Plato Republic
Through the reading of Plato Republic, it can be seen how Plato seeks to create a just state (Kallipolis), with the specialisation of people, and the rule through philosophers. This brings me to question how well Plato’s just state would work in our present day if it were to be established. Although Plato provides interesting theories and ideas […]
Hildegard of Bingen
To be or not to be: Feminist People often discuss the question, “If you could have a dinner party with 8 people, living or dead, that you want to talk to, who would you invite”? Among my list would be some of my favourite authors and activists (e.g. Shakespeare, Harvey Milk, etc. – definitely NOT Plato), and […]
Mengzi for the People?
In The Essential Mengzi, I interpreted that Mengzi was a socialist. He believed in order and ruling, but he also believed in giving blame to the rulers, rather than the people. Mengzi said, “They had already done their utmost with the reflection of their hearts, so they went on to use governments that were not […]
Oedipus and Freud’s theory on the psyche (Superego, ego & id)
When reading Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, I immediately did a mental character analysis on Oedipus and realized how similar he is to Marlow from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness…Now bare with me, I know it is a bit of a stretch, but what I’m trying to say is, if you apply Freud’s psychology on the psyche […]
Plato’s View On Equality
I am writing this post as a way to present some of my thoughts on the essay question (#12) that didn’t make it into the essay. Book 5 of Plato’s Republic is highly fascinating because it makes propositions unlike anything that we have seen so far. First of all, Plato argues that women should be afforded … Continue reading Plato’s View On Equality
Sketchnotes on Plato’s Republic
We are talking about Plato’s Republic this week and next in Arts One, and over the summer I started getting interested in doing sketchnotes–basically, trying to take notes with both images and words. I have found this a really useful method for forcing myself to take in information and make it my own, to condense […]
What’s the focus of Sophocles’ Oedipus?
In Arts One last week we discussed Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. We put a bunch of questions/topics for discussion on the board and didn’t get to all of them (unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence in Arts One, but fortunately, it’s because students are so engaged and want to discuss!). I wrote a question on the […]
Oedipus: King or Tyrant?
In class on Friday we discussed in groups whether we thought Oedipus was a good or bad person, or a good or bad king. We didn’t have time to go over the reasons on each side, but I took pictures so you could see them all. Personally, I think it’s fair to say (especially after […]
Weimar Cinema
A bit late, but finally here is my last blog post of the year – it’s been a long journey, with both ups and downs, but it was a fun one and undoubtedly a great experience. Now, onto Weimar Cinema. The expressionist films of the Weimar period are renowned for their visuals and dramatic tension, […]
Buddha
Buddha Statue at Dawn (2009). In the public domain. Accessed from Wikimedia Commons. Given my interest in reading manga, I was excited to know that we would have the chance to read and discuss Buddha, a work by the famed manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Although I knew the work would be touching on themes much […]