Since I consider myself a generalist, I expected to like this book even before I picked it up. I have always felt like I needed to know about a lot of things, mostly because it seemed like you could never know what life was going to throw your way. Back in 1991, in a column … Continue reading Modern Works – Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
Literature – Antigone Shows Us the Greek Chorus Was Social Media for Ancient Times
In Antigone, tragedy is used to explore big questions about to whom we owe a duty, who will tell us the truth, and what are the limits of power. The play picks up the story of the family of Oedipus. Now Creon is the king, and there has been an attack on the city. The … Continue reading Literature – Antigone Shows Us the Greek Chorus Was Social Media for Ancient Times
Literature – What did Oedipus really do?
Our next reading is one we think we understand: Oedipus the King, by Sophocles. We all know the story: Oedipus is a guy who was led by circumstances, or the fates, to murder his father and marry is mother. This interpretation of the play has rippled through history, giving us Freud’s “Oedipus complex” where a … Continue reading Literature – What did Oedipus really do?
Modern Works – Why Head Transplants Require the Humanities – Mr. Humble & Dr. Butcher
What would happen if your head were transplanted onto a different body? Would you still be you? If we could transplant a head onto a different body, but that body could also be used to supply organs to other people who needed it – who should get the unused body? And how do we know … Continue reading Modern Works – Why Head Transplants Require the Humanities – Mr. Humble & Dr. Butcher
A Pause on the Harvard Classics
This blog was originally started to talk about great books with other readers, while I worked my way through the Britannica Great books Reading List. In 2021, I tried to add the Harvard Classics daily reading this blog. I am putting the Harvard Classics on Pause for now. While I have really enjoyed the readings, … Continue reading A Pause on the Harvard Classics
Literature — A Tragedy on Trial, Basic Reproduction, and Ancient Greek Wrestling
We are back to the Britannica list for this post. Returning to Aeschylus, we have reached the end of Aeschylus’s Oresteia. Here we see the end of a series of murders which launched and capped a bloody war that destroyed the city of Troy. In the first play, Agamemnon was murdered by Clytaemnestra as revenge … Continue reading Literature — A Tragedy on Trial, Basic Reproduction, and Ancient Greek Wrestling
Harvard Classics – Bacon on Judges and the Supreme Court Debate
Anyone following this blog knows that I have not posted every day with the readings, but I am trying to catch and keep up. For this post, I am going to talk about the March 7 readings by Francis Bacon. The reading is about the role of judges in society. Keep in mind that Bacon … Continue reading Harvard Classics – Bacon on Judges and the Supreme Court Debate
Avenging Agamemnon, Compounding Tragedies, and Generational Trauma
The two reading lists that I am working my way through come together in today’s reading, which is “The Libation Bearer” by Aeschylus. In an early post, I tackled the first play of the trilogy, which was about how Agamemnon returned home from the Trojan war and subsequently was murdered by his wife, Clytaemnestra, for … Continue reading Avenging Agamemnon, Compounding Tragedies, and Generational Trauma
Harvard Classics April 6 — Wordsworth, Dictionaries, and Poetry in Our Lives
Wordsworth’s poems are today’s readings. We have poems about flowers, birds, old men, absent sons, and duty. It seems odd to try to pull an excerpt from a poem or even to reproduce an entire one here. The poems in the readding are “The Daffodils,” “To the Daisy,” To the Cuckoo,” “The Green Linnet,” “Written … Continue reading Harvard Classics April 6 — Wordsworth, Dictionaries, and Poetry in Our Lives
Harvard Classics April 6 – The Universe is Irrational, Be Good Anyway; A Roman Emperor’s Advice for a Good Life
When is comes to the secrets of success, the ruler of an empire might be a good source. In the April 6 reading, Eliot has us getting advice from Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius. While he did rule an empire, sometimes it still seems like Aurelius was figuring things out as he wrote … Continue reading Harvard Classics April 6 – The Universe is Irrational, Be Good Anyway; A Roman Emperor’s Advice for a Good Life