The Social Contract to address two central questions in social philosophy: 1. How people can remain free while living under the control of a state2. What makes a state's power legitimate

Introduction

He states that people create nations by uniting their individual powers through a social contract, agreeing to govern themselves collectively and protect each other's rights.To form a country, individuals must relinquish certain freedoms they possessed in the state of nature. However, these are replaced by the more significant civil freedom of living in society, which fosters moral and intellectual growth.

Rousseau states that a state is only legitimate when people govern themselves an idea he calls authority. People make laws and delegate the enforcement of those laws to a government, which represents the executive power.

Book I

Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains

He delves into the concept of sovereignty, which Rousseau defines as the collective authority of the people over themselves. He emphasizes that the ruler, as a collective entity, must prioritize the public interest over private goals and avoid benefiting some citizens at the expense of others. Rousseau critiques political parties for potentially undermining the general will, arguing that legitimate authority must serve the common good. He also asserts that laws must be abstract and impartial, applying equally to all.

Book II

Every man has a right to risk his own life in order to preserve it

Rousseau examines different forms of government like democracy, aristocracy, and monarchybased on how executive power is organized. He clarifies that his use of these terms differs from modern definitions. For Rousseau, a democracy involves citizens both making and enforcing laws, which he sees as impractical. Monarchy, where one individual holds all executive power, risks tyranny and inefficiency.

Book III

Instead, Rousseau favors aristocracy, where a small, chosen group oversees governance, provided it serves the people's interests. He also notes that the structure of government should adapt to the size and needs of the state, with larger states requiring more hierarchical systems.Rousseau argues that governments inevitably decline when they encroach upon the people's sovereignty. He suggests that citizens regularly assemble to discuss laws and limit governmental power. Roman Republic as an example of a system where citizens directly participated in lawmaking, ensuring the sovereignty of them.

Rousseau addresses challenges to maintaining a just government. He stresses that the general will must reflect the collective good, though individuals often prioritize personal interests over communal ones which is a sign of societal decay. Rousseau supports the idea of tribunals to check governmental overreach and, in extreme cases, endorses the Roman concept of a temporary dictatorship during crises.

Book IV

He concludes that cultivating civic virtues is essential for sustaining a healthy state, proposing a civil religion to instill moral values and respect for the social contract. While Christianity focuses on salvation in the afterlife, Rousseau’s civil religion emphasizes principles that promote societal harmony and adherence to the law.

Full Summary of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The eighteenth-century philosopher’s landmark treatise against monarchy that inspired the French and American Revolutions.  “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”   With these stirring words, Jean-Jacques Rousseau begins The Social Contract—the first shot in a battle of ideas that would set the stage for the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. In the feverish days of the Enlightenment, Rousseau took aim squarely at the all-powerful French monarchy, proclaiming that no despot, no matter how powerful, had the right to terrorize his people. He laid out a plan for a new kind of government—an idea that was radical then, and remains so now.   The Social Contract is a landmark document from a fascinating period in world history and an invaluable guide to the foundations of modern democracy.   This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

philosophy

Philosophy

history

History

books

Books

politics

Politics

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The Social Contract

“English did not just borrow words from other languages; it was stuffed to the brim with foreign influences, a Frankenstein vernacular. And Robin found it incredible, how this country, whose citizens prided themselves so much on being better than the rest of the world, could not make it through an afternoon tea without borrowed goods.”

Translation isn’t neutral—it’s a tool of control. In Babel, language wields magical, tangible power.	“Translation means more than language. It means power.”

Language as Power

Enchanted silver bars amplify the power of mistranslations, symbolizing wealth, industry, and exploitation.	“Magic lives in the untranslatable, in the space between words.”

The Magic of Silver

The British Empire’s dominance is maintained through linguistic manipulation and silver-fueled hegemony.	“To own language is to own the world.”

Colonialism's Grip

Protagonist Robin wrestles with his Chinese heritage and Oxford education, mirroring a classic immigrant struggle.	“To belong to both worlds is to belong to neither.”

The Burden of Dual Identity

Students confront the oppressive system, leading to acts of rebellion against the institution that raised them.	“To build, you must first be willing to destroy.”

Resistance & Rebellion

Higher education offers enlightenment but demands moral compromise—a Faustian bargain of sorts.	“Knowledge is not free. It always demands a price.”

The Cost of Knowledge

Every translation is an act of betrayal, as no two languages perfectly align.	“Every choice is a sacrifice. Every word, a battlefield.”

The Ethics of Translation

The British claim to “civilize” other cultures while exploiting their resources and suppressing their languages.	“They claim to bring light, but all they bring is shadow.”

Imperial Hypocrisy

Institutions like Oxford are shown as complicit in empire-building, not as neutral seekers of truth.	“Knowledge without purpose is just another form of control.”

The Role of Academia

Language, when misused, becomes a weapon for control, erasure, and domination. 	“To mistranslate is to kill a culture slowly, word by word.”

Translation as Violence

Robin’s friendships with Ramy, Letty, and Victoire are a rare source of solace amid systemic oppression. 	“When the world burns, sometimes all you have is each other.”

Friendship as a Refuge

Characters face tough choices where no option is “right,” reflecting the gray nature of moral decisions. 	“There are no heroes in a war for survival, only survivors.”

Moral Ambiguity

Letty’s betrayal highlights how even well-meaning allies can become complicit in oppression. 	“Sometimes the greatest threat lies closest to home.”

The Tragedy of Letty

Imperial powers erase native cultures under the guise of “progress,” showing the brutality of colonization. 	“To erase a culture, you only need to erase its words.”

Cultural Erasure

The costs of revolution are staggering, as sacrifices must be made to dismantle entrenched systems. 	“Revolution demands everything, even from the innocent.”

Revolution's Toll

Words evolve and shift meaning, reflecting how power structures change but never disappear. 	“Language is never still. It grows, breaks, and rebuilds.”

Language as a Living Force

The journey from student to revolutionary marks the end of youthful idealism and the start of hard reality. 	“To see the world as it is means losing the world as you wish it to be.”

The End of Innocence

Babel is a searing critique of empire, language, and power, showing how systems of control are built on words. Robin’s journey from scholar to revolutionary underscores the costs of knowledge and the power of language to both bind and break.

Unlock the hidden power of language, magic, and rebellion in R.F. Kuang’s Babel—where words rule.

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War  “Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out.” -- Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of BrassFrom award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

R. F. Kuang

Babel

In the darkest hour, he wept, foretelling his fate,Betrayed by kin, forsaken, left to contemplate.

Leaving loved ones, & friends burdened, his tears flowed free, "Father, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me."

Yet, resolute, he embraced the path ahead,For love's sake, his heart heavy with dread.

His sacrifice, profound, for all mankind's sake,With each drop of blood shed, a new dawn awake.

In the depths of agony, he faced his plight,Bringing forth hope, dispelling the night.

His light pierces through the shadows of despair,A beacon of salvation, a love beyond compare.

Though his journey ended in anguish and pain,His legacy of grace forever shall reign.

For the son of God, our king divine,We offer our gratitude, eternally thine.

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

loveandrelationships

Love & Relationships

Divine Sacrifice: A Ransom for Mankind

Césaire exposes the glaring contradiction between Europe's stated moral values and its historical actions. Europeans claim that colonization brought freedom, justice, and civilization to the world, but Césaire calls this a convenient lie that legitimized hateful and destructive policies. He asserts that there is nothing noble about forcibly converting people to Christianity or stealing their art for Western museums.

Moral Corruptions

Instead, the idea of European civilization served as a pretext for exploiting the labor and resources of the colonized in brutal ways. Césaire argues that Europe’s so-called civilizing mission not only devastated the lives and well-being of non-European peoples but also corrupted Europe’s own moral culture. The ruling class, or bourgeoisie, became morally bankrupt, inventing the notion of civilization to justify its cruel policies, thereby losing the ability to recognize the humanity of nonwhite people.

I say that between colonization and civilization there is an infinite distance; that out of all the colonial expeditions that have been undertaken, out of all the colonial statutes that have been drawn up, out of all the memoranda that have been dispatched by all the ministries, there could not come a single human value.

Césaire provocatively asserts that the Holocaust was not an aberration but rather the logical conclusion of European history. He claims that most European governments grew by killing people, just as the Nazis did, and even European humanists supported white supremacist ideas similar to those driving Hitler's policies. He highlights how colonial violence dehumanized both the colonized and the colonizers.

European's Logical Conclusion

For instance, French conquerors reveled in atrocities like rape and murder, which exemplified how colonialism reduced nonwhite people to objects while stripping colonizers of their humanity. Césaire famously states, "colonization equals thingification," emphasizing that colonialism objectified and dehumanized its victims while eroding the colonizers' ethical integrity. He further points out that the world was already home to complex, advanced, and democratic civilizations that Europe destroyed in the name of bringing civilization.

Césaire continues to critique colonial violence, pointing out that it persisted even after World War II. For example, the French brutally suppressed the Malagasy uprising in Madagascar, killing tens of thousands. Despite this, prominent French intellectuals continued to defend white supremacy. Césaire calls for a new society that uses modern productive powers democratically to ensure freedom and human rights for all rights that European and American elites hoard for themselves.

He directly condemns journalists and academics who justify the brutality of colonialism. He argues that colonial-era scholars, particularly anthropologists, were complicit in colonial violence because they created the myths Europeans used to rationalize their actions. These myths, grounded in racism, falsely asserted that only white people were capable of science and knowledge.

Critic to colonial-era scholar

Césaire critiques specific figures, such as:Geographer Pierre Gourou, who claimed that tropical climates made non-Europeans incapable of civilization, and Reverend Tempels, who fabricated a theory suggesting that Congolese people desired enslavement by Belgians.

Psychoanalyst Octave Mannoni attributed Madagascar's colonization to psychological differences, portraying Africans as dependent and collectively mad when they sought independence.Anthropologist Roger Caillois outright denied nonwhite people’s capacity for science, ignoring the Egyptians’ mathematical innovations and Arab philosophers’ contributions to rationalism. Césaire dismisses these arguments as baseless, rooted in racism rather than evidence.

Césaire reiterates his call for global change. He compares Western Europe’s overreach to the collapse of ancient Rome, suggesting that Europe's excesses threaten its downfall. As of 1950, the colonized peoples of the world aspire to freedom and a more equitable future. Although the United States appears poised to continue the legacy of colonialism through economic dominance and capitalism, Césaire believes that Latin American, African, and Asian nations can forge a classless society that guarantees sovereignty, independence, and prosperity values that the West falsely claimed to uphold.

Call for Global Action

Full Summary of the Discourse on Colonialism by Aime Cesaire

"Césaire's essay stands as an important document in the development of third world consciousness--a process in which [he] played a prominent role." --Library Journal This classic work, first published in France in 1955, profoundly influenced the generation of scholars and activists at the forefront of liberation struggles in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Nearly twenty years later, when published for the first time in English, Discourse on Colonialism inspired a new generation engaged in the Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements and has sold more than 75,000 copies to date. Aimé Césaire eloquently describes the brutal impact of capitalism and colonialism on both the colonizer and colonized, exposing the contradictions and hypocrisy implicit in western notions of "progress" and "civilization" upon encountering the "savage," "uncultured," or "primitive." Here, Césaire reaffirms African values, identity, and culture, and their relevance, reminding us that "the relationship between consciousness and reality are extremely complex. . . . It is equally necessary to decolonize our minds, our inner life, at the same time that we decolonize society." An interview with Césaire by the poet René Depestre is also included.

Aimé Césaire

Discourse on Colonialism

Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time explores fundamental questions about the origins and destiny of the universe, such as where everything came from and where it is headed. Advances in technology have enabled modern science to offer answers to these profound inquiries.

Tracing the Origins of the Universe and Historical Breakthroughs

Hawking begins by tracing significant scientific breakthroughs throughout history that have expanded our understanding. For instance, while ancient Greeks like Aristotle realized the Earth was round, they mistakenly believed it was the center of the universe. This geocentric view was challenged in 1514 when Nicholas Copernicus proposed that planets, including Earth, orbit the Sun.In 1687, Sir Isaac Newton formulated laws of gravity, theorized that stars exert gravitational force on one another, and questioned whether the universe was infinite.

Later, in 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered that galaxies are moving away from each other, suggesting that the universe is expanding and originated from an infinitely dense point, a concept compatible with the idea of God, according to Hawking.

No matter how many times the results of experiments agree with some theory, you can never be sure that the next time the result will not contradict the theory.

Hawking highlights science's ultimate goal: to unify all theories into one comprehensive explanation. Currently, scientists rely on two major partial theories: the general theory of relativity, which addresses gravity and large celestial bodies, and quantum mechanics, which deals with the smallest known particles. However, these theories are inconsistent, and the quest for a unifying theory continues to fulfill humanity’s deep desire to understand its origins.

The Quest for a Unified Scientific Theory

Newton’s concept of motion, forces, and relative distance challenged the notion of absolute space, much like the observations of a bouncing ping-pong ball on a moving train vary depending on the observer's location. The idea of absolute time was further overturned in 1865 when James Clerk Maxwell discovered light’s wavelengths,Later refined by Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, which demonstrated that light’s speed is constant and that massive objects warp space-time. This means neither space nor time is absolute.

Einstein also introduced the cosmological constant, an anti-gravity force to explain the static universe, a notion later abandoned when Hubble showed galaxies moving apart. Russian physicist Alexander Friedmann proposed models of the universe, finite and infinite, and his work supported the Big Bang theory. Wider acceptance of this theory followed Roger Penrose's studies on black holes, which Hawking extended to suggest a similar origin for the universe.

Einstein, the Big Bang, and Quantum Mechanics

These advancements dismantled earlier deterministic views, like those of the Marquis de Laplace, who believed that perfect knowledge of the universe's state could predict everything.Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which revealed the impossibility of precisely measuring a particle’s position and velocity simultaneously, further established the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics.Scientists then discovered particles like electrons, protons, and neutrons, and Murray Gell-Mann’s 1969 Nobel-winning work identified quarks as their constituents.

Black holes, a recurring theme, illustrate entropy and the laws of thermodynamics. John Michell in 1783 theorized that massive stars could trap light with their gravity. This idea evolved into the concept of event horizons and singularities, where infinite density disrupts physical laws. Hawking’s work demonstrated that black holes emit heat and particles, making them potential energy sources. Hawking also delves into the universe's origins, rejecting the idea of a singular beginning, positing instead that the universe has no boundary.

Black Holes and the Boundless Universe

Various models describe its early state, with the Big Bang model suggesting that infinite heat and rapid particle movement eventually cooled to form galaxies, stars, planets, and life.

Hawking discusses three arrows of time:Thermodynamic (disorder increases)Psychological (memory formation)Cosmological (universe expansion)Even if the universe contracts, disorder would still increase, meaning time wouldn’t reverse. Advanced civilizations might manipulate space-time for time travel through wormholes or Einstein-Rosen bridges, but such ideas remain theoretical. The search for a unifying theory, such as string theory, continues. String theory envisions particles as waves on one-dimensional strings, requiring additional dimensions to function.

Time, Space, and Humanity’s Ultimate Questions

While incomplete, current theories move closer to explaining existence. Ultimately, Hawking emphasizes that understanding why anything exists at all would allow humanity to grasp “the mind of God.”

Full Summary of a Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends? Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Stephen Hawking is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Stephen Hawking has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Stephen Hawking's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Stephen Hawking

A Brief History of Time

Kierkegaard recounts a story about a man who grew up admiring the biblical narrative of Abraham and Isaac. As a child, he marveled at Abraham’s faith, but as he grew older, he found it increasingly difficult to understand.

He contemplates hypothetical scenarios like:Abraham might have explained God’s command to Isaac, pretending to be a murderous atheist to divert Isaac’s anger toward himself rather than God.Abraham might have sacrificed the ram but lost his faith afterward.He could have gone up the mountain alone, seeking forgiveness for breaking his sacred duty as a father.Yet, none of these possibilities captures the essence of Abraham’s experience, leaving the man unable to comprehend Abraham fully.

To Kierkegaard, Abraham is the "father of faith," a title earned through his unwavering trust in God. When God commanded Abraham to leave his life behind and venture into the desert, he obeyed, trusting in God’s plan. Even when God promised him and Sarah a son despite their old age, Abraham believed, and his faith was rewarded with the birth of Isaac.

The Father Of Faith

However, Abraham’s faith faced its greatest test when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac. Despite the immense difficulty of this command, Abraham prepared to obey, taking a three-and-a-half-day journey to Mount Moriah. While the story often emphasizes God’s intervention to stop the sacrifice, Kierkegaard argues that Abraham’s greatness lies in his journey and willingness to break universal ethical rules to fulfill God’s will.

Kierkegaard identifies two crucial steps to achieving hope through faith. The first is the infinite resignation, where one gives up everything, enduring immense pain. The second involves regaining what was given up in a way that seems impossible.

Two Steps To Achieve Hope Through Faith

Kierkegaard illustrates this with the story of a young man deeply in love with a woman he cannot marry. A "knight of infinite resignation" would relinquish his love, accepting the pain of this sacrifice. A "knight of faith" however, would believe that, through God, he could still be with her in this life, regaining what he had surrendered. Kierkegaard admires those with faith but admits he lacks the courage to take the final step himself. While he knows faith exists, he struggles to understand how it is achieved and has never met a knight of faith.

Kierkegaard critiques the modern world for its tendency to focus on the outcomes of stories, neglecting the struggles and journeys that precede them. He applies this criticism to Abraham’s story, arguing that modern readers fail to grasp the depth of Abraham’s faith and suffering.

Kierkegaard explores three problems to emphasize the significance of faith. Problema I: Is there a Teleological Suspension of the Ethical?Problema II: Is there an Absolute Duty to God?Problema III: Was It Ethically Defensible for Abraham to Conceal His Undertaking from Sarah, from Eliezer, and from Isaac?

Three Problems

The first problem addresses whether there is ethical uncertainty from a teleological perspective. In ethics, the universal dictates that individuals conform to general rules. Faith, however, creates a paradox in which the individual transcends the universal while remaining part of it. Abraham’s actions, therefore, cannot be universally explained; they are either a demonstration of profound faith or an act of murder.

The First Problem

Kierkegaard compares Abraham to tragic heroes like Agamemnon, who sacrificed his daughter for the greater good. Unlike Agamemnon, Abraham’s actions served God’s will and his personal faith, making him a paradoxical figure who defied universal ethics.

The second problem asks if there is an absolute duty to God. Kierkegaard asserts that while ethical duties are universal, faith involves a personal, absolute connection to God. This absolute duty transcends ethical norms, as shown in Abraham’s inability to explain his actions to others. Attempting to articulate them would have exposed him to temptation. The path of faith, Kierkegaard argues, is lonely and fraught with fear, unlike the path of a tragic hero, who finds resolution and universal praise.

The Second Problem

The final problem examines whether it was right for Abraham to withhold God’s command from Isaac, Sarah, and Eliezer. While silence can be ethically problematic, Kierkegaard argues that Abraham’s silence was necessary, as faith is incomprehensible to others. He contrasts Abraham’s holy silence with examples of silence driven by temptation, such as a man who hides the reason for breaking off his engagement to protect his fiancée or a mythical merman who hides his love for a human to avoid causing her harm.

The Third Problem

Kierkegaard concludes that Abraham’s silence was justified by his faith, which places the individual above the universal.

Kierkegaard reflects on society’s relationship with faith. He wonders if humanity has advanced to the point of forgetting the struggles of faith or if each generation must begin anew. Faith, he argues, remains the most significant and difficult human endeavor, and while not everyone achieves it, life is filled with challenges and pursuits worth undertaking. Faith, like love, is a lifelong journey, and those who reach it embody the paradox of regaining everything they have given up.

Ending

The highest passion of man is faith. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.

Full Summary of Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard

In our time nobody is content to stop with faith but wants to go further. It would perhaps be rash to ask where these people are going, but it is surely a sign of breeding and culture for me to assume that everybody has faith, for otherwise it would be queer for them to be . . . going further. In those old days it was different, then faith was a task for a whole lifetime, because it was assumed that dexterity in faith is not acquired in a few days or weeks. When the tried oldster drew near to his last hour, having fought the good fight and kept the faith, his heart was still young enough not to have forgotten that fear and trembling which chastened the youth, which the man indeed held in check, but which no man quite outgrows. . . except as he might succeed at the earliest opportunity in going further. Where these revered figures arrived, that is the point where everybody in our day begins to go further.

Soren Kierkegaard

Fear and Trembling

Aristotle’s Poetics explores poetry in general and its specific types, focusing on how poetry affects readers and how to craft impactful poetic stories.

Introduction to Aristotle’s Poetics

He begins with the rules of verse, which he considers natural, and then discusses various types of poetry, such as epic, tragedy, comedy, dithyramb, and music played on instruments like the pipe or lyre. Aristotle argues that all poetry is a type of imitation, differing only in three ways: the medium, the object, and the mode of imitation. The medium of imitation varies depending on the art form; for example, painters or sculptors use color or shape, while poets use rhythm, language, and music.

Types of Poetry and Imitation

These elements can be used alone or together to achieve specific results. In art, imitation involves copying people, events, or things, which can be either morally good or bad.

Aristotle elaborates on the style of imitation, noting that an epic poem tells a story to imitate an object, while a tragedy uses actors on stage. He explains that humans are naturally inclined to copy others because they learn by imitation from a young age. Additionally, people enjoy viewing distressing scenes from a safe distance, such as a stage.

The Nature of Imitation and Human Enjoyment

The pleasure derived from seeing a copy lies in recognizing and understanding what it represents. Aristotle suggests that humans are naturally drawn to rhythm and melody, which explains their affinity for poetic forms combining language with rhythm and tune. He notes that dithyrambic poetry, which mixes poetry and dance, led to the development of tragedy, evolving over time to reach its natural state.

In comedy, weak characters are portrayed humorously, yet they are not inherently weak, and the errors they make do not evoke negative emotions in the audience. Unlike comedy, which avoids painful themes, tragedy and epic poetry focus on good characters. However, epics lack songs and are often narrated from a single perspective. Aristotle observes that while tragedies typically cover a single day’s events, epics can span extended periods. Those knowledgeable about tragedy will also understand epic poetry, as all elements of epic are present in tragedy.

The Distinction Between Comedy and Tragedy

However, tragedy includes more than an epic does, embodying a unified and significant action that elicits fear and pity in the audience, a process Aristotle calls catharsis.

Aristotle identifies six components that make up a tragedy: plot, characters, language, reasoning, spectacle, and lyric poetry, with the plot being the most essential. Tragedy imitates actions, focusing on events in the story. The most effective tragedies create catharsis through unexpected events, with a change in fortune serving as the emotional pivot, sometimes leading to recognition or reversal. A reversal entails an action's change to its opposite, dictated by necessity or probability based on the preceding narrative.

The Six Components of Tragedy

Recognition, on the other hand, involves a shift from ignorance to knowledge, revealing relationships or animosities. Aristotle praises plots that combine recognition and reversal, citing Oedipus Rex by Sophocles as an example where these elements occur simultaneously, evoking fear and pity.

Poetry, therefore, is more philosophical and higher thing than history; for poetry tends to express universal, history the particular.

For Aristotle, catharsis can also arise from tragedies depicting human suffering, such as war. The best tragedies feature complex plots and avoid characters who are overly virtuous or wicked; instead, they depict a shift from good to bad fortune. This twist heightens fear and sympathy, particularly when tragic acts occur between close relationships, like family members. Aristotle then turns to character, listing four traits essential for characters in tragedy: goodness, suitability, likeness, and consistency.

Catharsis in Tragedy

Characters should act decently and fittingly, maintaining consistency or, if inconsistent, consistently so. He encourages poets to visualize stories to avoid errors or inconsistencies. Each tragedy requires a problem and a well-crafted resolution.

In language, clarity is vital, yet it should not compromise dignity. Everyday words contribute to clear diction, but solely using them lacks creativity. Effective poetry balances common language with exotic expressions, including metaphors and uncommon words. Aristotle addresses common critiques of poetry, such as claims of impossibility, illogic, or contradiction, suggesting that many improbable or contradictory elements may be plausible within the narrative context.

The Role of Language and Clarity

Finally, he considers whether tragedy surpasses epic, concluding that tragedy is superior due to its concentrated effect, enhanced by lyric poetry and spectacle, and its brevity compared to epics. For Aristotle, the concentrated intensity of tragedy, exemplified by works like Oedipus Rex, achieves greater emotional power than the extended form of an epic. Tragedy’s ability to evoke terror and pity, resulting in catharsis, ultimately makes it superior to epic poetry.

'What is poetry, how many kinds of it are there, and what are their specific effects?' Aristotle's Poetics is the most influential book on poetry ever written. A founding text of European aesthetics and literary criticism, from it stems much of our modern understanding of the creation and impact of imaginative writing, including poetry, drama, and fiction. For Aristotle, the art of representation conveys universal truths which we can appreciate more easily than the lessons of history or philosophy. In his short treatise Aristotle discusses the origins of poetry and its early development, the nature of tragedy and plot, and offers practical advice to playwrights. This new translation by Anthony Kenny is accompanied by associated material from Plato and a range of responses from more modern literary practitioners: Sir Philip Sidney, P. B. Shelley, and Dorothy L. Sayers. The book includes a wide-ranging introduction and notes, making this the most accessible and attractive modern edition. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Aristotle

Poetics

Satoshi Nakamoto proposed a revolutionary idea in 2008: a purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash. This vision allowed online payments to be sent directly from one individual to another without relying on traditional financial institutions or banks. This idea was the genesis of Bitcoin, the first decentralized digital currency.

The Genesis

A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.

Traditional banking is convenient but it has its own limitations which include card readers breaking, bank fees piling up and compromisation of financial privacy and a host of others.All these obstacles constitute what digital cash aims to overcome, providing a secure and direct form of online payment that doesn’t rely on a central authority.

Why Digital Cash?

When you “own” bitcoins, what you possess is actually a Bitcoin address (akin to a bank account) and a unique private key (like a PIN). This private key is what makes your Bitcoin truly yours, ensuring only you have control over your funds. So in actual sense, you don't own a “coin” per se sitting on a Blockchain somewhere.

What You Actually ‘Have’ with Bitcoin

A Bitcoin wallet stores your private keys. Typically, it’s a program that generates and manages your addresses, keeps track of balances, and enables transactions. You can create new addresses and their associated keys whenever you wish for added security. Notice that a wallet does not store your “bit-COIN” but your keys.

The Role of Wallets in Bitcoin

There are two main types of Bitcoin —I’d rather say “crypto”— wallets: hot wallets, which are connected to the internet (think of them like a checking account for quick access), and cold wallets, which are stored offline for added security (similar to keeping cash in a safe). Cold storage can involve storing keys on USB devices or even on paper, minimizing the risk of online theft. Most of the time, hot wallets are used interchangeably with software wallets and cold wallets synonymous with hardware wallets.

Hot vs. Cold Wallets

Losing your private key means losing access to your bitcoins forever, as there’s no way to recover it. If any other individual gets your key, they control your bitcoins. Transactions are also irreversible, so any mistakes—such as sending to an incorrect or nonexistent address—are permanent. Many people entrust their bitcoins to exchanges, despite the security risks, for ease of use. On the other hand, remember, “not your keys, not your coins” as Andreas Antonopoulos eloquently put it highlighting that leaving your cryptocurrencies with custodial Exchanges is quite risky.

Bitcoin Security

Bitcoin transactions are grouped into blocks, each with a unique cryptographic hash, a number that serves as a secure “check value” for the data in that block. Any change in the block’s data will produce a completely different hash. This concept secures Bitcoin, as every block is linked to the one before it, forming a chain (hence, blockchain, a chain of blocks). This structure creates a tamper-evident, public ledger that is "secured by math."

Blocks and Hashing

The Bitcoin blockchain holds every confirmed transaction from 2009 onward, growing continuously. By June 2017, it reached over 120 gigabytes, expanding by about 4GB per month.A new block is created, carrying a reward for the miner (currently 3.125 BTC after halving in April this year, 2024), approximately every ten minutes. The reward halves every four years, and mining will eventually stop in 2140, when the maximum supply of 21 million bitcoins is reached.This reward, along with transaction fees, incentivizes miners to maintain the network.

The Ever-Growing Blockchain Mining and Rewards

Miners bundle transactions into blocks, add the hash of the previous block, and include an arbitrary “nonce” value. What is a nonce value? Just think of it as that unique value that miners compete with each other to find in the Blockchain which will allow them to add a block in the chain of blocks. They then calculate the hash for the new block. If the hash meets the required difficulty level, the block is valid and broadcast to the network. If not, miners try a new nonce until they succeed.

The Mining Process

By June 2017, Bitcoin miners collectively processed 5.5 quintillion (5.5x10^18) hashes per second—an immense computing effort securing the network. This number is enormous, really.Many early adopters, like Roger Ver, were drawn to Bitcoin for its philosophical potential as a currency that will not depend on government control, projecting a world where individuals had financial autonomy.

The Power of Bitcoin's Network

We saw Bitcoin as a way to separate money from the state.

Initially, Bitcoin aligned with the dot-com ideal of building wealth by creating something innovative. However, as its popularity grew, Bitcoin also became a means of speculation, where users could "get in early" and potentially amass wealth, even without building a product or service. Though this idea is liable not to work in our time, in my own personal opinion, we have returned to Bitcoin's innate dot-com idealism especially in Nigeria and Africa. For me this is more sustainable.

From Cyberlibertarianism to Profit Motives

Ummm, I don't know what to say but bear this in mind : the curations here are just from 12% of this book. I read from MoonReader, so the EPUB version is numbered as percentages and not pages.

An experimental new Internet-based form of money is created that anyone can generate at home; people build frightening firetrap computers full of video cards, putting out so much heat that one operator is hospitalised with heatstroke and brain damage. A young physics student starts a revolutionary new marketplace immune to State coercion; he ends up ordering hits on people because they might threaten his great experiment, and is jailed for life without parole. Fully automated contractual systems are proposed to make business and the law work better; the contracts people actually write are unregulated penny stock offerings whose fine print literally states that you are buying nothing of any value. The biggest crowdfunding in history attracts $150 million on the promise that it will embody “the steadfast iron will of unstoppable code”; upon release it is immediately hacked, and $50 million is stolen. How did we get here? David Gerard covers the origins and history of Bitcoin to the present day, the other cryptocurrencies it spawned including Ethereum, the ICO craze and the 2017 crypto bubble, and the attempts to apply blockchains and smart contracts to business. Plus a case study on blockchains in the music industry. Bitcoin and blockchains are not a technology story, but a psychology story. Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is. “A sober riposte to all the upbeat forecasts about cryptocurrency” — New York Review of Books “A very convincing takedown of the whole phenomenon” — BBC News

Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain

Find 100+ fun History Facts - European, American, Black, Asian across various periods - Curated by our community from books, articles or documentaries

The Social Contract

Babel

Divine Sacrifice: A Ransom for Mankind

Discourse on Colonialism

A Brief History of Time

Fear and Trembling

Poetics

Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Where Do Music Genres Come From?

It's time to
Read like a Pro.

The Social Contract

Babel

Divine Sacrifice: A Ransom for Mankind

Discourse on Colonialism

A Brief History of Time

Fear and Trembling

Poetics

Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Where Do Music Genres Come From?

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.