Philosophy and Literature Blog

     I finished reading Inferno this morning. I have to say it was well-written and enjoyable to read. Two big concepts running through the book are 'transhumanism' and the overpopulation, but the main thing I enjoyed about the book was the tour through Florence, Venice and Istanbul. I know, I could get a travel guide, but it was actually more fun to read it with all the storyline and stuff.      There were things I hadn't known about, like the beaky plague masks doctors wore when they were exposed to the infected. The book also made me aware of an industry that just has to exist in some form: the alibi industry. These are companies that provide you with fake work numbers, fake addresses, passports etc.. for a variety of purposes. Brown claims at the beginning that 'The Consortium', an extreme company of this type, is real -- well, I cannot overmuch believe that, but you never know I guess.      The bad news is that overpopul...

          So far I've enjoyed the novel, though I have a feeling that the plot -- don't worry, I won't guess on this blog, so no need for a spoiler alert, yet -- is going to be a bit disappointing after all. But I want to talk about what seems to be the main connection to Dante...           The crowded visions of hell, "So many, I had not thought death had undone so many"[both in Dante's Inferno and The Wasteland] is matched by a Malthusian vision of overpopulation and attendant violence etc... The above line is stated by Dante when Virgil shows them the souls of those who have neither done great evil or great good; these are those who have led conformist lives of quiet desperation. There is also a possible reference in this section of the Inferno to Pope Celestine(I think V) who gave up the papacy -- he is referred to as "he who made the great refusal". The notion that hell, and the Earth, is cl...

     So, I've read about a third of the book. It is engagingly written and has lots of references to Florentine Palaces, Museums, etc... I think I should look around the internet and see the sights. Look at the below: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboli_Gardens 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Vecchio 3. https://www.google.com/search?q=battle+of+marciano+painting&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=U1KZUfSHE6T54APlsIDIAw&ved=0CDUQsAQ&biw=1093&bih=498 4. http://en.comune.fi.it/municipality/rooms_pv/hall_500.htm 5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasari_Corridor I don't have any comments yet about these...

     OK, so the Consolation of Philosophy thing didn't work. I just couldn't get into it, sorry. Consolation as defined in the time of Boethius doesn't seem to do it for me. I know he was all important, but I just couldn't read a book because I'm supposed to. Maybe someone out there can tell me why I should have liked it.      Not that I dislike Medieval Philosophy. There are some interesting things there in the foundations of modern thought. You know, the Universals stuff is interesting to think about for awhile. Also, I often feel that underlying modern science are mental reflexes that are Medieval in character: there is a kind of Medieval 'first principle' feel to the Higgs Boson(the particle goo that bequeths mass, think about the beginning of The Paradiso: "The glory of the One who moves all things permeates the universe and glows in one part more and in another less."[Mandelbaum Translation] ) and the Quantum Field of wh...