07-11-2008, 07:25 AM
Ah yes, in no way do I intend to imply Joyce as foolish, simply that Gravity's Rainbow is SUCH a good book, one of a handful a century, that simply outclasses everything else.
My background was in lit before I discovered philosophy, and philosophy made a lot of lit pretty un-interesting. That's the price you pay, but to my mind often well crafted works only represent mediocre ideas, they simply represent them very very well. There are exceptions.
To the lifetime reading list here I'd recommend Schopenhauer s "World as Will and Representation" VOL 1. Weighty, but read-able, and the only sensible assault ever mounted on material hedonism. Very important in this day of wavering religiousity in general, as hedonism is the obvious next step.
Hedonism would say, quality of life is determined by the relative ratio of pain vs. pleasure. A powerful powerful argument indeed.
Schopenhauer disagrees: "Pleasure is the transitory state between pain and the cessation of pain, and is the precursor of boredom."
Chew on that!
My background was in lit before I discovered philosophy, and philosophy made a lot of lit pretty un-interesting. That's the price you pay, but to my mind often well crafted works only represent mediocre ideas, they simply represent them very very well. There are exceptions.
To the lifetime reading list here I'd recommend Schopenhauer s "World as Will and Representation" VOL 1. Weighty, but read-able, and the only sensible assault ever mounted on material hedonism. Very important in this day of wavering religiousity in general, as hedonism is the obvious next step.
Hedonism would say, quality of life is determined by the relative ratio of pain vs. pleasure. A powerful powerful argument indeed.
Schopenhauer disagrees: "Pleasure is the transitory state between pain and the cessation of pain, and is the precursor of boredom."
Chew on that!