Plato Video
Nietzsche Video Plato and Nietzsche represent opposites on the philosophy spectrum. Plato believed in a higher realm of "Eternal Forms" which provide the changing things of this world with their truth and purpose (similar to the Christian concept of Heaven). Nietzsche denied there could be a higher realm and urged us to find meaning in ourselves without looking for some kind of higher truth to justify existence. How would each of these thinkers interpret Ahab's quest? How would you? Write a two-paragraph response, first describing Ahab's views on truth, then connecting it to the philosophers.
14 Comments
Alma Sanchez
1/12/2015 07:29:15 am
Ahab believes that Moby Dick is evil. He believes that because Moby Dick has struck him, that there must be a motive behind it. In his mind, a whale cannot just be a whale, behind Moby Dick there is truth to be learned. Behind every wall there is truth and behind Moby Dick there must a force of evil. Ahab believes that it's his duty to uncover the truth, in the form of killing the whale.
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Emma Westgate
1/13/2015 08:25:46 am
In Herman Melville’s story “Moby Dick,” Captain Ahab seeks revenge on the whale that took his leg. Ahab wants to kill Moby Dick because he believes the whale is an evil force and something provoked it to take his leg. By killing the whale, Ahab thinks he will destroy and reveal what is compelling the whale to inflict harm on him. The philosopher Plato would agree with Ahab’s quest to kill the whale. Like the captain, Plato believes that there is a higher realm that causes things to happen. What is seen cannot be explained through facts or knowledge. Ahab only sees the physical whale, so he has to destroy it to find the truth behind its purpose. By killing the whale, Ahab will destroy the evil and the conflict between him and Moby Dick will be resolved.
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Will Driscoll
1/13/2015 08:42:17 am
Captain Ahab in Moby Dick believes that the whale that took his leg somehow meant to hurt him specifically and had an evil reason in doing so. Captain Ahab looks on life as shades of grey and not everything is black and white, so in his mind the whale isn’t just and animal acting on instinct but instead the whale is the embodiment of true evil. Ahab believes that the beast taking only his leg and not his life is some short of a cruel game that the whale is playing with him and he feels that it is his supreme mission to destroy the evil. Ahab’s views about the whale would inline with the philosopher Plato’s views as well. Plato would understand Ahab’s quest to kill the evil and support him. Plato believes that there are two sides to every coin and in this case the first and obvious side is physical, its a whale. Although the other side is that the whale represent all malice in the world. Nietzsche on the other hand is a much more literal person and would only see the one side of the coin. Nietzsche would view Ahab’s quest as a waste of time, money, and manpower. Nietzsche would probably tell Ahab that even if he does kill the whale it will only make him feel better temporarily and only he accepting the cards he has been dealt would resolve the problem. I can see why Ahab would want to get revenge on the whale for taking his leg but personally nothing he could do would get his leg back so I wouldn’t risk the lives of the other sailors.
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Griff Perry
1/13/2015 09:22:43 am
In Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", Ahab seeks vengeance on a whale that once wreaked havoc upon him through tracking the whale down over a course of many years. Ahab describes to the reader many interesting feelings and truths which help the reader judge his actions. Ahab reveals many views on truth, and how it pertains to his life and values. Ahab views truth as something with "no confines", basically stating that there are no known truths in this world because truths are infinite (Melville 274). In other words, miracles can happen and wishing isn't unreal, which pertains to "Moby Dick" because Ahab believes he can kill this whale that could be anywhere. In a summarized form, he explains to his crew that you must reach out of your comfort zone in order to reach a light or the core truths. He attempts at this by hunting the whale but unfortunately overestimates his power and fails.
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Victoria Sullivan
1/13/2015 09:29:37 am
"Moby Dick," by Herman Melville shows Captain Ahab believing that this whale is evil. Moby Dick took one of his legs, so Ahab's first instinct was to get revenge. He feels that there had to be a reason for this whale to have taken his leg, so he wants to kill it to make himself feel better. As someone explained to Ahab, Moby Dick only took his leg out of instinct, he isn't evil. By destroying the destroyer, it will help Ahab recooperate from his mental thoughts to Moby Dick portraying the devil.
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Victoria White
1/13/2015 10:15:11 am
"Moby Dick," by Herman Melville, shows Captain Ahab's strong belief in a whale's representation of all evil. In an earlier encounter, Moby Dick took one of his legs, leaving Ahab biter and angry. This resulted in Ahab setting out on a quest for pure revenge. Ahab came up with the idea that the whale had done this to him on purpose out of pure malice. A crew member, Starbuck tried to explain to Ahab that Moby Dick only took his leg out of the animal instinct of fight or flight, not Ahab's believed scapegoat of it's evilness.
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Lola Todman
1/13/2015 11:52:44 am
This afternoon my friend Phoebe and I discussed the suggestion that everyrhin happens for a reason. This little spoonful of sugar could be the sole reason that most people credit everything with the significance to be inevitable. We agreed that excusing our shortcomings by handing off our most difficult endeavors (to a higher power) is way too easy. Humans often have difficulty accepting things for what they are -- accepting the possibility that they are not doorways to something deeper. Ahab is obviously one of these people. His quest to conquer of some evil force twisted into existence by a vengeful hand of hell, is only a fancy and distracting disguise. Ahab only seeks to aid his insatiable appetite for revenge. He is a selfish coward, blessed with a tongue that can slice up anyone's focus with suggestions of God and Glory.
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Claire McEvoy
1/13/2015 12:13:56 pm
In the story "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville, Captain Ahab sees Moby Dick as being limitlessly malicious. This whale crippled Ahab, leaving him with one leg. Ahab decides that he must take revenge on this animal, even if he has no proof that Moby Dick was just doing this out of pure animal instinct. Ahab thinks that a higher power has taken over the whale, and that Moby Dick is trying to teach him a lesson through symbolism. Ahab must kill this whale to prove something to himself, and he believes this act will lead to something greater. Ahab is under the thinking that everything has meaning, and every circumstance is purposeful. A philosopher that would agree with Ahab is Pluto. Pluto believes in losing the human chains of perception, and in seeing more than what is present in visual form. So, I think it is justified to say that Pluto would back Ahab up in this situation. Another philosopher, Nietzsche, believes in a more practical approach to things. Nietzsche's ideas are strongly linked with science and reasoning. He denies the presence of higher forces manipulating the world we live in, yet accepts the asking of the question 'why?'. In this situation, I think Nietzsche would most likely tell Ahab he's being ridiculous, and that Moby Dick was just being a whale when he crippled him. Personally, I would have to agree with Pluto and Ahab in this circumstance. Moby Dick, to Ahab, was a part of something larger than just a whale in the ocean. Moby Dick represented something, and was purposefully enacted upon Ahab to teach or show him something. It is obvious that there are many interpretations of this story, and there really is not a clear correct analysis on it.
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Madison Ciccone
1/13/2015 02:14:53 pm
In the story "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville, Captain Ahab is angered by the whale Moby Dick for taking his leg. He then turns towards revenge, believing the whale was taken over by a higher power. Ahab is ignorant to the fact that this whale is just merely an animal and its actions are taken upon by its instincts. Ahab thinks by killing the whale, he would rid of the power behind he actions the whale took. Plato wold agree with Ahab because they both believe in a higher power. Plato would do the same in the situation, thinking this higher power was the reason behind the taking of his leg.
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skylar simone
1/13/2015 07:04:32 pm
In the story "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville, Ahab blames his missing leg and all of his cuts and scares on a whale he thinks to be evil. Moby Dick is the whale in the story that Ahab needs to kill in order to nave on and be happy. Doing so he ricks his entire crew and himself to seek vengeance.
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Alex Sosa
1/15/2015 11:06:12 am
In "Moby Dick", Herman Melville creates a character who is thirsty for revenge. Ahab had once lost his leg to the great whale and ever since has been seeking to hunt him down. Ahab believes that this whale is not just an animal, but a symbol for all the evil in the world. In order to get rid of the creature that took his leg, he must kill Moby Dick. In Ahab's eyes, he cannot be happy unless the whale is gone. He wants to find out the truth behind the attack, and the only way to do this would be to get rid of the creature. Ahab believes that there is an evil power that pushed the whale to attack him, taking off his leg in the process. Plato would agree with Ahab's thinking. His philosophy is that everything is driven by a force, or a reason. Plato suggests that there is some type of higher realm or power that is controlling everything that happens here. Nietzsche has a different way of looking at things. He sees everything as it is. The facts are, a whale is an animal with natural instincts and defenses. For all we know, Moby Dick could have attacked because he was scared.The whole purpose of this story was that this whale represented something: A symbol of blame. Ahab craves the need to kill Moby because he needs to get rid of his anger. I however, agree with Nietzsche. Yes, Moby attacked Ahab. To me, this is a natural instinct any animal could have. That the belief of the higher power is just an excuse to blame someone.
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Charlie Weisman
1/15/2015 12:40:29 pm
In “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville, Captain Ahab is determined to kill the whale that bit his leg off. Ahab believes the whale is inherently evil, while it actually ate his leg instinctively and did not premeditate the attack. He believes the whale possesses or represents some divine power, or that it embodies evil in its purest form. Because of his feelings towards the whale he uses every resource available to him to track and hunt it down in order to kill it. Plato would agree with this quest and empathize with Ahab's effort. Plato's example of the two sided coin says there are two sides to every story. In a literal sense, the whale is a whale, an animal incapable of deciding to attack Ahab for malicious reasons. The other side would be that the whale is an evil creature. Nietzsche's point of view would probably be the first side of the coin, and he would disagree with Ahab, in the sense that he is wasting all his resources on some silly freak accident. That being said, I think both philosophers could agree that Ahab's thirst for revenge cannot be quenched by killing the whale, and that this struggle has driven him insane. In Ahab's case, the ends do not justify the means.
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Tyler Lewis
1/15/2015 01:19:31 pm
Captain Ahab believes that Moby Dick had taken his leg not on instinct but out of pure malice. But Captain Ahab believes that Moby Dick was the physical manifestation of evil sheerly because he lost his leg to the white whale. Captain Ahab believes that he is here to sort out the evil and fix all the problems in the world by the killing Moby Dick, when in actuality he is just murdering a whale.
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Emily Bynoe
2/12/2015 10:22:30 am
Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick portrays Captain Ahab as a power hungry, vengeful man. When he was on a whaling expedition a great white whale attacked him, leaving Ahab with only 1 ½ legs. This accident caused Ahab to go on a new trip to find the whale, Moby Dick. His views could relate to the philosopher, Plato because he believed that we live in an ever-changing world. This change in Ahab’s life can be related back to Plato’s box theory. Ahab lived in a somewhat sheltered world and a dramatic incident like the whale attack, caused him to convince others to not do their job and hunt down this whale for Ahab’s revenge which ultimately lead to his death. Plato would agree with Ahab’s actions because change has to occur in order to reach the higher realm where everything is perfect and unchanging, like Heaven. Nietzsche would not have agreed with Ahab. He believed in finding meaning in ourselves and not going out and looking for it. Ahab’s entire journey contradicts Nietzsche’s idea. He does not think actions or science can lead us to the truth. Science (killing of the whale) is not a way to solve any problems because science just tells us how things happen, not why.
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