Homer & Philosophy

Philosophy Bites’s David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton conduct a podcast interview with Harvard Philosophy Professor, Sean Kelly. They discuss Homer, the meaning behind his many epics, and philosophy.

Kelly mentions that in The Odyssey, Odysseus doesn’t reflect on his actions, nor is he held accountable for the decisions he makes. He just makes these decisions, letting the gods do the rest. It is believed Homer thought that this was when humans could be at their best-not worrying about what the future held and letting mightier powers control their fate. Kelly speaks about how Homer concludes that our ambition, strength, and determination is drawn out of us by the gods.

When we do our best, we are known not to name ourselves as the source of our accomplishments, but instead, outside forces like the higher powers we all believe in. For instance, when athletes do well in a game or when performers nail a song they’ve been practicing, the first being they thank when they give their acceptance speeches is “God”.

Warburton says, “The key to a good life is acting, not burdening ourselves with reflection.” Another good point made in the interview is that humans are known to depend on “contagious emotion” instead of letting their own personal emotions be apparent. For example, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his speeches, people allowed themselves to be captivated by his rhetorical skills and amazing way with words. If there wasn’t this overwhelming sense of admiration from that large of an audience, would thousands of people really have listened? When one started cheering, they all started cheering. When a mass audience started preaching his words to their neighbors, more people spread the word, and so on and so on.

Without this contagious emotion,” important cultural changes for the better wouldn’t have happened” says Kelly. Humans need either other humans or gods to depend on when making even the smallest decisions in life. How about depending on ourselves?

"It's as close to being our American bible"- Interview with Nathaniel Philbrick

NPR news’s Melissa Block and Robert Siegel interview Nathaniel Philbrick on his new book called “Why Read Moby-Dick?” Mr. Siegel describes it as a “slim new book packed with insight”. Philbrick refers to Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick on a daily basis, and is in love with the book’s “metaphysical poetry”. Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of Melville’s favorite novelists, broadened his views on things and inspired him to write a darker version of Moby-Dick in 1850, compared to his first attempted story. Philbrick also tells us that William Shakespeare was another one of Melville’s inspirations. Shakespeare’s works engaged him and he applied those themes to his whaling experiences and what was going on in America with the Civil War approaching. The sidebars and anecdotes sprinkled throughout the story make Moby-Dick what it is today. It’s more than just a fisherman’s tale; it is deeper than that. But Moby-Dick was neither a critical nor commercial success, this is why it was only until after WWI when people really started discussing the book. Melville was a renowned writer of his time, who went overlooked and unappreciated for most of his career. “Contained in Moby-Dick is the genetic code going on in America when dealing with the issues of authority and nature”. Philbrick says that the novel will be relevant in American cataclysms to come.

But We Are All Poets At Heart

We all have good and bad days. Many of us vent to our friends about the lousy things that happened to us during the week, and we reminisce about the few good instances. But poets are special. Not all of us have the impressive vocabulary and the way with words that these amazing people do. Average people don’t end up writing any of their thoughts down on paper in artistic ways. We have bottled up all of these emotions, and we’re trapped in our own minds, simply because we don’t know how to express ourselves. We yearn to be free and to have people finally know what we’re going through. To let others know that our lives are not perfect. Poetry is not always considered, though, when one is going through tough times. It is much easier to turn to drugs or something reckless like that to relieve stress.

Poets have it easy. They write a few stanzas about how the world sucks and how it needs to change and they do it in a creative way, then they get praised for their work. They’re the lucky ones. They have found a healthy way to vent. People often comment on how “deep” certain poets are because of how much meaning is behind one sentence. They are often known as the intellectuals of society. So who is to say that they shouldn’t be praised? I think they should get the most recognition out of all artists for the simple fact that they can say what most people want to say, but just can’t get out.

                Poets incorporate similes and metaphors into their pieces and make you think about what they’re saying, instead of just hearing it. They think this way and they’re able to get their thoughts down on paper in time to be able to share them with the world. Us average people often think some deep thoughts too. The thoughts we think are just not as artistically thought--if that makes any sense. Average people don’t think about fancy ways to phrase sentences; instead, the quickest and easiest ways to get their points across. That’s normal, right? Yes, but it is also rather boring.

The Lauren Hills and Shakespeares of our generations make the way we see the world more interesting and way more raw. These types of people are sort of like scientists. They discover new ways to speak their mind and actually work to find cures for common ignorance. These professionals take their talents seriously and actually perform in front of crowds! They pour out their hearts to their fans, hoping that the last metaphor of their piece is comprehended, while average people like you and me babble on aimlessly to our friends and diaries.

Poem by Taylor Mali- "Totally like whatever, you know?"

More often than not, we as a people speak with no confidence in what we are trying to get other people to listen to. Now, if we ourselves don't believe in what we're saying, how do we expect anyone else to? If we are not steadfast in our statements who will take us seriously? Taylor Mali’s poem, “Totally like whatever, you know?” puts a comedic spin on the issue. He makes his lines sound like he’s asking the audience questions and he points out that people often “attach invisible question marks” and “parenthetical ya knows” to the end of their sentences because of uncertainty in what they are talking about. Being that there are so many correct answers and credible sources out there, one might wonder why people seek out affirmation of their own explanations and findings through the tone in which they speak. It's because we are just not as confident as we think. Mali’s rhetorical skills exceed that of any other comedian I’ve ever heard of, and this type of speaking holds your attention longer. His motions and change of pitch have you smiling and laughing the entire time. It’s exciting when you’re listening to him speak and you can say to yourself “hey, I do that sometimes”. My favorite line of that poem is “-because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply “question authority”, you gotta speak with it to.”

"The Term Paper Artist" by Nick Mamatas

Nick Mamatas’s “The Term Paper Artist”, published by an online magazine called The Smart Set, is an article on his own personal experiences of being a professional term paper-writer.

                Mamatas always wanted to be a renowned writer of novels and short stories, but settled for working for a term paper mill that wanted writers to write short pieces on business, economics, and literature for quick money.  Although he states that it’s his “horrible secret”, he also reassures us that “writing model term papers is above-board and perfectly legal.” These papers can be written on any subject, can be however long one needs it to be, and is made at all levels of education.

                Mamatas’s “clients” were generally business administration majors, elementary education majors, and “would-be social workers”. Brokers managed the term paper business. They have to take financial risks by accepting credit card payments and psychological risks by actually talking to the clients.

                There are three types of term paper clients. Most of them aren’t very smart. Mamatas nicknamed them the “DUMB CLIENTS”. These are the people who have to buy term papers because they don’t understand what one is. They most likely don’t understand what their class is about either. The second type of client is the “one-timer”. These clients were generally lost on a subject and needed a modest summary of class readings. “I once boiled the 1000-page New Testament Theology by Donald Guthrie into a 30-page précis over the course of a weekend for a quick $600.”

                The “well-educated professionals who simply lack English-language skills” is the third group. Often, their home countries were engineers, medical professionals, and scientists. So, to get another degree they simply send in their own papers and ask for them to be edited.

                Mamatas says that the term paper work is easy, comparing it to “an old dance routine buried in one’s muscle memory”, but that getting the hang of it is tricky. Nick’s friends who tried to get into the business often failed because they “tried to write term papers”. His trick was to only worry about three things and three things only: deadline, page count, and the proper number of sources. The rest is just entertaining yourself. You should have fun with writing the papers, or you will never get through the long nights.

                After all these years, Mamatas has discovered why students are so confused on how to write term papers. It’s because they’ve never really read or studied a term paper. They’ve only had a brief description of what it is, and ultimately this is not enough for the student to be able to successfully write their own papers.