This blog post examines Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea not through the lens of an immigrant’s survival logic, but as Hemingway’s normative protagonist, analyzing the ethics of endurance and action inherent in his solitary struggle. Santiago, the protagonist in The Old Man and the Sea, can be seen as an existence that has grown into the young boy Nick Adams (In Our Time)...
The Speed and Direction of Evolution: Why Did Dawkins and Gould Hold Different Perspectives?
This blog post compares the evolutionary approaches of Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould, exploring why they held differing views on the speed and direction of evolution. This book creates a fictional debate using the opposing views of Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould on Darwin’s theory of evolution. Richard Dawkins wields the powerful weapon of ‘The Selfish Gene’ to explain...
Hester and Dimmesdale: What is the true meaning of sin and atonement?
In this blog post, we explore the true meaning of sin and atonement through the two protagonists of The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Dimmesdale, examining their suffering and journey of growth. Hester’s Shameful Yet Proud ‘A’ In 17th-century Boston, Hester Prynne violated the Seventh Commandment: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” As punishment for her sin, she was sentenced to wear the...
Evolutionary psychology, how does it explain human behavior?
In this blog post, we explore how human behavior and psychology evolved through evolutionary psychology, and how it still influences modern society. The theory of evolution has been at the center of scientific inquiry and debate since it was first proposed by Darwin, and has played an important role in discussions about human origins and nature. Attempts to explain human behavior...
Can Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm theory be applied to biology?
This blog post critically examines whether Kuhn’s paradigm theory can be validly applied to biology through examples from genetics and evolutionary theory. In everyday life, the term ‘paradigm’ is a very commonly used word. When the way we explain a situation undergoes a major shift, people generally say the paradigm has changed. The starting point for the term ‘paradigm’ becoming...
Programming Universe (Computing the Universe)
In this blog post, we explore Seth Lloyd’s fascinating argument, presented in his book ‘Programming Universe’, that views the universe as a single quantum computer. Anyone who has waited knows Is there anything in the world as heart-wrenching as waiting? At the place where you were supposed to come, here where I arrived first Every person who opens the door and enters Was you Was...
The Black Sheep and Other Fables (What is the true power of literature?)
This blog post explores the artistic power of literature and the social messages it contains through Augusto Monterosso’s ‘The Black Sheep and Other Fables’. Literature is art. We are moved when we read a good literary work, watch a film, attend a concert, or appreciate a work of art. This is because art possesses the power to stir the human heart. What distinguishes literature from...
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Is the Development of Science Revolution, Not Accumulation?)
This blog post examines Kuhn’s argument, presented in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, that science develops through revolution, not accumulation. A New Perspective on Scientific Research Gained Through the History of Science ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’ has exerted considerable influence on the scientific and philosophical communities for nearly 50 years since...
The Geography of Thought (How Differences in Eastern and Western Thinking Styles Have Shaped Modern Society)
This blog post examines the differences in Eastern and Western thinking styles discussed in “The Geography of Thought” and analyzes how these differences have influenced modern society’s culture and problem-solving approaches. On October 1, 2017, a tragic incident occurred in Las Vegas, USA. A heinous crime took place where a gunman opened fire from a high-rise building into a crowd...
The Case Against Perfection (Genetic Engineering: Can It Change Human Nature?)
This blog post explores the ethical issues of genetic engineering and its impact on human nature through Michael Sandel’s ‘The Case Against Perfection’. In the 1998 film ‘Gattaca’ directed by Andrew Niccol, the protagonist possesses tall stature, handsome looks, exceptional knowledge and cold-bloodedness in space science, and perfect superiority genes. Thus, one goal of genetic...