Thursday, November 1, 2012
The Myth of Ur
I thought the reading of the myth of Ur the warrior was inspiring and tied together the philosphies and ideas that sprang from the Republic. The purpose of philosophy is to understand the true nature, or essence, of ones own being. Ur's story shows some notable figures in mythology doing so, and that helps me to understand how they pictured themselves. From a hero becoming a normal man, a singer becoming a mute swan, and an annoying chatterbox of a man becoming a monkey; this helps me to interpret their very primordial essence of their character and worldview. To know ones own true soul is better than all of the knowledge this Earth with its wonders can offer. This is my belief and has been shown throughout history to be a funding principle in the universe. As Polonius says to his departing son, "Above all else, to thine own self be true."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I found it really interesting too. It was fascinating to see the mythological characters evaluate their past lives, and make decisions based on their mistakes of the past. How sad, though, that they were basing their future life on their past, there was no true "moving on" for any of the characters.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the concept Socrates brought up at the end about knowing one's true self. It was very interesting too all the reasons that the different characters had for choosing the lives that they did. I agree that in some cases it was indeed sad. Odysseus being a fine example, it was almost as if he had been defeated by his past life and therefore resigned to live a simple life void of any of the glory and honor of his past life.
ReplyDelete