G. K. Chesterton's "Orthodoxy"

***Tessar*** · 12-29-2008, 04:03 AM

I couldn't find another thread on this book, so I thought I'd at least start this one. If there's an other thread I'll just do away with this one.

I'll just put up a few of my initial thoughts, since I don't have the tracks of another existing thread to start my mental train on.

Right now I'm struggling to get through the book because I'm getting annoyed with G. K.'s habit of spending a lot of effort and time saying something when he could've summarized it very quickly. I understood what he was saying (or at least I assume I did) the first time, there was no need to tack on another seven examples of just exactly perfectly exactly precisely exactly what you meant... if you take my exact meaning.

I agree with the majority of the things he's been saying so far in principle, and I do like how he talks in the earliest chapters about insanity and how insane it is to try to be perfectly 'reasonable'.

One chapter I've had particular trouble with is the fourth one where he talks about the ethics of fairyland... this chapter bothers me, and I'm not sure if it's because I don't comprehend it, or because I want to disagree with some of what he's saying.

Some of his examples seem mind-numbingly pointless to me. For example, he says that if the apple hits Newton's nose, then Newton's nose has also hit the apple. I wonder if I'm trying to be too literal here, but considering how he seemed like he was trying to use the example I disagree... hitting is a verb, and Newton's nose has not committed an action, it is the apple that is falling and therefor the only thing that can "do" any "hitting". You could say his nose has been 'hit', but the nose itself did not do any hitting unless you presume that Newton swung his face with the intention of hitting the apple.

Then again I may be headed for the insane asylum for being too rational.

12-29-2008, 04:03 AM	#1
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	G. K. Chesterton's "Orthodoxy" I couldn't find another thread on this book, so I thought I'd at least start this one. If there's an other thread I'll just do away with this one. I'll just put up a few of my initial thoughts, since I don't have the tracks of another existing thread to start my mental train on. Right now I'm struggling to get through the book because I'm getting annoyed with G. K.'s habit of spending a lot of effort and time saying something when he could've summarized it very quickly. I understood what he was saying (or at least I assume I did) the first time, there was no need to tack on another seven examples of just exactly perfectly exactly precisely exactly what you meant... if you take my exact meaning. I agree with the majority of the things he's been saying so far in principle, and I do like how he talks in the earliest chapters about insanity and how insane it is to try to be perfectly 'reasonable'. One chapter I've had particular trouble with is the fourth one where he talks about the ethics of fairyland... this chapter bothers me, and I'm not sure if it's because I don't comprehend it, or because I want to disagree with some of what he's saying. Some of his examples seem mind-numbingly pointless to me. For example, he says that if the apple hits Newton's nose, then Newton's nose has also hit the apple. I wonder if I'm trying to be too literal here, but considering how he seemed like he was trying to use the example I disagree... hitting is a verb, and Newton's nose has not committed an action, it is the apple that is falling and therefor the only thing that can "do" any "hitting". You could say his nose has been 'hit', but the nose itself did not do any hitting unless you presume that Newton swung his face with the intention of hitting the apple. Then again I may be headed for the insane asylum for being too rational.