Eurolit Homework 10/1/18

Re-read Philoctetes as needed.

Eurolit Notes 10/1/18

How do we get to the theme? A comes back to A, but is no longer A.

Recall the story of Heracles. Why did he want the funeral pyre lit? To ease his suffering. Heracles is a model of how to overcome suffering.

Why does Philoctetes trust Heracles?

He’s a friend.

They have a past relationship.

They share a similar suffering.

He looks up to Heracles as a model.

Why is Philoctetes a tragedy if there is a eucatastrophe?

It’s how you deal with what you’re dealt.

“Freedom vs. Happiness”

It’s a tragedy because Philoctetes achieves happiness at the expense of his free will.

What motives human beings more than fear of death? Fear of the unknown. There’s something even more than fear of the unknown. Fear of alienation.

Kant and his categorical imperitives. Kant wrote “A Critique of Pure Reason”.  The ideas expressed in Kant’s work are similar to those in Philoctetes.