Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
- Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
- The admin formerly known as Scott
- Posts: 5786
- Joined: January 20th, 2007, 6:24 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
- Contact:
Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
What do you think of the book?
"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."
I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.
- Gulnara
- Posts: 496
- Joined: October 20th, 2011, 7:02 am
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
- Lessie
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 3
- Joined: April 6th, 2012, 8:52 pm
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
What kind of philosophy you’d like to discuss in this book? I know that Daniel Defoe wrote three books about Robinson Crusoe. What book do you mean?Scott wrote:Please use this topic to discuss the April philosophy book of the month, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
What do you think of the book?
For example this book could be reviewed with the point of view, that in the past people don’t think about Nature conservation at all. There were general slogans in most of the countries – that Nature is not a temple, but a workshop , that the nature recourses are limitless. And all nature recourses were created by God only for the humanity, for satisfaction its needs.
- dparrott
- Posts: 496
- Joined: May 6th, 2009, 11:24 pm
- Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
I believe it also showed the negative affect of society on an individual. Like how in the begining Robinson had Friday call him master. If Robinson was never part of a society that looked down on other races he would have not thought himself better then Friday at the begining of thier relationship together.
- Prismatic
- Posts: 514
- Joined: April 22nd, 2012, 4:30 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: John Stuart Mill
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
Wilkie Collins begins his novel The Moonstone with a quote from Robinson Crusoe. The servant Betteredge constantly turns to it for guidance in his life and says it has never failed him. The announcement of the engagement of a Miss Robinson to a Mr. Crusoe is supposedly the last thing that made Queen Victoria smile. (Yes, she could be amused on occasion.) That the idea remains an inspiration for modern authors is shown by the retelling of the story by the French author Michel Tournier in a wonderful novel called Friday.
One of the delights of the Defoe book is the part where Crusoe teaches Friday the Christian religion to save his soul and has difficulties with intelligent questions raised by the savage. (Remember that Friday belonged to a tribe of cannibals and was therefore the most savage of savages.) Crusoe comes to view his life on the island as meaningful because he has been made the instrument of converting a savage to "be such a Christian as I have known few equal to him in my life." Friday shows the depth of his conversion by saying that if he goes back to his own nation, he will tell them to stop cannibalism. Defoe's religious outlook expressed in the novel was far ahead of his time and reasonably generous in spirit.
What bothers us today is the justification of colonialism expressed by the novel—the white man's burden of civilizing the savages and bringing them to Christ does not go down quite as well with us. Still the story and the writing are very good.
-- Updated April 25th, 2012, 11:03 pm to add the following --
Here is the passage from Chapter I of The Moonstone I mentioned in the previous post:
"I am not superstitious; I have read a heap of books in my time; I am a scholar in my own way. Though turned seventy, I possess an active memory, and legs to correspond. You are not to take it, if you please, as the saying of an ignorant man, when I express my opinion that such a book as ROBINSON CRUSOE never was written, and never will be written again. I have tried that book for years--generally in combination with a pipe of tobacco--and I have found it my friend in need in all the necessities of this mortal life. When my spirits are bad--ROBINSON CRUSOE. When I want advice--ROBINSON CRUSOE. In past times when my wife plagued me; in present times when I have had a drop too much--ROBINSON CRUSOE. I have worn out six stout ROBINSON CRUSOES with hard work in my service. On my lady's last birthday she gave me a seventh. I took a drop too much on the strength of it; and ROBINSON CRUSOE put me right again. Price four shillings and sixpence, bound in blue, with a picture into the bargain."
- Lessie
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 3
- Joined: April 6th, 2012, 8:52 pm
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
If Robinson was never part of a society – he would not have a possibility to speak with Friday or any other person, because in this case he wouldn’t know how to speak and communicate with people! Most probably he even wouldn’t consider himself a man, especially if he was grown by animals.dparrott wrote:I believe it also showed the negative affect of society on an individual. Like how in the begining Robinson had Friday call him master. If Robinson was never part of a society that looked down on other races he would have not thought himself better then Friday at the begining of thier relationship together.
Thus I think we can’t consider the only factor (that Robinson was never part of a society) without others - those that are related with the first one.
- dparrott
- Posts: 496
- Joined: May 6th, 2009, 11:24 pm
- Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
You missed the point which was "part of society that looked down on other races".Lessie wrote:If Robinson was never part of a society – he would not have a possibility to speak with Friday or any other person, because in this case he wouldn’t know how to speak and communicate with people! Most probably he even wouldn’t consider himself a man, especially if he was grown by animals.dparrott wrote:I believe it also showed the negative affect of society on an individual. Like how in the begining Robinson had Friday call him master. If Robinson was never part of a society that looked down on other races he would have not thought himself better then Friday at the begining of thier relationship together.
Thus I think we can’t consider the only factor (that Robinson was never part of a society) without others - those that are related with the first one.
- Gulnara
- Posts: 496
- Joined: October 20th, 2011, 7:02 am
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
- Lessie
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 3
- Joined: April 6th, 2012, 8:52 pm
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
Yes, I missed it. Sorry.dparrott wrote:You missed the point which was "part of society that looked down on other races".
-
- Posts: 12
- Joined: September 23rd, 2011, 10:24 am
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
- Dune
- Posts: 21
- Joined: December 13th, 2010, 5:15 pm
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
I absolutely LOVED it !!!
But aside from the very descriptive and personal style, that creates such intimacy between the reader and Crusoe, philosophically, I think it is a beautiful discourse on the mischievous nature and dilemmas of human will. Time and again Crusoe is faced with decisions, and nearly every time goes for the more dangerous option only to cuss himself for it when he finds himself in a new uncomfortable and dangerous predicament, which most of us can relate...why is it that we do this? ...but along with this also, it concerns the power of Faith, as it was only when he was at his lowest eb, that he seemed to find himself, perhaps searching for and certainly finding a reason to continue. Is this Faith good or bad? It certainly kept him alive by giving him a reason to live, but more than this, changed the way that he viewed and interacted with the world, which is recorded beautifully within the story....By the end, not only did I find it a exciting, rewarding and witty read, but also feeling that I had encountered an Existential masterpiece.
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: December 11th, 2012, 5:12 am
Re: Discussion of Robinson Crusoe
2023/2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023