This blog post examines Lu Xun’s melancholy and enlightenment consciousness revealed through ‘A Madman’s Diary’, revisiting its meaning from today’s perspective. Melancholy is the product of knowledge. The more we know, the more we suffer. For we come to know the good, the bad, and even the wrong. For those who seek to change what they know for the better, that suffering...
‘Darwin’s Table’: Is Evolution Truly Determined by Genes?
This blog post explores the question of whether genes drive evolution, focusing on the debate between Dawkins and Gould. ‘Darwin’s Table’ is a book capturing the fierce debate between Richard Dawkins and Stephen J. Gould, two giants of evolutionary theory. Evolutionary theory, once mocked by creationists, has now spread as the accepted scientific consensus among people over the past...
‘The Old Man and the Sea’ Book Review: Hemingway at His Literary Peak
Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is a masterpiece depicting human endurance and challenge. This review explores its depth. Hemingway’s Greatest Masterpiece “The Old Man and the Sea” is considered Hemingway’s finest work, earning him the Pulitzer Prize (1953) and the Nobel Prize in Literature (1954) in his later years. The Swedish Academy specifically cited this work...
Book Review – In Search of ‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘The Trial’
Exploring Franz Kafka’s masterpieces ‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘The Trial’, we delve deeply into human existence, alienation, and an absurd world. The opening lines of Franz Kafka’s (1883–1924) ‘The Metamorphosis’ are shocking to anyone who reads them, no matter when. Long ago, in my youth, I too was shocked. One morning, after a troubled sleep, Gregor Samsa woke to find himself...
What kind of ‘freedom’ does ‘Perfume’ speak to us about?
In this blog post, we explore the meaning of innovation and freedom demanded by modern society through the characters in ‘Perfume’. Published in 1985, Patrick Süskind’s novel Perfume was translated and exported to 49 countries within a year of its release, selling over 20 million copies. Perfume is regarded as one of the greatest German novels of the 20th century, achieving...
Book Review – Full House (Are Evolution and Progress the Same Concept?)
In this blog post, I compare the evolutionary perspectives of Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins through ‘Full House’. Are evolution and progress the same thing? Many people are familiar with Charles Robert Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, it is common to unconsciously equate evolution with progress within evolutionary theory. Stephen Jay Gould, author of Full House, sought...
Conjectures and Refutations (The Role of Conjectures in Karl Popper’s Theory Formation)
This blog post examines why Karl Popper emphasized the importance of conjecture in the process of theory formation and how his definition of observation influenced his argument. It analyzes the difference between Popper’s observational inference and direct observation, exploring the meaning of theory development through the interaction between the role of observation and conjecture. ...
Why is Daddy-Long-Legs still a beloved work today?
Daddy-Long-Legs is cherished for its innovative epistolary format and heartwarming coming-of-age narrative. Judy’s candid letters deliver both excitement and emotion, possessing timeless appeal. Jean Webster’s Life and Works Jean Webster was born on July 24, 1876, in Fredonia, New York. Her father was a publisher, and her mother was the niece of Mark Twain (1835–1910), the...
Entropy: A New World View (Is Progress Headed Toward the End?)
In this blog post, we revisit the limits of civilization hidden behind progress through ‘Entropy: A New World View’. In Jeremy Rifkin’s book, entropy is defined as “the amount of change in a thermodynamic system when an object absorbs heat and undergoes a change.” Theories like Newton’s framework or Einstein’s theory of relativity are accepted as truth because no...
Homo Deus (Is it wrong to believe in the unseen?)
This blog post critically examines Yuval Noah Harari’s arguments about fiction and reality in ‘Homo Deus’. The word “Deus” in the book’s title ‘Homo Deus’ means God. That is, the author, Yuval Noah Harari, argues through this book that humans aspire to transcend Homo sapiens and become gods. He states that due to rapid technological and scientific advancement, along with the...