Hume vs. Wollstonecraft

     David Hume and Mary Wollstonecraft may have possibly agreed on many points but on one they would have definitely disagreed.  David Hume asserted in An Inquiry of Human Understanding that, “that though our conclusions from experience carry us beyond our memory and senses…some fact must always be present to the senses or memory, from which we may first proceed in drawing these conclusions” (Hume).  In short, everything we accept to be or assume to be true at the ground level originates from some fact.  Wollstonecraft in would have disagreed with this conclusion.  In A Vindication of the Rights of Women she states, “…it seems almost impertinent to attempt to illustrate truths that appear so incontrovertible; yet such deeply rooted prejudices have clouded reason…” (Wollstonecraft).  Her point would have been that the current and accepted stance on the rights of women have clouded reason and could by no means be based on fact.

         Following is a possible conversation between Hume and Wollstonecraft that may have taken place at a philosophical debate similar to a presidential debate on the merit of the current rights and opinions concerning women’s rights in late 1700s.

Hume:  “I attest that in order to protect the innocence of women we must keep them from positions in public office and from our universities.”

Wollstonecraft:  “Protect our innocence!  For what reason or basis do you make the assumption that our innocence needs to be protected?”

Hume:  “It has been accepted since before any of our memories that the rights and status of women come secondary to men for their own good and for the good of society.”

Wollstonecraft:  “Where is YOUR factual basis for this acceptance, and who get to quantify what is good and just for women and for society?”

Hume:  “As I stated, these practices have been accepted since before our memories.  And although a factual basis may not be readily known, the practice is so ingrained our forefathers must have established it on fact.”

Wollstonecraft:  “I would argue that this assumption is not based on fact and has clouded reason that is evident everyday in today’s society.”

Hume:  “Examples…”

Wollstonecraft:  “Just look around!  Take today and this moment for example.  Did you ever think this morning when you woke up that you would be stuck between a rock and a hard place in a debate with a woman?”

Hume:  “Humph?”

Hume, David. “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.” Ecampus.uwyo.edu. 1748. 16 October 2011.

Wollstonecraft, Mary. “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.”  Bartleby.    Bartleby. 1792. Web. 16 October 2011.

The Epic of the Online Classroom

            Merriam-Webster defines epic, the adjective, first as  “of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an epic” and secondly as, “extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope” (2011).  The second definition is useful but in order to find value in the first definition we have to look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of epic the noun.  Merriam-Webster defines epic, the noun, as “a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero” (2011).  I think a mix of all three definitions gives us a good point to start to answer the question, what does it mean to be epic?

            The Epic of Gilgamesh gives us a good example of the academic or technical definition of epic.  The Epic of Gilgamesh is a long narrative poem recounting the deed of a legendary or historical hero, Gilgamesh.  The Epic of Gilgamesh describes Gilgamesh as, “Supreme over other kings, lordly in appearance, he is the hero, born of Uruk, the going wild bull.  He walks out in front, the leader…trusted by his companions…protector of his people.  Two-thirds of him is god, one-third of him is human” (http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab1.htm).  Given this description of Gilgamesh I would think he has the characteristics of an epic hero.  However, it seems he may have lost the heroic component of this title by abusing his power and authority.  “The land of Uruk stood around him, the whole land assembled about him, the populace was thronging around him, the men were clustered about him, and kissed his feet…”  (http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab1.htm)  It seems the people of the time were happy to have someone, Enkindu, stand in the way of Gilgamesh as he was about to take what he established to be his right as king and lay with a newlywed bride before she lay with her husband.  Never the less Gilgamesh had superior, heroic qualities, and the Epic of Gilgamesh recounted the events of his life.

            I think the real interesting dialogue when discussing what does it mean to be epic is considering what it takes to describe an event or action as epic.  To describe something as epic it has to be greater than extraordinary.  Something rarely seen, or something at one time thought to be impossible.  Certain storylines is sports have been described as epic.  Some may agree with this and some may not.  Can we quantify a degree of how much something is epic?  I don’t think so.  I think describing something as epic is subjective.  It is a term that has to be taken in context and the source using the term has to be considered.


http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epic

First post ever on a blog.

Wow.  That was really simple.  I was going to procrastinate and do this tomorrow morning and now I am glad that I took care of it tonight.  I am looking forward to learning more how this works and maybe I will keep it going after class.