Anthology of Ideas

Simplifying mightily, its bumpy path to democratization goes roughly as follows: set up an empire; inherit a caliphate; fight on the losing side in a world war; in desperation dissolve the caliphate and submit to the autocratic rule of a modernizer who pushes Islam ruthlessly to the margins; the wait the better half of a century for the emergence of an Islamist party that looks mild and moderate enough to be trusted with the reins of government.

Here is another composite image video from YouTube. This one shows the evolution of women’s faces through the style of painting over the previous 500 years in Western art.

I would like to propose a new meaning of “The Metamorphosis” quite different from those already stated. “The Metamorphosis” can interpreted to show the effect of the dying on a family but also interpreted to show the effect that an outcast from society can feel. Gregor’s turning into a bug could be construed as a groups sudden repulsiveness to the world as a whole. With each member of the family displaying a different part of the world at large.

Areté literal translates to English as virtue or excellence, but to the ancient Greeks it is the concept of being the best at anything. Originally only applied to soldiers and their combat prowess, the concept eventually spread throughout Greek society to apply to anyone who was good at a skill– a potters areté was pottery. However, the term was not just a word the the Greeks, it was the driving force of the culture, and promoted the isolationism and the patriotism of the individual Greek polies.

_Note to Reader:_Specifically Xenophon write about the Lacedaemonians who lived in the principle region of Sparta, and credited Lycurgus (their legendary lawgiver) with their achievements. For simplicity, I will be referring to the people and state as Sparta or Spartans, and rather than referencing Lycurgus by name, I will just say the Spartans in general. Xenophon was an Athenian born around 831 BC and was eventually exiled from Athens because of his support of the Spartans and their way of life.

The City Of God was written around 420 A.D. in response to the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 A.D . Many Romans believed that the sacking of Rome occurred because the pagan Roman gods were angry with Romans for abandoning them in favor of Christianity. Saint Augustine combated this by effectively saying that Rome, because it is an earthly city, does not matter; only the city of God matters.

Simplifying mightily, its bumpy path to democratization goes roughly as follows: set up an empire; inherit a caliphate; fight on the losing side in a world war; in desperation dissolve the caliphate and submit to the autocratic rule of a modernizer who pushes Islam ruthlessly to the margins; the wait the better half of a century for the emergence of an Islamist party that looks mild and moderate enough to be trusted with the reins of government.

Here is another composite image video from YouTube. This one shows the evolution of women’s faces through the style of painting over the previous 500 years in Western art.

I would like to propose a new meaning of “The Metamorphosis” quite different from those already stated. “The Metamorphosis” can interpreted to show the effect of the dying on a family but also interpreted to show the effect that an outcast from society can feel. Gregor’s turning into a bug could be construed as a groups sudden repulsiveness to the world as a whole. With each member of the family displaying a different part of the world at large.

Areté literal translates to English as virtue or excellence, but to the ancient Greeks it is the concept of being the best at anything. Originally only applied to soldiers and their combat prowess, the concept eventually spread throughout Greek society to apply to anyone who was good at a skill– a potters areté was pottery. However, the term was not just a word the the Greeks, it was the driving force of the culture, and promoted the isolationism and the patriotism of the individual Greek polies.

_Note to Reader:_Specifically Xenophon write about the Lacedaemonians who lived in the principle region of Sparta, and credited Lycurgus (their legendary lawgiver) with their achievements. For simplicity, I will be referring to the people and state as Sparta or Spartans, and rather than referencing Lycurgus by name, I will just say the Spartans in general. Xenophon was an Athenian born around 831 BC and was eventually exiled from Athens because of his support of the Spartans and their way of life.

The City Of God was written around 420 A.D. in response to the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 A.D . Many Romans believed that the sacking of Rome occurred because the pagan Roman gods were angry with Romans for abandoning them in favor of Christianity. Saint Augustine combated this by effectively saying that Rome, because it is an earthly city, does not matter; only the city of God matters.