Humanities Bulletin

The Serpent Archetype in Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra

2025-01-18T14:26:26-05:00

The serpent serves as a prominent symbol in various mythologies and religious traditions, embodying a complex meanings that differ by culture. This article examines Friedrich Nietzsche’s frequent and varied use of the serpent in his famous and influential book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In this text, the serpent emerges as a multifaceted symbol linked to themes of wisdom, materialism, instincts, mortality, transformation, renewal, and growth. Nietzsche’s portrayal invites a reflection on the dual nature of the symbol, as it appears both as a loyal companion to Zarathustra, offering support, but also as a dangerous creature that thrusts him into extreme confrontations. Thus, the serpent encapsulates Nietzsche’s thought and represents Nietzsche encouragement for his readers to recognize the bravery required to navigate the complexities of life, ultimately advocating for a philosophy that honors both our earthly connections and our capacity for spiritual evolution.

Induction and Probability

2025-01-18T14:34:19-05:00

The present research aims to examine the different accounts of induction given by Aristotle, Hume, Leibniz, Carnap and De Finetti, trying to support that probability calculus offers a sufficient grounding of inductive logic. The term induction had been contrasted to deduction, by Aristotle. The Neoplatonic philosopher Alcinous suggested that dialectic firstly investigates the substances and then the accidents. There are five kinds of dialectic reasoning: division, definition, analysis, induction and syllogistic. The first three concern with substances, the last two with accidents. Although Leibniz regarded probability theory as a basis of inductive logic, Hume’s skepticism was seminal for the reappraisal of the role of induction in modern philosophy. Enhancing Hume’s criticism, Popper and Wittgenstein completely denied that scientists use induction. Hans Reichenbach, however, attempted to build a theory of justification for the use of induction, based on a factual basis of other successful predictive methods that make induction feasible (Earman & Salmon 1999). Moreover, Buchdall (1969) stressed that we must distinguish the inductive process of the scientist from the inductive conclusion, which comes after the completion of observation and experimentation.

Logical Connectives and Global Epistemological Skepticism

2025-01-18T14:57:19-05:00

In Aristotle’s Metaphysics there is an interplay between metaphysics and metalogic in his attempt to undermine universal skepticism through the foundational laws of logic and, in particular, the law of non-contradiction. However, recently, the debate has shifted from logical laws to the ubiquitous elements of modern logic, namely, logical connectives. By drawing on Arthur Prior’s (in)famous “tonk” connective, Paul Boghossian contends that the issues arising from this type of connective transcend matters logical and, ominously, open the floodgates of radical skepticism. This discussion note is an examination of Boghossian’s attempt to delegitimize logical connectives of “tonk” ilk for the purpose of averting the calamity of global epistemological skepticism.

A Thomistic Restoration of the Liberal Arts

2025-01-18T15:02:01-05:00

The notion of liberal arts, since Aquinas, has dramatically changed in its content, method, and aim. Today the liberal arts are understood synonymously with liberal education or general education, which calls for its restoration and rediscovery. For Aquinas, the seven liberal arts—which by his time were already composed of the trivium (i.e., grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and quadrivium (i.e., geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy)—are contrasted to the mechanical arts and the speculative sciences. The current conception of the liberal arts as holistic education came from a gradual conceptual shift in the last two centuries. Liberal arts studies have been progressively reduced to teaching “subjects” rather than giving students the tools, the “art,” of learning, of liberal education. The loss of the sense of the liberal arts—especially its Thomistic sense—brings certain repercussions in how the nature of “education” is understood. As such, this article aims to (1) clarify the situation of the liberal arts, (2) retrace the history of the liberal arts, (3) explore its Thomistic conception, and (4) consider the need to recover them as necessary for the proper order of learning befitting man.

A new Thrasymachus: Genealogy and Essentialism in Plato’s Republic

2025-01-18T15:06:22-05:00

This article seeks to reread Thrasymachus, or more precisely, fragments of Thrasymachus’ position, in Book I of the Republic. To do so, I begin by articulating the sophist’s function as a philosophical-literary character. As Plato takes on the dual role of philosopher and writer, the interpreter of the Republic approaches Thrasymachus as both the mouth piece for a (possibly confused) set of claims and, as I seek to show, a plot device. Because the interpreter doesn’t only ask “what argument wins out?” but, “what lesson does Plato wish us to learn by argument X winning out?”, Thrasymachus is approached internally to the philosophical-literary throughline of the Republic. In this article, I suggest that this practice clips the wings of a portion of Thrasymachus’ position. This occurs because the philosophical-literary approach of the interpreter has as its condition that Thrasymachus thinks within the essentialist underpinnings of the Republic. Yet, this article argues that elements of Thrasymachus’ position don’t lend themselves to essentialism, and indeed call it into question. In the closing portion of this article, Foucault is turned to as a source of a critical methodology (in particular the genealogy) that can strengthen those anti-essentialist Thrasymachean fragments. I conclude that the interpretive tendency to approach Thrasymachus internally to the Platonic throughline of the Republic has withheld access from fragments which, precisely because of their incompatibility with said throughline, are the most rewarding to consider.

Comments on Michael Jacovides’ Paper “Hume and the Rotting Turnip”

2025-01-18T15:10:04-05:00

In Part 12 of David Hume’s, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Professor Jacovides attempts to explain how the Rotting Turnip explains the generation of life; and who the various characters mentioned in this Part–Philo, Cleanthes, Demea, the atheist, the theist, dogmatists, sceptics–actually represent. In my paper, I show that the Rotting Turnip cannot explain the generation of life, and that Jacovides’ attempt to identify which (actual) philosophers hold what positions in the Dialogues does not shed any light on the structure of this work, and the philosophic roles that the speakers–particularly Cleanthes and Philo–play in reaching the final dictum articulated by Philo in the penultimate paragraph in Part 12.

The Attitude to Nature in 21th Century: Unnoticed Ecocide, the Diagnosis of Mediology, and the Zhuangzi as a Cure

2025-01-18T15:23:42-05:00

The aim of this essay is to offer us a philosophical solution to environment crisis and ecocide. Firstly, the notion of ecocide is discussed from different perspectives (biology, law, psychology). Secondly, in the light of Debray’s philosophy the modern attitude to nature is examined. It is necessary in order to explain what has to be changed if we want to avoid the destruction of nature entirely in the future. Furthermore, the philosophy of Zhuangzi is described as self-cultivation that can be used against the current situation at the personal level. To consider the philosophy of Zhuangzi as a path of self-cultivation, a practice that is a cure for the consequences of ecocide and environment crisis is the novelty of this essay. Thus, the necessary measures that must be taken are available for anybody in the world there is simply a need of persistence, responsibility and effort.

A Linguistic-Narratological Commentary on the Dialogue of Odysseus and Achilles in the Underworld in Homer’s Odyssey (vv. 465 – 491)

2025-01-18T15:27:23-05:00

This commentary examines verses 465-491 from Rhapsody ? of Homer’s Odyssey, where Odysseus encounters Achilles in the Underworld. Through a narratological and linguistic analysis, the study explores the use of direct speech and narrative techniques that express the psychological states of both heroes. Odysseus, as a secondary narrator, reflects on his sufferings, while Achilles reveals his deep regret about death, stating his preference for a humble life over rulership in the afterlife. The analysis highlights the shifts in time and space, the contrast between life and death, and the emotional depth achieved through Homeric formulas and linguistic structures. Special emphasis is placed on focalization, with both Odysseus and Achilles presenting their perspectives on past experiences and their current fates in the Underworld. This passage from Rhapsody ? offers valuable insights into the thematic richness of the Odyssey and deepens our understanding of Homer’s narrative techniques, particularly in relation to heroic ideals and the human condition.

St. Paul as the Paradigm of a Christian Way of Life: Kierkegaard’s Climacus Writings on Faith/Pistis

2025-01-18T15:32:15-05:00

This article examines how Søren Kierkegaard engages with Classical-Hellenistic-Roman thought to root modern day Christian faith in ethical practice and the pursuit of truth. Kierkegaard challenged Greek and Jewish perspectives on Christianity by advocating a form of scepticism that, arguing against the attainability of ataraxia, embraces faith (pistis) as a conviction that transcends rational understanding (influenced by Aristotle’s Rhetorica and Ethica Nichomachea). He contrasts the Jewish objective rituals with the Christian emphasis on inwardness, urging a life driven by personal faith and truth (influenced by Saint Paul’s works and disputed works such as Acts of the Apostles). Kierkegaard seeks to return to a primordial form of Christianity, as exemplified by St. Paul, where Christianity emerged not in the context of early childhood, but within a complex political milieu marked by deep Jewish spiritualism and Greek scientism. This analysis reveals that Climacus views faith not as mere belief, for example turning the question of Christ’s resurrection into a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but as a deeply personal and passionate commitment to a way of life that confronts life’s inherent challenges, uncertainties, and paradoxes. Interpreting Christianity as a way of life — distinct from Greek and Jewish traditions — has significant implications even today, as Christians reflecting on St. Paul's teachings and Kierkegaard's insights are likely again to become distinct subjects, much like early Christians did in their time.

Asking a Rabbi About His Fear: Shared Intention in an Early Modern Jewish-Christian Interaction

2025-01-18T15:37:45-05:00

This paper explores the intentionality of a captivating Jewish-Christian encounter in Amsterdam during the spring of 1657. It features Rabbi Nathan Shapira ha-Yerushalmi and a group of millenarian Christians led by the mystical chiliast Peter Serrarius. Rabbi Shapira, a renowned Kabbalist from the circle of Jacob ben Hayyim Tsema?, was on a mission to raise funds for the beleaguered Ashkenazi Jewish community of Jerusalem. He was convinced that their collective woes were the dramatic overture to the Messiah's grand debut. Meanwhile, the Collegiants – a radical Protestant Christian group – were eagerly awaiting apocalyptic events around 1656. Richard Henry Popkin famously described this meeting as a “touching moment” in Jewish-Christian relations, particularly noting the Rabbi’s surprisingly “philo-Christian” presentation of rabbinic texts. This study examines the source text by contextualisation and redaction. It shows that there was a shared intention, even if different agents participated for different reasons based on their own distinct religious tradition.

Pauline Hopkins’ Utopias: Fostering African American Futures through Third Space Ecologies

2025-01-18T15:46:59-05:00

What is important to consider when defining and creating a utopic vision? Pauline Hopkins’ characters and worldbuilding in her 1902-1903 serial novel Of One Blood, or the Hidden Self reflects the dynamic negotiations that happen in third space ecologies while also challenging traditional notions of utopia. The third space is a location of identity formation, meaning-making, and differing power dynamics that are inherent in hierarchical spaces and lived theory of experience. Therefore, third spaces are revolutionary spaces where negotiations are made. Her final novel challenges the popular expectations of African American people in the early 20^th century. Hopkins’ utopian worldbuilding and activist endeavors lead readers to a clearer vision of how to move forward in a world that is dealing with racial tensions and environmental degradation. Her rejection of the cult of true womanhood and tropes like the tragic mulatta, as well as her interest in the sciences aid in her construction of bodily third space ecologies which are used to disrupt white Western ideology. By looking at literary depictions of third spaces, we can better understand how relationships with the land and the “other” are constructed and how fixed identities can hinder the human development of utopian futures.

Finding Strength in the Natural World in Beth Brant’s “Swimming Upstream” and Tomás Vallejos’ “Piñons”

2025-01-18T15:52:36-05:00

Beth Brant’s “Swimming Upstream,” tells the story of a Native American woman, Anna May, who loses custody of her son due to her lesbian lifestyle and history with alcoholism. When her son drowns on a fishing trip with her ex-husband, Anna May finds herself struggling with alcoholic temptation. While on the brink of relapse, she watches an injured salmon fighting to swim upstream and leap over a dam. In doing so, she is symbolically reminded of her own strength. Similarly, Tomás Vallejos’ “Piñons” tells the story of a young man grappling with his own sexuality amid his father’s toxic masculinity. Feeling isolated and ostracized by his community and family, he, too, ventures into nature for solace and is reminded of his own strength through the symbolism of the piñon tree. Both Anna May and the unnamed narrator of Piñons find that while society seeks to stifle and silence their differences, in nature, differences are celebrated as miracles. These two stories of social outsiders emphasize the rejuvenating power of the natural world and suggest that reconnecting to nature gives strength of voice and identity to those who would otherwise be silenced by the patriarchal rules of society.

Rejecting Machismo in Tomás Vallejos’ “Piñons” and Edgar Gomez’s “Malcriado”

2025-01-18T16:31:46-05:00

Both Tomás Vallejos' “Piñons” and Edgar Gomez's “Malcriado” feature unnamed narrators who are young Latino men coping with the reality of being gay. Both narrators come from families that value machismo and uphold violent ideologies. In “Piñons,” the narrator's family prepares for piñon season, where they will pick the fruit from the trees and gather to roast the piñons. Each year, the family strips the trees for all they are worth, and the men spend the evening drinking heavily, boasting of sexual conquests, and encouraging fights amongst one another. In “Malcriado,” the narrator is sent to visit his uncles in Nicaragua, who attempt to toughen him up by taking him to a cock fight and pressuring him to sleep with a woman. While both characters ultimately reject machismo, the narrator of “Piñons” is more easily able do so because of the affirmations of a trusted individual in his life; the narrator of “Malcriado,” however, is completely alone even amongst family, and he is only able to take those first steps toward self-realization when he discovers that he may in fact be able to find a community of other people like him who will provide him future support.

Documenting War Crimes Onstage in Kyo Choi’s The Apology

2025-01-18T16:35:53-05:00

This essay discusses Kyo Choi’s play The Apology, which was first produced in London in 2022, as an example of activist theatre, meant not only to educate British audiences about the ongoing controversies over the so-called “comfort women” issue, involving Japanese military sexual slavery during World War II, but to move viewers to action. Choi’s drama does so through a form of emotional documentation, which supplements and amplifies actual documents related to this war crime.

How Novelists Use Folklore as Weapons in Contemporary Revolutions of China: With the Examples of Lu Hsun, Hsiao Hung and Dai Sijie

2025-01-18T16:39:30-05:00

Folklore is often used in literature to express nostalgia and depict the everyday lives of a nation’s people. There are few studies, however, on the role of folklore within Chinese revolutionary literature. Through interpreting three female fictional characters: Sister Xianglin in Lu Hsun’s The New Year’s Sacrifice (1924), the Little Child-bride in Hsiao Hung’s Tales of Hulan River (1941), and the Little Seamstress in Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2000), I interpret how Chinese writers differently regarded folklore as weapons, either allies or enemies, to reveal the miserable lives of women in the fight for liberty during two of China’s contemporary revolutions, the Revolution of 1911 and The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution held between 1968 to 1978. Folklore, in the context of these novels, is manifest primarily through references to folk sorcery cures, shamanic beliefs, and folk songs. Nevertheless, through the novelists’ different attitudes to folklore, we can see the complicated and thought-provoking history of Chinese contemporary revolutions.