Find all this out and more in our fourth podcast as we delve into the Moral Universe: what it is, what it means, why it matters, and all that brouhaha. Then stick around for discussion of ABC's No Ordinary Family, a Hitchcock-inspired episode of The X-Files, and CYOA cinema. It's all here, and much, much more, at Derailed Trains of Thought.
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Because of technical difficulties (on your end or mine, who can say) I only got the first few minutes of this.
ReplyDeleteSo I don't know where your moral universe discussion wound up, but it brought to mind George MacDonald's essay "The Fantastic Imagination." One of his points is, in summary, you can change the laws of the physical universe as much as you want to in a fairy tale or fantasy-- as long as your laws are consistent-- but you can never change the laws of the moral universe.
He's also got some interest comments on meaning in stories. It's an insightful read, and one that may provide still more fuel to your fires:
http://www.george-macdonald.com/etexts/nonfiction/fantastic_imagination.html
I have not read the essay, though it sounds like something I would wholeheartedly enjoy. MacDonald is one of those authors I keep meaning to read but haven't. (I'll follow your link when I have more time. Maybe Librivox has an audio version I can download.) Our discussion in the podcast is a little broader, but somewhat along the same lines.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the technical difficulties, it worked Friday afternoon when I check it, but I'll look into it on our end.
Nick Hayden
Hi John! Nick's the webmaster around here, so he may have to check some things behind the scenes, but it seems to work on my end. I don't know how you were trying to listen to it, but if you're having problems with the in-browser player, you may want to try right-clicking the "Download" link and saving it onto your hard drive. Of course, you may have already tried this, but I know sometimes people miss it. If we start hearing that several people are haven't problems downloading episodes, we may have to make some changes.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I will definitely have to read that essay when I have the chance. With my current busy schedule, it might be awhile. But like Nick, MacDonald is an author I've been meaning to read for awhile. Thanks for the tip!
Timothy Deal
John,
ReplyDeleteJust read the essay. It's wonderful. Perhaps we will have to talk about it on a podcast sometime. Lots of great ideas in it.
Nick