Last Seen Blogs
fusionmonkey
FusionMonkey
batobob-blog
fighty cockatoo
takemetorapture
video games are art
hedecididoseguiracristo-blog
Ninguno tenga en poco tu juventud!
thebarefemale
a blog about smut
Text
The Six Enneads-The First Ennead
Plotinus
9/10/17
This is a very hopeful work. One of its conclusions are that all souls are beautiful. It runs into a problem here, " on the one side the Soul is above all guilt; on the other, we hear of its sin, its purification, its expiation it is doomed to the lower world, it passes from body to body." The solution is in that sentence, but it takes him a long time to get there. If a Soul can be purified, then the things causing evil that it is purified from must not be a part of it. In all I think this is a very ethereal work. It works from the existence of the soul and draws most of its conclusions from that and takes very little from the outside world. "But can these inferior kinds of virtue exist without Dialectic and philosophy? Yes-but imperfectly, inadequately." This corresponds to a part of my personal philosophy. All people have an inherent morality built into them, but this is not a full morality. Full morality must be learned. One cool line is, "Wheresoever it lie, under Earth or over Earth, his body will always rot." Connected to, "must not death be evil? Evil to What? There must be a subject to evil: but if the possible subject is not among beings." That started off well, but I didn't like where it finished.
The Ennead ends with a say no to drugs bit. That was cool.
0 notes
Text
Syntactic Structures
Noam Chompsky
9/3/17
This works well as a reference book, but it offers no insight to someone who already knows the jist. The jist is that it is possible to create universal rules of grammar and that grammar is a distinct part of language from syntax and meaning. In the beginning, he has two sentences which are equally nonsensical, but one is clearly grammatical and the other isn't. There is a nice list of rules in the appendix. I suggest just reading that.
One interesting thing is that he says the word so is a pro-"verb phrase" the same way he is a pro-"noun". He often uses the argument "If you expect grammar to do x then you should expect it to do y; y is ridiculous, so you should not expect x." This might be over relied on and may lead to some flaws.
0 notes
Text
The Difficulties of Persuasion
Han Feizi
8/13/17
Abridged in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
It can be difficult to persuade people because one does not know the true desires of who one is trying to persuade. For some reason people like to conceal their desires. The people you are trying to persuade will also be suspicious of your intentions. This can be solved (sort of) with two quotes, “The important thing in persuasion is to learn how to play up the aspects that the person you are talking to is proud of, and play down the aspects he is ashamed of,” and, “If you gain the ruler’s love, your wisdom will be appreciated and you will enjoy his favor as well.”
0 notes
Text
Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi
8/13/17
Abridged in the Speech, Writing and Poetry in Early China section of The Norton Anthology of World Literature
The swords section of this piece is the most fun I’ve had reading anything from Ancient China. The basic moral is that the pen is mightier than the sword. The other sections decry reading works of people who are dead, but that is what I’m doing here.
0 notes
Text
The Great Preface to the Classic of Poetry
8/13/17
Poetry can be used to help men in all aspects of life.
0 notes
Text
The Analects
Confucius
8/13/17
Abridged in the Speech, Writing and Poetry in Early China section of The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Confucius says that morality can be learned from poems. This is different from Zhuangzi who writes a story meant to illustrate a point. Well written poetry can enlighten the readers in a way that even the poet is not enlightened. He also likes discussing poetry for its own sake.
0 notes
Text
Historical Records
Sima Qian
8/13/17
Abridged in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Two stories were told. Each were about people who Did their duty and were just in spice of injustice and people being undutiful to them. This is sort of what Sima Qian did. He wrote these stories for a state that betrayed (sort of) him. He espoused Confucian ideals that did not work well for him.
0 notes
Text
Letter in Reply to Ren An
Sima Qian
8/13/17
Sima Qian tries to explain why he chose to be castrated, rather than commit honorable suicide. He wanted to write his histories. He mentions many Confucian works, but seems almost unaware of Laozi. It seems that he was someone who was raised in a completely Confucian way, but wants to live a life that Laozi would almost approved of. Rather than seeking honor he wants to sit in a cell and write. Laozi did not think much of scholars, but if writing is what brings Sima joy, then that is what he should do.
There seem to be indications that it was possible to escape his fate, but, like Socrates, he did not do them.
0 notes
Text
Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi
8/13/17
Abridged in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
This is quite metaphysical. It has a bit that wonders if two people disagree on what is right, how do they decide who is right. Does the answer come here?, “A road is made by people walking on it; things are so because they are called so. What makes them so? Making them so makes them so.”
Jobesque themes show up again. “When a skilled Smith is casting a metal, if the metal should leap up and say, ‘I insist on being made into a (sword).” God owes us nothing; he decides what is done with our lives.
Marxist themes show up when a peasant says to a Confucian that he will carry buckets of water, rather than build a machine, because it keeps him more connected to his work.
He mixes story with philosophy, which I never cared for, and doesn’t work that well here. He tells the story of a tree. A man calls the tree worthless and the tree replies, “If I had been of some use, would I ever have grown this large?”
0 notes
Text
Songs of the South
8/13/17
Collected in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
This is an epic that is not in the style of an epic. It was a difficult read, and I should probably try to read it again. It tells the story of a king who is trying to be king. There is a stanza of philosophy in the middle of it. “Sovereign Heaven is slanted in favor of none;
it discerns a man’s virtues, puts helpers beside him.
When wisdom and sense do deeds that are splendid,
they may then act their will in this land down below.”
0 notes
Text
Daodejing
Laozi
8/12/17
Laozi is a sage who speaks against sages. Likewise, the daodijing is full of seemingly contradictory statements. “Know honor
but keep to the role of dishonor,” seems contradictory, but its sentiment is still obvious. “Exterminate the sage, discard the wise
And the people will benefit a hundredfold...
Exterminate ingenuity, discard profit,
And there will be no more thieves and bandits.” The first one seems at least counterintuitive, but the second is perfectly logical. Personally, I do not think losing ingenuity is a cost I’m willing to pay for a loss of thieves. Perhaps that is what Laozi meant. Perhaps he places these things next to each other and wants us to draw our own conclusions.
“the sage...does not value goods which are hard to come by.” This is the only piece of wisdom from this work that, I think will stay with me for a while. It is something I never even considered before, but it makes perfect sense.
0 notes
Text
The Analects
Confucius
8/12/17
Abridged in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Wisdom literature is difficult to read and hard to review. I didn’t really learn anything about Confucius reading this. I already knew he stressed filial piety and virtuous rule. 9.23 says, “One should regard the young with awe: how do you know that the next generation will not equal the present one?” This puts some limits on filial piety. It really seems that the old and the young are considered equal. Unlike the Greeks who outright said that the older generations were better. I like one of his quotes on learning, “From one thing he learns, he deduces ten: from one thing I learn, I only deduce ten.” On trying, “He who does not have the strength can always give up halfway, but you have given up before starting.” “In the old days, people studied to improve themselves. Now they study to impress others.” Maybe I am trying to impress people, but it would be nice to improve myself in the process.”
0 notes
Text
The Classic of Poetry
8/10/17
Abridged in the Norton Anthology of World Literature
These poems tend to focus more on experiences than emotions. "Scarlet pipe that gleams." I love simple lines. That poem goes on to describe a reed and philosophizes on the nature of beauty, "Reed-the beauty is not yours-
you are beauty’s gift." Fishhawk does talk about emotions, specifically the emotion of yearning. Yearning is a fun emotion, I like poems about that. More yearning occurs in "Boat of Cypress." "Oh Sun! and you Moon! Why do you each grow dim in turn?"
A great opening comes in "Huge rat." It starts "Huge rat, huge rat." Cool! The entire first stanza geos "Huge rat, huge rat,
eat my millet no more,
for three years I've fed you,
yet you pay me no heed." This is a great opening; the poem perhaps should have stopped there. It just continues those themes, but doesn't really expand on them.
Shorter poems tend to be better. "She Bore the Folk," was a longer one and delved into mythology. It was a little boring.
0 notes
Text
The Jataka
8/6/17
Abridged in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
I think these stories are just to foreign for me to understand. The were really confusing and boring. I struggle to even summarize them, and don’t want to.
0 notes
Text
The Bhagavad-Gita
8/6/17
Abridged in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
This is the story of Arjuna and Krishna arguing over whether it is right to fight wars. Arjuna has the best lines, being the anti-war ones. “if we killed. These murderers, evil like theirs would cling to us!” Krishna’s argument is largely twofold. First, the men who died will be reincarnated. Second, you cannot resist fate. If, the warriors do not fight the world will be thrown out of balance. The warriors are taught to fight correctly, without emotion and showing mercy, if someone else fights, it will be done incorrectly. Krishna assumes that the war must be fought. This is a very good book; the arguments are good to read whether one agrees with them or not.
0 notes
Text
The Mahabharata
8/3/17
Abridged in The Norton Anthology of World Literature
This is another encyclopedic one, like The Metamorphosis. This is mostly to do with the translation. Book two is told in a different translation. It has an epic speech by a woman unhappy with her lot. It is not as good as the Greek ones. Book Five has an incident which teaches that otherwise immoral incidents are okay when they are done in vengeance. It seems clear that this is not justice, but vengeance. Perhaps the difference was not sorted out at that point. The main plot of the book is a massive war, where almost everyone dies.
0 notes
Text
The Ramayana of Valmiki
7/26/17
Abridged in the Norton Anthology of World Literature
This is the beginning of the section on India in The Norton Anthology. India and China seem underrepresented in the anthology. Everything in the first thousand pages can be found in the forty pages devoted to this story. Rama blames the universe for allowing Sita to be captured; a lament that would fit perfectly into Job "the daemons have earned my unquenchable hate and wrath. I shall destroy all of them. Nay, I shall destroy all the powers that be who refuse to return Sita to me." I guess Job is a little more beautifully hopeless than that. Perhaps wrath reads better on a first reading, but the hopelessness of Job works better on rereading. Rama and Laksmana match Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Laksmana dies for Rama, as well. There are themes of Xenia. It also has Monkeys, lots and lots of monkeys.
It is, first, a love story. I don't recall any of the western classics being love stories. The Oddesy, maybe. They both spend most of the story trying to reconnect with their wives. The second book is all about husbands arguing with their wives. No matter the situation, or who is arguing what point, the one who wins the argument is the one who says that a wife’s place is with her husband. After Rama and Sita are separated most of the thigs they say are about how much they love one another, but that they wonder that the other has lost love due to distance.
This has an interesting take on debt. It is required to give hospitality, yet when hospitality is given by one who is in debt to one who is his creditor, the hospitality may clear the debt. This sort of fits with David Grabers idea that money grows out of our desire to help one another.
0 notes