#one affects their entire lives and one just means they can't really speak spanish

[chaoswillcalmusdown]

finally marked all the 8th grade maths tests and like. i've only just met them this august but 1 of them has 0 correct answers. 0 points out of like 50. i have no fucking clue what is happening in there. i have no clue how he's gotten to the second to last year of compulsory education and he doesn't have a standing appointment with a special teacher

[phemonoi]

Philosophy | Divine Madness

Plato's Phaedrus.

I wanted to start with this dialogue because even if it comes kind of late in history of antiquity, it really describes a very important part of greek tradition that influenced later philosophy and was very much present in romantic poetry and art. It's also a very pretty dialogue and one of my favorites. The Phaedrus of Plato was written in his midlife, around the 370 B.C. It presents his famous allegory of the Chariot, where he states that the soul has “wings” and explains how it becomes material, but mainly the dialogue is about love and the Madness of the Gods, which will be my specific focus here. This dialogue has been wrongly treated as mainly aesthetic, but the truth it's a theological dialogue with many spiritual additions, because love was for Plato a spiritual thing, not just an art or a satisfaction.

☀️ Synthesis

So let’s establish a little bit of context. The dialogue takes place in the countryside, and its actors are Socrates, as usual, Phaedrus, and Lysias (although he’s just mentioned). Lysias is a famous sophist, meaning he’s a speaker, and Phaedrus has a copy of one of Lysias’ most recent speeches, that after a lot of teasing and insistance, he ends up reading to Socrates. The speech verses about how it’s best to establish erotic relationships with a loveless person, rather than do it with a passionate lover. What Lysias says is that the loveless person won’t end up attaching to you, and the relationship won’t create gossip, involve jealousy, and it will much certainly allow for a larger selection of other lovers. Socrates is actually very sarcastic so he replies to this conclusion that Lysias should’ve written about the benefits of being the lover of an older or poorer man rather than a younger and richer one, and his words would be a good cause for the whole city. However, Socrates demostrates why he disagrees with Lysias, pointing precisely at the divine nature of passionate love. So in a very, very beautiful manner Socrates discusses why it's more beneficial to be loyal rather than a hoe lol. The dialogue treats the knowledge of the Gods and the nature of passion, how it comes to our souls through Eros, and helps us get closer to the divine and experience Them. This speech of Socrates is called the palinode.

☀️ The immortality of the Soul

First of all Socrates points at the immortality of the soul. To prove the existence of the Soul —of course, with the scientific knowledge available to them in their time—, Socrates points out movement. Things move because of a force, or because of will. For him, the sole observation that the Cosmos is full of movement and it's constantly advancing is enough proof for the existence of will and force, and thus the Soul. It's as easy as follows: things that move because of an external agent move by force and lack a soul, like stones, for example, or leaves. Things that move because of will have a soul and are bound to excercice it. For Socrates, the sun seems to move by will so it's evident that he has a soul, a much more complete soul than ours, bigger, and that makes him divine. The being that moves by will won't stop living, he says, because his movement must be continuous; if we move by will, but we die, then there's a part of us that doesn't die; our souls are divine and immortal. The body is a receptor of the soul, since movement by its own is the escence of the soul, and drive by force the escence of the body. So basically Socrates is saying you have soul because you can choose, you can think, you can move by will, and things that don't have a soul are less complex and can't do all of this. A body moved by will is animate, a body moved by force is inanimate.

Socrates then explains that the Universal Soul rules over the inanimate matter, and makes its evolution through the cosmos, manifesting itself under a million different forms. He speaks also of the wings of the Soul, that carry with them what is heavy (the material body) to the superior regions, where the Gods reside. This means that the Soul participates in divinity, through vibration. To explain it with a more modern concept: low vibes get you closer to matter, high vibes get you closer to the Gods. He also mentions that the Gods can't be defined by reason because reason is a human thing; nature lacks it, the universe lacks it, it's ours, and it's entirely theoretical.

Socrates also speaks of Himeros, God of desire and love; the feeling of exaltation that comes from him elevates the soul and helps it recover its wings. Socrates says:

“This affection, love, mortals know as Eros, the winged God; but the immortals know him as Pteros, the giver of wings.”

☀️ Theia Mania —the madness of the Gods

Remember what Socrates said about reason being unable to define the Gods? In Phadrus, Socrates exchange human intelligence for something greater and more beneficial: divine madness.

I know this is supposed to be our main topic, but really: Plato doesn't really say much about it. However, according to Thomas Taylor (who you should definitely read if you ever wonder about Plato, because he was an expert on the matter and openly pagan), Plato was usually exalted and inspired by divine madness when writing, specially dialogues like this one¹.

So as we had discussed in the summary, the dialogue starts with a discussion between Socrates and Phaedrus on Lysias' speech about choosing a non-lover rather than a “mad” lover. Phaedrus agreed that the mad lover will cause problems because he is so drunk in passion, that he cannot control himself: however, the non-lover will be satisfying enough, perhaps a bit cold, but won't cause troubles because he won't be invested in the relationship. As we know, the cause of desire is Eros. But Eros is a God, Socrates says, and Gods cannot be the cause of harm, ever. So the desire that the God has inspired in the mad lover must then be of good nature, beneficial and excellent. This madness of love, then, leads in the end to the highest kind of philosophical cognition.

There is two types of madness: the human type involving an internal state of psychic disharmony, and a divine type, involving possession by a God. Socrates says that the divine type of madness is always good, and we can see it in the Pythia, the priestess of Apollo. He says that when magicians try to read divine symbols or interpret certain phenomena, like the shape of the clouds or the sound of the birds, this is a type of wondering of the future that lacks divine inspiration because it uses human knowledge and it's more possible to fail. However, when the Pythia is possessed and inspire, it has been proven that her prophecies are true, and they do happen; she is actually losing control of her body to let the Divine enter her mind. These prophecies have always been beneficial to humankind, so this madness of the Gods is good and is real.

There is four types of divine madness, Socrates says:

Ecstatic Madness: caused by Apollo and Dionysos. Mantika, the prophetic madness of Apollo, and Telestika, the ritual madness of Dionysos. Then there's Inspirational Madness: caused by the Muses and Aphrodite. Poetika, the artistic madness of the Muses, and Erotika, the passionate madness of Aphrodite and the Erotes.

This madness spontaneously adapts itself to its producing cause, imitating a divine power, and thus necessarily becomes magnificent, vehement, and exuberant: for such are the characteristics of it's source².

Ain't this beautiful? The idea of divine madness will be later developed by neoplatonists and adapted to a set of practices called theurgy, which will presume the aid of achieving such unity with the Gods.

☀️ Observations

When reading on this topic, one must be careful and check the sources. Plato is a philosopher thats has been thoroughly misinterpreted and edited across history by both atheists and christians. Most authors will tell you he was a monotheist, or even an atheist. He wasn't: Plato was the product of his time and his culture, and a polytheist. When he speaks of divine madness and the Gods he does so literally, as he's a faithful and pious philosopher. His metaphysics are pluralistic and this dialogue is an evidence of such.

On another topic, we can see divine madness across many cultures in human history. The possession by a God always leads to a greater benefit and is good and pleasurable. So one can judge many experiences based on this: the possession by a lower spirit wouldn't bring forward the same results, emotions and characteristics that the possession by a Divine agent would.

So I want to know, if you've come this far, what do you think about Plato's approach to Divine Madness? do you have any thoughts on this concept? Please add your comments, I'll be glad to read them!

I hope this post has helped, there will be more ☀️💫🌻 A sidenote: this post and the whole series of Philosophy of the Gods is being made in devotion to Apollo, as he is the God of Philosophy, my patron God as a disciple, and was the God of Socrates.

Sources:

¹ Plato, Phaedrus, spanish edition (Gredos).

² Thomas Taylor, Introduction to Philosophy and Writings of Plato, The Prometheus Trust Edition.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

“Unlike Peter, Miles was bitten at age thirteen, making him younger and more unprepared to cope with his powers and the responsibilities of being a superhero.”

 Is there really that big of a difference between being 13 and being 15 when it comes to risking your life by swinging from sky scrapers and  dodging bullets.

 15. TURN INVISIBLE/CAMOUFLAGE

 “One of the more notable uses of this tactic was when he disappeared from Earth 616 Peter and then reappeared on the side of the wall and kicks Peter in the face. ”

 You mean when Bendis jobbed Peter by deliberately ignoring the Spider Sense, one of his most iconic abilities?

 14. VENOM BLAST

 “This ability comes in handy in battle, especially when fighting high-powered villains such as the Scorpion, who was knocked out using the electric sting, and Green Goblin, who was badly injured by it.”

 In other words this ability enables Miles to cheaply and easily gain the upper hand in fights since it’s an electrical discharge which can even electrocute a guy who’s entire powerset is electricity based.

 “At one point, as Earth 616 Peter Parker and Miles are fighting, he even used the venom blast on Peter and briefly knocked him out.”

 Again through the power of bad writing by ignoring the spider sense.

 “Miles also was able to separate Venom from his host with a venom blast, which has notoriously been difficult for Peter to do.”

 Not really, Peter can do it so long as he has access to fire or sonics.

 13. ENERGY BURST

 “Closely related to his Venom Blast, Miles discovers almost accidentally that he is also able to release large bursts of energy that incapacitate those around him. When Miles is under extreme amounts of stress and or close to losing a battle, he can release this energy. This ability makes him a powerful opponent, and also gives him the upper hand as most villains are caught off-guard by it.”

 So again over powering Miles and making him a Spider-Man equivalent of a Super Saiyan. Lovely.

 “However, his energy burst does have two major downfalls; one being that it is incredibly unpredictable and he does not know how to utilize it in regular battle, and the second being that it drains him of most of his energy, making him useless for the remainder of a fight.”

 Well that’s something.

 12. COMMUNICATE WITH HIS BEST FRIEND

 “Ganke provides comedic relief, advice and builds Miles’ confidence up while also chastising him when needed.”

 In other words the exact same role Ultimate MJ filled except with less romantic tension. Also the same role 616 MJ used to fulfil. Not saying Ganke is bad but this is hardly something Miles has over Peter.

 “Miles allows himself to be emotionally vulnerable with Ganke, which is not the same vulnerability he has with his parents. Miles is unafraid to cry and hug Ganke while leaving himself vulnerable as he tells Ganke about his deepest fears of a “bad person” because of his family history.”

 See above.

 “Communicating his struggles to a close friend who knows him as both a boy and a superhero differs from Peter, who never had that immediate support while in high school.”

 In the 616 universe this is accurate, but putting aside how he did have it later in life, again Ultimate Peter Parker did have this in high school.

 11. BE PLAYED BY DONALD GLOVER 

 Outside of voice acting Glover is too old to play Miles.

 However in voice acting or in live action he could play an age appropriate Peter Parker.

  10. BE A TEAM PLAYER / MORE SOCIABLE

 “Though Peter joined teams, such as the Avengers, he was never a true part of them and had difficulty at times accepting help from other members. Peter also had self-doubts, which affected his relationships with members of these teams.”

 Yeah...not if you read New Avengers also written by Bendis or Spidey’s involvement in the FF. Then none of that shit applies.

  “This is unlike Peter, who before being killed in Ultimate Spider-Man, was told by Captain America that he was not ready to be an Avenger– in Ultimate Fallout, Cap admits that they failed to train him properly because they did not view him as a team member.”

 Doesn’t that mean Cap and the other guys were the people with the problem not Peter?

 9. WALL-CRAWL

 “Miles’ ability to adhere to various substances is slightly more impressive as he is able to use it to lift and throw literal tons of items as weapons, even though he is still a kid. ”

 That is literally no different to what Peter could do.

 “Miles’ wall-crawling, unlike Peter’s, is mostly centered on his hands and feet, and Miles also discovers that he can use this ability through regular clothing, such as his shoes.”

 See above.

 “Miles can also deactivate and activate the adhesion ability at will.”

 Also see above.

 Y’all know Spider-Man can stick to stuff with any part of his body right and it works even if he’s asleep or unconscious.

  8. MAINTAIN A RELATIONSHIP WITH GWEN STACY

 “Initially introduced as Peter’s first love, Gwen Stacy and Peter always seemed to be star-crossed lovers, as Green Goblin threw Gwen off a bridge and Peter attempted to save her, but she died from a broken neck. ”

 There was little star crossing those lovers.

 “Even with a clone of Gwen Stacy, Peter is unable to continue to maintain a relationship with Gwen because he and Mary-Jane rekindled theirs.”

 That’s not so much an inability so much as a choice. He didn’t want Gwen he wanted MJ.

 “Unlike Peter, Miles’s relationship with Gwen Stacy in Earth 1610 is a friend and confidant. ”

 Wasn’t that mostly exactly Ultimate Peter’s relationship with Ultimate Gwen and Carnage clone Gwen?

 “More recently in the Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen comics, Miles is transported to Earth-65, where she and Miles share a kiss in Spider-Man, issue 12. Like with her 1610 counterpart, Miles establishes an easy rapport with Gwen as they commiserate about being superheroes and having parents who are willing to sacrifice themselves to keep them and their secrets safe.”

 The author does realize 616, Ultimate and Earth 65 Gwen are all vastly different to one another right?

 “Miles is also able to save Gwen, which Peter was unable to do, in Spider-Gwen #16, when Doc Ock attacks and nearly succeeds in beating her.”

 Didn’t Peter save Gwen MULTIPLE times before the one time he failed?

 Like Miles saving her once = he can do what Peter couldn’t.

 7. LEARN QUICKLY

 “When Miles was introduced, it was established that he was an intellectually gifted individual with an aptitude for learning. Though Peter was also brilliant (he did create his own web after all!), Miles’ ability was beneficial to him as he could view videos of Peter’s fighting and analyze it for his own improvements, much like a sports team watching game footage. Miles translated that knowledge of Peter to improve his own abilities as a hero at the tender age of thirteen.”

 That’s not really learning quickly then is it.

 That’s saying an airplane pilot is better because he figured out how to fly faster than the Wright brothers.

 Well sure, he had all of the Wright brothers’ work to build upon, he didn’t have to learn via trial and error and figure things out from scratch.

 Really Peter getting so good at heroing so quickly with nothing to go on is actually more exemplary of his ability to learn quickly than it is in Miles’ case.

 “Because of this study, he was able to defeat Osborne.”

 Pretty sure his ability to beat Osborn (there is no ‘e’) had less to do with him studying him and a lot more to do with just shocking him over and over and over.

 Also

 “He utilized this same method of self-improvement through quick learning in Ultimate Spider-Man, #6, where he studied Norman Osborne before confronting him in battle. Because of this study, he was able to defeat Osborne. Miles translated his knowledge into an ability at thirteen that helped him be a better superhero, even if he stumbled a few times along the way. In Ultimate Spider-Man, issue #6, Miles also tells Norman Osborne that he studied up on him and knew his fighting style, which is why he’s able to defeat him.”

  Great proofreading there buddy.

 6. SPEAK SPANISH

 “Though Peter Parker was able to appeal to the residents of New York, he had some difficulty connecting to some of the residents in his own city and within his own community. Although Miles’ cultural background is not an ability, Miles can speak Spanish and English, which is important as it gives his character more depth and acknowledges culture and his community.”

 ...Peter Parker can speak Mandarin...

 “In Spider-Man, issue #2, Miles is still trying to figure out how to be Spider-Man, and his grandmother comes to visit him at his mother’s request, due to his failing grades. Though Miles does not speak Spanish in this issue, his grandmother does and it’s obvious he understands her. Being bilingual differentiates him from Peter as he is connected to not only family, but another community that would help keep him grounded.”

 I mean yes but Peter Parker doesn’t require a community (ethnic or otherwise) to keep him grounded.

 “During his time in Earth 65, Gwen Stacy makes a comment about needing a spy name and dubs herself  “Tigra La Muerteface,” to which Miles responds with an “Uh, you don’t speak Spanish, do you?” while grimacing at her garbled spy name. ”

 He doesn’t grimace in the issue because he is wearing a mask.

 5. SPIDER-SENSE

“Initially, Miles’ “Spider-Sense” seemed to be weaker than that of Peter’s. However, in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, issue 3, Miles dreams of being attacked by Electro, who has come to kill Spider-Man. When he awakens, he is told that Spider-Man was killed. Miles knows that the dream was a warning that danger was coming, and this suggests that his Spider-Sense might actually encompass more than just immediate danger (like Peter’s) and may eventually develop into something much larger and more significant as time goes on.”

 Pretty sure Peter’s spider sense has been linked to prophetic dreams at least once or twice like during the Other.

 Also Peter’s spider sense does not merely warn him of immediate danger. He’s used it to track down loved ones and to find bad guys concealing weapons. He’s even linked them with his spider tracers.

 “This Spider-Sense also seems to affect him physically and comes across “louder,” depending on the threat level. In Nova #4, Miles’ Spider-Sense goes haywire, indicating that there is a serious threat and that he and his team need to escape from the battle or risk serious injury.”

 Peter’s does that too, see the original Morlun appearance.

 “Miles’ Spider-Sense also seems to work faster than Peter’s, as shown in Spider-Man, issue #2, when Miles’ Spider-Sense goes off before Peter’s as they are about to be attacked by a demon.”

 No Miles spider sense works period whilst Bendis once again underwrote peter in that issue to make Miles look better.

 4. REGENERATE

“Another of Miles’ abilities that differs slightly from Peter’s is his ability to heal at an accelerated rate. Though Peter and Miles are similar in this regard, Miles appears to be slightly more durable, and the limits of his regenerative abilities have not fully been explored.”

 So he has like Wolverine levels of durability and healing. Charming.

 3. (ALLEGED) IMMORTALITY

“After a lengthy battle where the Green Goblin escapes and then comes back later to continue the fight, Osborn alleges that the Oz formula that the strain of spider that bit Miles was from had one side effect, and that was immortality.”

 So again, making Miles over powered and on top of that less vulnerable and human like Spider-Man is supposed to be. Charming.

 “Given that Osborn initially created the Oz formula to cure disease, and Peter Parker died and came back, there is some merit to this madman’s ramblings which may pose a fun and interesting plot line in the future of Miles.”

 If this is so speculative how can it justifiably be placed on a list like this?

 2. TAKE SERIOUS THINGS SERIOUSLY

 “Miles Morales is no stranger to witnessing the unfair treatment of others and has been on the receiving end of unfair, biased and at times, prejudiced opinions of himself and his family. ”

 So has Peter, just not to as bad of an extent because it didn’t manifest itself as racism.

 “Peter has only had that experience as Spider-Man and tended to deflect his feelings about the issues by using humor, whereas Miles goes home and speaks to his father about it.”

 Didn’t Peter repeatedly brood, angst, beat himself up and feel bad about himself for failing the people in his life multiple times?

 And hasn’t he spoken about this to people like Aunt May, Mary Jane, Johnny Storm, etc on multiple occasions?

 It’s not like he just laughed crap off and moved on.

 “Miles himself becomes a victim of Ulysses’ visions and is almost arrested by Carol and Miles expresses his feelings of horror, fear, and disbelief by falling to his knees and crying, instead of making a witty remark like Peter would have done.”

 Peter wasn’t cracking wise when Gwen died and he was accussed of her murder.

 Nor when he accidentally killed Charlie in Berlin.

 It is a false narrative to suggest that something as serious as this would automatically or probably result in Peter simply cracking wise.

 1. STAY ALIVE

 “Considering he has been Spider-Man for less than two years, Miles has faced more than his share of near-death experiences. ”

 Miles has definitely been Spider-Man for longer than 2 years.

 “However, Miles’ ability to stay alive when placed in these situations speaks volumes about his awareness and adaptability, especially considering his age.”

 I fail to see how this is something he can do that Peter couldn’t.

 “When Miles fights the Green Goblin shortly after Peter’s death in Ultimate Spider-Man issue #7, he uses his energy burst to defeat him instead of being killed.”

 When Peter battled Juggernaut and Firelord he used his superior speed and smarts to avoid being killed...and owning their asses...

 “During Secret Wars, Miles is also able to use his wits and hides aboard a ship as Earth 1610 and Earth 616 collide, which allows him to survive the initial collision of the two worlds. When he wakes from stasis in Battle World, he befriends Molecule Man and provides him a hamburger that he happened to have on him. Molecule Man saves Miles, and as a sign of good faith and in appreciation of Miles’ kindness, Molecule Man also brings back his mother. So, not only does Miles have the ability to stay alive against foes who just can’t stay dead, but his actions also bring back his loved ones.”

 Again...not seeing how this is something Peter couldn’t do. It’s not even like he intended to bring his mother back to life, that was a fluke.

 Hell between cloning, mystic ninjas and everything he’s seen peter could probably bring his loved ones back to life but opts not to.

 Overall...weak list.