Friday, March 25, 2011

Hesiod, the Muses, and Mises

Daniel James Sanchez gives us an analysis of Hesiod in Of Muses and Mises: A Prelude to Natural Philosophy. Particularly note the distinction he points out between two kinds of "truth" -- a distinction no doubt Nietzsche had in mind when he argued that "Art tells the truth in the general form of a lie" and "Art lies, and lies like the truth." These are very important features of art. Art is an imaginative place space that allows us to safely try our alternative worlds. Better we try them out there and reach tragic conclusions (what happens when you reject family, religion, and money and claim all of these powers for the state? read Sophocles' Antigone and find out) than try them out in the real world (what happens when you reject family, religion, and money and claim all of these powers for the state? look at the experiences of the communist countries and find out).

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