheet index of the full FLUX archive.

It contains:

• 1,188 photographs
• 33 FLUX issues
• 198 printable 8.5 × 11 pages
• 6 photographs per page
• date/time metadata for every photograph
• FLUX issue + sequence number for every frame
• QR codes linking each thumbnail back to its individual photo page in the digital archive

This is a physical index for navigating the archive.

Print it, mark it up, tape it to the wall, cut it apart, sequence photographs, build books, study patterns, find projects, or simply look at the work as one continuous body.

Each photograph is connected back to the live digital archive through its QR code.

Direct download:

https://flux.dantesisofo.com/downloads/FLUX_ARCHIVE_CONTACT_SHEETS_WEB.pdf

The PDF is designed for black-and-white laser printing on US Letter paper.

How I Built an Automatic Street Photography Zine System

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Just wanted to share some stuff that I’m working on right now.

Currently, I’m printing small thumbnails of my work. As I was putting these thumbnails on the wall and looking through the black-and-white photographs I’ve been making, I started thinking about how I could effectively go through the work physically.

So I created a contact sheet system.

Each 8.5×11 sheet contains six small thumbnails. Every thumbnail has a barcode that can be scanned to instantly access the original digital file online. This is the beauty of the SmallJPEG workflow. Everything is seamless, easy, and fast.

Each thumbnail contains:

• The date and time the photograph was made
• The sequence number within the Flux issue
• A barcode linking directly to the original file

Right now I have 198 sheets printed.

I can browse through them as contact sheets or cut them apart and place them on the wall as individual thumbnails.

It’s a pretty interesting concept, and I highly recommend making something similar.

The Flux Issues

The Flux Issues are chronological sequences of my work from November 2022 through June 2026.

At the moment there are 33 Flux Issues.

They’re stored in manila folders. On the front of each folder is:

• The issue number
• The date
• My name
• A barcode linking to the project page

When you open an issue, the first page contains the protocol and artist statement. It explains how the zines are generated automatically and gives readers a way to participate themselves.

By scanning the barcode, anybody can create their own issue.

Every photograph is captioned with:

• Date
• Time
• Photographer name

These are some of the first photographs I made using this workflow in black and white.

Printing Like Bureaucracy

The output is intentionally simple.

I’m printing on cheap office paper using a monochrome laser printer:

Brother MFC-L2820DW

I’m deliberately adopting the aesthetics of bureaucracy:

• Manila folders
• Office paper
• Administrative design language
• Archival and ephemeral materials

I enjoy the imperfections.

The streaks.
The softness.
The mechanical look.

Printing on office paper creates a different feeling than traditional photo paper, and that’s exactly what I’m after.

Every book contains 36 photographs.

At the back is a contact sheet showing all 36 images along with a manifest document containing metadata such as sequence number and capture time.

There’s also a barcode linking directly to the online project page.

Open Sourcing the Work

The barcode opens a page where anyone can download:

• The original JPEG files
• The PDF zine
• Contact sheets
• Manifest documents

Anyone can print the exact same book at home.

I’m basically open sourcing the work.

The archive itself is organized chronologically and can be browsed by year, month, and day.

When you click on a photograph, you can:

• View the issue it belongs to
• See the contact sheet
• Download files
• Review metadata
• Access camera settings
• Open geotagged locations in Google Maps

If GPS data exists, you can literally stand where the photograph was made.

That’s pretty exciting.

Build Your Own Flux Issue

One feature I recently added is called Add to Zine.

You can browse the archive and add photographs into a cart.

Once 36 photographs have been selected, you can click Build Zine.

The system automatically generates a PDF.

Instantly.

The format is identical to my own physical Flux Issues, but the sequencing is chosen by the participant.

Anybody can create their own book using my photographs.

The cool thing is I’m giving up control.

The reader becomes an active participant in the work.

Flux Generator

If you want to create your own issue, you can use the Flux Generator.

Simply:

1. Enter a title
2. Enter your name
3. Drag and drop 36 photographs
4. Generate the PDF

The system creates the same zine format automatically.

My recommendation is black-and-white photography.

High-contrast black-and-white images look especially good when printed on standard office printers.

After creating an issue, you can even submit it to the catalog.

Community Submissions

People have already started submitting work.

Recently I reviewed a submission from Brad.

The process is simple:

• Create a zine
• Submit it
• I review it
• It gets added to the public catalog

There’s also a miniature zine generator that uses six photographs instead of thirty-six.

These smaller publications can also be submitted and showcased.

Geotagged Photography Projects

Another feature is the geotag submission portal.

If your photographs contain GPS metadata, you can create a project that maps the photographer’s movement through space.

You can see:

• Where photographs were made
• Walking routes
• Visual journeys through cities

This connects directly to a project I’m currently building:

Philly in Flux

I’m systematically documenting Philadelphia.

So far:

• Nearly 100 miles photographed
• Around 50 hours of walking
• Entire streets being archived individually

Each street becomes its own project.

Open a street and you can see every photograph geotagged across the entire route.

I’m finding a lot of joy in this project, so I decided to create tools that allow other people to participate as well.

Automatic Publishing

My personal publications are generated automatically.

Every time I upload 36 new photographs:

• The system creates the issue
• Generates the PDF
• Creates the project page
• Updates the archive

Everything happens automatically.

The goal is simple:

Relinquish as much control over the backend as possible so I can focus on shooting and producing.

That’s what excites me.

Making photographs.

Then instantly having physical artifacts available for review.

The Wiki

I also created a complete wiki documenting the system.

The documentation can be downloaded as:

• Markdown
• PDF

You can read through the ideas or even feed the documentation into Claude Code to help build similar tools.

Eventually I’d like this entire approach to become a genuinely open-source method of archiving photographic work.

There’s even a starter kit available for the geotagging project.

I haven’t fully tested it yet, but the goal is simple:

Download the starter kit.
Connect Claude Code.
Build your own system.

Building With Claude Code

The entire architecture is surprisingly simple.

I’m essentially using:

• Amazon S3
• A folder system on my computer
• Claude Code
• Static websites

Claude Code automatically updates the website.

That means ideas can move from concept to implementation extremely quickly.

Any idea you have right now can probably be manifested with modern digital tools.

You just have to build it.

And that’s what I’ve been doing.

Building systems that remove friction from my personal practice.

Final Thoughts

One thing I’m especially excited about is this new contact sheet system.

Being able to thumb through physical thumbnails and instantly access the original file through a barcode feels incredibly powerful.

The mini-zines are working.
The archive is growing.
The maps are expanding.
The automation is functioning.

And now the contact sheet system is complete.

How Constraints Create Better Street Photography

Yo, what’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Welcome to FLUX Weekly Witness #9, where I look at the photographs submitted by members of the FLUX community. Today we’re looking at FLUX 4 by Brad Pickle, a collection of photographs made between June 1st and June 10th.

One thing that immediately stood out to me was a conversation Brad and I had before this project. He told me he wanted more constraints in his photography. More limitations. More structure.

And honestly, that made me really happy.

One of the constraints he imposed on himself was committing to the square format. He found that choosing between horizontal and vertical compositions was creating unnecessary decision fatigue. By removing that choice, he simplified the process and freed himself to focus on seeing.

Most of these photographs were made using the 71mm crop mode on the Ricoh GR IIIx, pushing compression to become an active part of the visual language. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Compression as a Tool for Abstraction

What really resonated with me throughout this work were the graphic elements and textural qualities.

Many of these images have no clear sense of time or place. They exist almost outside reality.

The compression isolates details so effectively that the photographs begin to function less as documents and more as visual artifacts.

A bird framed within empty space.

Parking lot lights floating in darkness.

A mattress leaning against a wall.

Leaves emerging from shadow.

These aren’t just photographs of things. They’re photographs of shape, texture, light, and mystery.

The image becomes less about the subject itself and more about the relationship between form, geometry, and space.

That’s where the work starts to move beyond documentation and toward something more emotional.

Working With What You Have

Brad is photographing in Birmingham, Alabama.

He’s not walking through Times Square. He’s not surrounded by endless streams of people or dramatic street scenes.

And that’s exactly why I appreciate this work.

Too many photographers believe they need a better location before they can make meaningful photographs.

Brad proves the opposite.

He’s looking at:

• Sidewalk markings
• One-way signs
• Shadows
• Textures
• Patterns in architecture
• Small details most people overlook

He’s finding material in ordinary life.

And that’s what excites me.

Great photography often begins when you stop waiting for something interesting to happen.

Looking at the World Like a Canvas

As I moved through the zine, I kept coming back to the same idea:

Brad isn’t looking at the world as documentary material.

He’s looking at it like a canvas.

The photographs are organized around visual relationships rather than narrative ones.

Leaves overlap and create texture.

Signs become graphic symbols.

Patterns become compositions.

The world gets reduced into shapes, forms, and tonal relationships.

That approach creates photographs that feel closer to drawings or fine art prints than traditional documentary photographs.

The Importance of Mystery

One of the strongest qualities in this work is ambiguity.

There’s a photograph featuring what appear to be handprints layered beneath a pattern of lines.

I don’t completely understand what’s happening in the frame.

And that’s exactly why it works.

The compression creates uncertainty.

The square frame isolates the subject.

The photograph leaves room for interpretation.

Mystery invites the viewer into the image.

Instead of explaining everything, the photograph creates questions.

That tension is what keeps certain images alive long after you’ve looked at them.

Building a Personal Mythology

What impressed me most is that Brad is creating his own visual world.

Despite photographing in familiar surroundings, the images feel detached from everyday reality.

They become fragments.

Artifacts.

Remnants of something larger.

A blurred figure in a tunnel.

Paper textures on a wall.

Dark surfaces with strange markings.

Graphic signs transformed into abstract forms.

Taken together, they create a feeling rather than a description.

And that feeling is what stays with me.

My Favorite Images

A few photographs stood out immediately.

The spread featuring the handprints and the sign with tape layered across it is probably my favorite in the entire sequence.

The human element adds impact, while the tape introduces a subtle texture that elevates the graphic quality of the frame.

I also loved:

• The isolated leaf emerging from darkness
• The minimalist spread featuring dirt and leaves
• The photograph that resembles the side of a spaceship, split perfectly down the middle
• The bird sequence moving from wire to flight

These images demonstrate a strong sensitivity to composition, texture, and visual reduction.

Why Constraints Matter

The biggest lesson from this project isn’t about square format.

It’s about constraints.

By limiting his options, Brad discovered a new way of seeing.

The square frame changed how he organized information.

The compressed focal length changed how he interpreted space.

The combination led him toward photographs that feel less like documents and more like works of art.

Sometimes the fastest way forward is by removing choices.

And that’s exactly what happened here.

Final Thoughts

Brad, I really resonate with this work.

What you’re doing with compression, texture, ambiguity, and the square format feels fresh.

It feels personal.

It feels like you’re discovering something.

And that’s the most exciting place a photographer can be.

Keep pushing.

Keep experimenting.

Keep following this thread.

I genuinely think you’re onto something.

Peace.