So the quality if literature depends upon how much or if God is
present? I havn't seen it but Witchcraft and sorcery seem to be
historically intertwined with God and the Devil. I think you could
write another chapter in the next edition of Harry Potter &
Philosophy.
Harry Potter has put a spell on millions of readers, and they all want
to find out more about the deeper meaning of his adventures. In Harry
Potter and Philosophy, 17 experts in the field of philosophy unlock
some of Hogwarts' secret panels, uncovering surprising insights that
are enlightening both for wizards and for the most discerning muggles.
Individual chapters look at such topics as life revealed in the Mirror
of Erised; the ethics of magic; Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick,
and the relation of the mind to the brain; and the character of
Hermione as a case of "sublimated feminism." Also examined in this
witty collection are how Aristotle would have run a school for
wizards; whether the Potter stories undermine religion and morality;
how to tell good people from evil ones through the characters in these
novels; and what dementors and boggarts can teach readers about
happiness, fear, and the soul.
Reviewer: As soon as I saw this book I had to get it. Having been
impressed with other books in this series (The Simpsons, The Matrix
and Seinfeld) I knew this would be a great way to apply the things I
learned in Philosophy to today's culture. If you're a student of
Philosophy, like me, then this book may help you to clear up things
that your professor can not. Since they take things like Time-travel
and apply them to the Harry Potter world, you can grasp a better
understanding while not losing the essence of what is being discussed.
Even if you're not a student of philosophy this book is a great read.
It'll provide hours of entertainment and give you great insight into
how Philosophy can be applied to situations.
http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Philosophy-Aristotle-Hogwarts/dp/0812694554
Among the occult lore here revealed, behold the best recipe for true
courage, proof that self-deception does not yield happiness, how
ethics can be applied to the branch of technology known as magic, why
the Mirror of Erised isn't adequate for real life, whether prophecy
rules out free choice, and what dementors and boggarts can teach us
about joy, fear, and the soul.
http://www.opencourtbooks.com/books_n/harry_potter.htm
Essays from 17 experts on philosophy, ethics, and literature are
divided into four sections based upon the four houses of Hogwart's
school.
Gryffindor examines character issues (courage, self-deception,
friendship), Hufflepuff examines ethics (heaven & hell, social
justice), Slytherin examines the nature of evil (ambition, moral
imagination), and Ravenclaw looks at metaphysics (nature of fantasy,
personal identity, foreknowledge & freedom).
Are the Harry Potter books really amenable to philosophical analysis?
Philosophy and literature certainly go hand-in-hand, so the answer to
this question probably turns on whether you think the Harry Potter
books qualify as any sort of literature or are merely "junk food" on
paper. There are those who think the latter, but I'm inclined to the
former. The Harry Potter books are not Shakespeare, but they do
address serious themes and Rowling's ability to tackle them in
interesting ways is, I think, an important reason for why the books
are popular.
In many ways, philosophy is about asking interesting questions and
forcing us to step back to closely examine our thoughts in order to
help us live better lives. Literature can be an invaluable aid in this
because it presents us with alternate realities, forcing us to use our
imaginations and consider how our own world might be different.
David Baggett argues for powerful connections between literature,
imagination, and morality:
"Good yarns, such as Rowling's, appeal to both the head and heart,
eliciting from us the right sorts of emotions, and providing us vivid
moral paradigms that Aristotle thought were essential to moral
education. More suggestive than dogmatic, they teach us to empathize
with the sufferings of others, enhancing our capacity for seeing the
world through another's eyes.... A powerful imagination functions
centrally in any commitment to morality, because so much of ethics
consists in having the right kinds of emotional and intuitive
responses to situations as they arise."
Perhaps because the philosophical importance of literature is so tied
up with its ability to get us to see through others' eyes, the best
essays focus upon the characters themselves. The nature of courage is
examined through Harry Potter, self-deception through the Dursleys,
and social justice through the actions of Hermione.
It also tends to be true that evil characters can be much more
interesting than good ones, so the essays that examine evil in the
Harry Potter books are quite interesting. Steven W. Patterson
addresses the question which many readers must have surely asked: if
Slytherin is such a bad house, why are they a part of Hogwarts at all?
Patterson explains that Slytherin's primary characteristic is not
"evil" but ambition - the desire to be the best and do the most. The
desire to excel should be regarded as a virtue. The presence of
Slytherin is thus understandable within the story but also from a
literary perspective because it allows Rowling to depict how an excess
of ambition can be harmful.
Like other books in this series the quality of the essays is uneven.
The best essays are the ones which talk about some general topic
(courage, ambition), explain how they fit in with the Harry Potter
stories, and how the stories can teach us about that issue. This isn't
the best or the worst volume in the series but it will probably be
enjoyed by those already interested in Harry Potter.
http://atheism.about.com/od/bookreviews/fr/PotterPhilosoph.htm
Table of Contents
A Few Start-of-Term Notices
Abbreviations
The Magic of Philosophy
Gryffindor: The Characters of Harry's World
1. The Courageous Harry Potter
2. Dursley Duplicity: The Morality and Psychology of Self-Deception
3. Voldemort's Agents, Malfoy's Cronies, and Hagrid's Chums:
Friendship in Harry Potter
4. Feminism and Equal Opportunity: Hermione and the Women of
Hogwarts
Hufflepuff: Morality in Rowling's Universe
5. Heaven, Hell, and Harry Potter
6. Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology
7. The Mirror of Erised: Why We Should Heed Dumbledore's Warning
8. Kreacher's Lament: S.P.E.W. as a Parable on Discrimination,
Indifference, and Social Justice Slytherin: Knockturn Alley, and the
Dark Arts
9. Is Ambition a Virtue? Why Slytherin Belongs at Hogwarts
10. A Skewed Reflection: The Nature of Evil
11. Voldemort, Boethius, and the Destructive Effects of Evil
12. Magic, Muggles, and Moral Imagination Ravenclaw: Many-Flavored
Topics in Metaphysics
13. Finding Platform 9?: The Idea of a Different Reality
14. Space, Time, and Magic
15. Why Voldemort Won't Just Die Already: What Wizards Can Teach Us
about Personal Identity
16. The Prophecy-Driven Life: Foreknowledge and Freedom at Hogwarts
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ean=9780812694550&displayonly...#TOC
> Love, friendship, sacrifice. Harry is the willing victim who embraces his
> fate. His Gethemane moment is on the floor of Dumbledores study when
> returned from Snapes memories he finally knows that he has to face death at
> Voldemorts hand with no hope of escape.Yes he is like Jesus and I guess we
> are lucky that Christians are onthe whole sensible tolerant people in the
> practise of their faith as adherents of some religions much consider suich
> likening blasphemous.I used to be a practising Christian but with sadness I
> am less so now and yet I sense the 'Hound of Heaven' sometimes in some books
> and DH is one of them.The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. The
> Church of Scotland and, whenever she's asked, says,
> "I believe in God, not magic." In fact, Rowling initially was afraid that
> if people were aware of her Christian faith, she would give away too much of
> what's coming in the series. "If I talk too freely about that," she told a
> Canadian reporter, "I think the intelligent reader -- whether ten [years
> old] or sixty -- will be able to guess what is coming in the books. And
> Lewis is definitely the "most Christian" of the three because while the
> other two can be interpreted as Christian allegories if you
> feel like it, the Narnia Chronicles aren't even a Christian
> allegory,they're a series of books that star Jesus as a character except
> he's called Aslan in Narnia. As for why Lewis is eclipsed by Tolkien and
> Rowling... Tolkien is obvious : the Lord of the Rings isn't as obviously
> oriented for children, and the whole story and worldbuilding has more
> magnitude than for Narnia. As for Rowling the simple fact that she is a much
> more modern writer in style and everything explains her present popularity
> well enough for me. We can come back in 50 years and see who eclipses the
> other,and have a real argument.Finally, there is the fact that Harry Potter
> and the Lord of the Rings are so much better than the Narnia Chronicles.The
> Christ is supposedly the son of GOD - Harry isn't The Christ was supposedly
> born through Immaculate conception - Not Harry The Christ was supposedly a
> GOD - who are eternal - no beginning and no end - Not Harry.No three kings,
> no bethlehem, no star, (ETC) at Harry's birth Harry destroyed a major evil -
> the Christ did not.Harry was a Horcrux - and also apparently had one too - A
> god doesn't need those things.The Christ had more "Sidekicks" than Harry.The
> Christ KNEW he could not die(Gods cannot do that) - Harry did not find that
> out until after he "ALMOST" did.The Christ's body was hung on a cross - not
> Harry.Train stations (Kings Cross) did not exist in the time that Christ was
> placed in his book.Harry didn't Resurrect in Heaven and take his body with
> him.Harry didn't start a church. Harry was both Married and had children in
> the end - the Christ was
> apparently only married. The Christ did miracles - Harry was not more
> magical than any other wizard in the books. In fact - his name would not
> have been jesus either. Theory of Harry representing Jesus allegorically
> WILL be discussed. And the thought that Harry, a wizard who practices magic,
> not always responsibly, is a Christlike figure,will give certain members of
> the Christian lunatic fringe absolute hives. JKR has certainly come in for
> her share of finger waving disapproval and hysteria from Uber Christians
> over the past ten years.I personally think a person can be a sincere
> Christian without losing their sense of humor or their common sense. I think
> that's why I particularly enjoyed the name pun of Pius Thicknesse, the
> puppet Minister of Magic who succeeds Scrimgeour. I think it was a wee
> pin in the balloons of religious hysteria.
