Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a genius. Crime and Punishment is a fascinating look into the mind of a murderer before, during, and after the crime. I would, however, contest the label of "murderer" being applied to Raskolnikov; just as someone who tells a lie must lie consistently to be called a "liar", so should one consistently murder to be called a "murderer". Raskolnikov isn't an evil person. As was demonstrated at Marmeladov's death he gives nearly all of his money to the widow on a whim, while murdering a loathsome old woman took months of careful, neurotic planning with Raskolnikov second- and tenth-guessing himself. The pure anguish he experiences after the crime, his desperate attempts to rationalize his actions to himself, give credence to his fundamentally good nature. Nietzsche, whose favorite author was Dostoyevsky, once said that the one who is punished is never the one who committed the crime. I can't help but think that Raskolnikov is the inspiration of his statement.

Antigone the Anti-Oedipus

Antigone disregards a clearly-stated law for which the penalty is death, because she considers there to be a higher moral imperative than the law. We may disagree with the ancient Greeks on the specifics, but we can agree that the law is not the greatest authority. One factor that differentiates humans from their cousins is the respect that we accord the dead. Unsurprisingly, Sophocles understood this; Creon's behavior is understandably barbaric. Everyone sees that this is so; thus Sophocles shows that Creon's, the law's, authority is not boundless.

Of course, the Greek concept of justice is pretty screwed up. Oedipus is punished for killing some stranger and marrying a widowed queen after saving her city? If not for that, then he's punished just because some guy made some prophecy? And the gods, who in Antigone are the origin of the righteousness, allow this? It's not just Creon who's inconsistent between the two plays; it's the whole divine side of things as well. Sophocles was making sense with Antigone, but in Oedipus he seems to have taken a completely different stance. It's hard to pass any judgement on either of these works without completely ignoring the other.

On the Virtue of a Bountiful Catch

And many of those who called themselves the disciples of Zarathustra followed him and accompanied him to market at a small fishing village. Many merchants advertised their wares; many merchants promised low prices; many merchants Zarathustra ignored.
Much time passed, and Zarathustra's attention turned to a merchant with few wares under the heat of the sun. Zarathustra purchased this entirety: five loaves of bread and two fish. And he turned to the multitude of his followers and spoke: my disciples, we shall find a suitable place to dine. As Zarathustra walked through the crowd, the crowd behind murmured: is this not an unsuitable amount of food? Does Zarathustra expect us to dine on morsels?

Presently Zarathustra began to speak:

My brothers, take care not to fall into gluttony! Happiness cannot be achieved through excess. Look yonder, to the horizon. The sea has provided for you this day; the merchant is only its agent. The all-to-human animal forgets this. Take not the road that is easy; abandon your tradition at its moment of triumph! For Man has indeed triumphed, but in comforting spaces one loses the sense of direction. The merchants at market fear the sea; they prefer to sell their wares and count their coin. Brothers, do not fear greatness! Verily, Man fears all greatness but his own; small souls cannot fathom the endless fathoms of the sea. I say to you, reinvent and become the New Man! Do not sit idly by as the world passes; you must become creators of tradition, not slaves to it.

And here is where we shall break bread. Notice the grating roar of the surf as it meets the land. Remain faithful to this earth, my brothers! Do not soar so high into mystical realms that you lose sight of the ground. To one who lacks sight, the roar of the sea is indistinguishable from that of his monsters. See the sea for its reality, and you, the New Man, will gain mastery over it as surely as it has gained mastery over the all-too-human.

Thus spoke Zarathustra.