I just now stumbled on your project, and I see that you've been at it for quite a while. Very cool! I'm engaged in a similar one, and I'll be posting thoughts about Antigone in a few days. Who's the protagonist? Who does Sophocles side with? Those are interesting questions. Anyone expecting this play to "have a moral" may read their own values into it and "find" that moral. But the play, as you point out, doesn't offer a simple moral tale. It pits two clearly good values against each other in irreconcilable conflict. That's true to life, but it's also tragic. And unless we are sociopaths or psychopaths we are not governed by a single value. Any two values, if they are truly distinct from each other, can and will come into conflict with each other. Antigone shows us what makes us human, but it doesn't offer a great deal of comfort. I'm glad I found your substack.
Yeah, good observations. I think that has been one of the biggest surprises as I've started reading the Great Books - there's not a simple takeaway from each book. Instead, they pit the two values against one another as you mention. It really makes you think. And then it's neat to see later authors expand further on those questions & ideas.
I just now stumbled on your project, and I see that you've been at it for quite a while. Very cool! I'm engaged in a similar one, and I'll be posting thoughts about Antigone in a few days. Who's the protagonist? Who does Sophocles side with? Those are interesting questions. Anyone expecting this play to "have a moral" may read their own values into it and "find" that moral. But the play, as you point out, doesn't offer a simple moral tale. It pits two clearly good values against each other in irreconcilable conflict. That's true to life, but it's also tragic. And unless we are sociopaths or psychopaths we are not governed by a single value. Any two values, if they are truly distinct from each other, can and will come into conflict with each other. Antigone shows us what makes us human, but it doesn't offer a great deal of comfort. I'm glad I found your substack.
Yeah, good observations. I think that has been one of the biggest surprises as I've started reading the Great Books - there's not a simple takeaway from each book. Instead, they pit the two values against one another as you mention. It really makes you think. And then it's neat to see later authors expand further on those questions & ideas.