The Many Sides of Odysseus throughout the Epic story of the Odyssey Essay

The Many Sides of Odysseus throughout the Epic story of the Odyssey - Essay Example In each and every adventure that befalls Odysseus we see various facets of his character and his wanderings are seen as stages in development of humanity as a whole. We learn about ourselves through Odysseus while realizing that each stage of our life is a learning exercise: we live as we learn. The Odyssey, a tale of Odysseus’ journey back home after long years at war is also the tale of his spiritual journey through his own soul. As Odysseus leaves Troy for home, he is the typical bloodthirsty warrior. He leaves Troy feeling almost immortal and this pride is what leads to his downfall. In the course of his journey, Odysseus undergoes a symbolic death and rebirth and in the end becomes an epic hero regaining power over his household and has restored order to his life. Upon his arrival in Ithaca, it is evident that he has become a wiser man- more humble and more respectful. Homer skillfully inter-relates adventures, feelings and experiences of his characters. The vivid description and expressive language make the reading understandable to any age and social group. Even though the story is mythical, filled with ghosts, monsters and giants, the main themes can be interrelated with today’s issues of scheming, cunning, struggle for survival, race New facets of Odysseus’ character are revealed through each of his adventures. After Odysseus and his men depart from Troy, they land in Ismara. After looting the city Odysseus wisely tells his men to board the ships quickly, but they pay no heed and the next morning, the crew is attacked by the Ciconians. Odysseus manages to escape with tears in his eyes for his lost crew. â€Å"But Odysseus, clutching his flaring sea-blue cape in both powerful hands, drew it over his head and buried his handsome face† He does not disclose his identity to the Ciconians showing that he is capable of thinking ahead of his opponent displaying his superior

Thomas nagel Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thomas nagel - Assignment Example The mental states include beliefs, pain, being, desires and others. The theory tends to look at what something does rather than what constitute them. An example is what makes a mousetrap is not the material but rather the function it plays in catching the mice. Functionalism theory separates the brain state from mind state and concentrates on the mind  to elaborate the function of material rather than what constitute it from the mind state. Functionalism theory tends to differentiate the mind state and brain state by concentrating on the roles of mental state or what these mental states cause that define mental state as oppose to general brain state. Functionalist shows that the mind state is different from the brain state and physical system from which it arises. Identity theory other hand, argues that the mind states are identical to the brain states which is a physical state. The identity theory argues that mind and brain states are the same thing. Identity theory suggests that any mind processes such as image formation are just the brain processes. Consciousness has derivation from the Latin words con that means ‘with’ and scire, which means ‘to know’. Hence, consciousness can perceive and know. Nagel argues that the materialism cannot conclusively account for conscious experience by referring to robots having functional state yet they do not experience consciousness. These automated materials also have an identity and fulfill all requirements for the functional state as noted by reductionist yet they do not have conscious experience in their functions. These automated machines always repeat designed commands that a human can change at any given time. From this point, Nagel sees no sense of defending materialism without showing consciousness of mental phenomena. In his bat view, a human being cannot know how it is like to be a bat due to limiting mind resources in imagination. Human imagination can only give an idea in how to behave like a bat.