Aristotle's Analysis of Oedipus Rex Aristotle is the most influential philosopher in the history of Western thought. A Greek drama by Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, was praised in the Poetics of Aristotle as the model for classical tragedy and is still considered a principal example of the genre. In this essay I will analyze Oedipus Rex using Aristotle's concepts praxis, poiesis, theoria. Thought and character make persons actions. They only indicate the basic meaning of action but if one wants to understand how the arts imitate action more than just in concepts of thought and character he or she should explore the notion of it a little further. Action springs from character and thought. Aristotle believes that a man?s character makes him act in certain ways, but he acts only in response to the change of circumstances in his life, and it is his perception that shows him what to look for and what to avoid in each situation. Furthermore, in Aristotle?s psychology, action and character are formed from out ill-defined emotions, which he calls pathos. Therefore in any tragedy the element of it is essential. If we want to understand the action in Oedipus Rex, we must concentrate on the relationship between the pathos with which the actual play starts and ends, and the purpose which is to find the slayer, that produces the events of the story. Action and passion or (praxis and pathos), are very sharply contrasted. Action is simply active: the character perceives something that it wants, and gradually ?moves? toward it. Passion on the other hand is passive: the character suffers something that it can?t control, and therefore ?is moved? thereby. This can be best illustrated in the Prologue of Oedipus Rex, Thebe... ... middle of paper ... ...ing and unrivaled in its comprehensiveness. Works Cited and Consulted Barnes, Jonathan. The Complete works of Aristotle. Revised ed. Vol. 2. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1984. Benardete, Seth. ?Sophocles? Oedipus Tyrannus.? In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Ehrenberg, Victor. ?Sophoclean Rulers: Oedipus.? In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O?Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Grene, Marjorie. A Portrait of Aristotle. Chicago: U of C, 1963. Murray, Robert D. Jr. ?Sophocles? Moral Themes.? In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. ?Sophocles? In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. Robert Fagles. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack et al. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 1992.
Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
"Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
It is human nature to question our origins and wonder if we have purpose in this world. Rene Descartes sought to answers these questions by examining himself and God through his Meditations. In Meditation II, Descartes believes his mind is certain because he is able to perceive and understand thoughts. His many questions lead him from one idea of certainty to the next. The explanations of these ideas are clear enough for his argument to be considered true.
In his book Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes tries to accomplish several subject concerns. Firstly, Descartes attempts to accomplish the use of methodological doubt to rid himself of all beliefs that could be false. Then, he arrives at particular beliefs that could not possibly be false. Next, he discovers a criterion of knowledge. Also, he proves that the mind is distinct from the body and also the existence of God.
In the second meditation, Descartes is searching for an Archimedian point on which to seed a pearl of certainty. By doubting everything in his first meditation, Descartes consequently doubts his own existence. It is here that a certainty is unearthed: “If I convinced myself of something then I certainly existed”(17). However, Descartes “does not deduce existence from thought by means of syllogism, but recognizes it as something self-evident by a simple intuition of the mind,” or in other words, by natural light (Second Replies:68).
"Sophocles" In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Sophocles. The Oedipus Cycle. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Harvest/HBJ-Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1939.
...Sophoclean Rulers: Oedipus.” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
The DREAM Act is proposed legislation that was first introduced in 2001. If put into action, it would give illegal immigrants who crossed the border when they were young the chance to become documented citizens of the United States, given they fulfill certain requirements. The DREAM Act should be put into place at the federal level because it will benefit the United States by filling spots in the military and adding talented young scholars to the workforce, as well as give young immigrants the freedom and pursuit of happiness they are promised.
Euthanasia also known as physician assisted suicide is a practice of ending life to relieve pain or incurable diseases with the help of a physician. Whether or not euthanasia is justified is a very serious moral issue. The practice of physician assisted suicide can be optional. As long as it is a person’s own decision, euthanasia is justified in some cases. Every person should have the right to end their life just like some other legal rights. As long as it is an individual’s own decision and the pain they are suffering is incurable, euthanasia can be justified.
The ineffaceable impression which Sophocles makes on us today and his imperishable position in the literature of the world are both due to his character-drawing. If we ask which of the men and women ofGreek tragedy have an independent life in the imagination apart from the stage and from the actual plot in which they appear, we must answer, ‘those created by Sophocles, above all others’ (36).
Sophocles. Oedipus Tyrannus. Norton Critical ed. Trans. Luci Berkowitz and Theodore F. Brunner. New York: Norton, 1970.
Works Cited:.. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.
Task 1: Critically evaluate the key concepts/theories on the topic of the effectiveness of loyalty programmes on customer loyalty