By: JOSEPH CAMPBELL

“The King and the Corpse: Tales of the Soul’s Conquest of Evil,” edited by Joseph Campbell from Heinrich Zimmer’s notes, delves into the symbolic and philosophical meanings behind various myths and legends from different cultures. The book explores the eternal conflict between good and evil, using stories to illustrate the interplay between human actions, fate, and the forces of good and evil.

Key Stories and Themes:

1. Abu Kasem’s Slippers:

• Summary: A miser’s old slippers repeatedly cause him trouble, symbolizing the inescapable nature of one’s actions and the concept of karma.

• Theme: The story highlights how one’s past actions can continually affect their present and future, emphasizing the importance of change and letting go.

2. A Pagan Hero and a Christian Saint:

• Summary: This section contrasts the myth of Conn-eda, an Irish prince who undergoes trials to become a perfect king, with the legend of Saint John Chrysostom, who achieves sainthood through sin, repentance, and redemption.

• Theme: It explores the journey of self-completion through the mastery and assimilation of conflicting opposites, and the different paths to spiritual fulfillment.

3. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:

• Summary: An Arthurian legend where Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious Green Knight, leading to a journey of self-discovery and moral testing.

• Theme: The tale examines human flaws, the nature of true honor, and the integration of life’s dualities (life and death, male and female).

Main Arguments:

• Interplay of Human Actions and Fate: The stories illustrate how human actions are intertwined with fate and the cosmic battle between good and evil.

• Philosophical Insights: Zimmer’s commentary reveals deeper philosophical meanings within these myths, suggesting they reflect universal truths about the human condition.

• Moral Integrity and Self-Awareness: The tales emphasize the importance of self-awareness, moral integrity, and accepting life’s dualities.

Additional Details:

• Publication and Context: The book was prepared from Zimmer’s extensive notes after his death in 1943 and published in 1948 as part of the Bollingen Series.

• Visual and Contextual References: The editor’s foreword and the list of plates provide additional context and visual references for the stories discussed.

Overall, “The King and the Corpse” is a rich exploration of mythological narratives that delve into the complexities of human nature, the struggle between good and evil, and the quest for spiritual and moral integrity.

BOLLINGEN SERIES XI, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

By Robert E. Speer

This book emphasizes that all races are part of one human family, created by God, and that racial distinctions are not biological but social constructs. It discusses the erroneous belief in racial superiority and the harm it causes, and argues that races can change and progress through education and environment, not just heredity. The ultimate solution to racial problems is presented as following the teachings of Jesus Christ, promoting love, peace, and unity among all races.

By Tiie Council of Women For Home Missions And Missionary Education Movement Of The United States And Canada. 1924. Read-Me.Org Classic Reprint 2024. .263p.

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BY LESLIE SHEPARD

Dostoyevsky's Notes From The Underground, published in 1864, is a seminal work in existentialist literature. The novella delves into the psyche of an unnamed narrator, a bitter and isolated former civil servant living in St. Petersburg. Through his disjointed and rambling narrative, the protagonist explores themes of alienation, free will, and the nature of rationality. With its deep psychological insights and existential ponderings, Notes From The Underground remains a profound and thought-provoking read that continues to resonate with readers today.

NY. Monash Press. 1965. 93p.

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Stanley V. McDaniel

Published in 1886, "The Philosophy of Nietzsche" delves into the revolutionary ideas of the renowned German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Exploring concepts such as the will to power, the eternal recurrence, and the Ubermensch, this influential work challenges traditional beliefs and offers a unique perspective on morality, religion, and human nature. Nietzsche's provocative writings continue to inspire scholars, thinkers, and readers around the world, making this book a timeless cornerstone of philosophical literature.

NY. Monarch Press.1063. 153p.

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BARBARA JANCAR

"The Philosophy of Aristotle" delves into the foundational ideas of one of history's most influential philosophers. Aristotle's insights on ethics, politics, metaphysics, and more continue to shape our understanding of the world. This comprehensive exploration provides a deep dive into Aristotle's philosophical system, making it an essential read for scholars and anyone interested in classical philosophy.

NY. Monarch Press.1966. 281p.

By George Edward Moore

From the preface: “It appears to me that in Ethics, as in all other philosophical studies, the difficulties and disagreements, of which its history is full, are mainly due to a very simple cause: namely to the attempt to answer questions, without first discovering precisely what question it is which you desire to answer.”

London. Cambridge University Press. 1903. 264p.

By F. H. Bradley

THE object of this volume is not the construction of a system of Moral Philosophy. It is very far from attempting either an exhaustive or a systematic treatment of ethical questions. Nor is the Author so much as pre- pared to define the sphere of Moral Philosophy, to say what does fall within it and what docs not. The writer’s object in this work has bceti mainly critical. He sees that ethical theories rest in the end on pre- conceptions metaphysical and psychological. He believes that many of the fundamental ideas now current, especially and he has en- deavoured, by the correction of some of these, at least to remove what seem obstacles to the apprehension of moral facts. These Essa^^s arc a critical discussion of some lead- ing questions in Ethics, and ai'e so far connected that, for the most part, they must be read in the order in which they stand. (Author’s preface)

Oxford : At The Clarendon Press. (1876)1927. 358p.

By Emile Durkheim.

“‘Our first obligation at this time is to create a moral consensus.’ Thus Durkheim concludes his thesis which began with the assertion ‘that science can help us determine the way in which we ought to orient our conduct’.”

NY. The Free Press. 1961. 322p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Crane Brinton.

Hailed by The New York Times as "tantalizing" and "learned," A History of Western Morals brings together an impressive range of knowledge of Western civilization. From the ancient cultures of the Near East, through the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds, to the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Renaissance, the Age of Reason and the twentieth century, Crane Brinton searches human history for the meaning of ethics. A History of Western Morals raises controversial conclusions about the value of religion in society, the practices of sex, the nature of crime and the possibility of progress.

NY. Harcourt Brace. (1959) 507p.

By Richard S. Weiss..

Religion on the Margins of Colonialism. “In this book, I present a narrative of the emergence of modern Hinduism that challenges these conventional accounts. I do this through a close study of the writ- ings, teachings, and innovations of Ramalinga Swami (1823–1874). Ramalinga was a Shaiva leader who spoke and wrote in Tamil in a local setting, was marginal to colonial and Hindu institutional authority, was grounded in Hindu traditions, and did not engage the West in any visible way. I argue that Ramalinga’s teachings were modern because they displayed an acute awareness of challenges of the present, innovated in ways that addressed those challenges, were founded on a desire to transform the world in specific ways, and presaged later developments in Hindu traditions.”

UC Press. 2019. 222 pages.

By John H. Evans.

Recasting the Contemporary U.S. Conflict Between Religion and Science. “This book is dedicated to trying to dislodge the myth that there is, in the pub- lic, a foundational conflict between religion and science, specifically that there is conflict over “ways of knowing” about the natural world. I know that discredit- ing this myth will not be easy. In popular accounts, “religion” and “science” have always been at war over knowledge, with the first battle being between Galileo and the 17th century Catholic Church.

UC Press. (2018) 240 pages.

By W. E. H. Lecky.

This is the first volume of Lecky’s huge works on the history of morals in Western Civilization. It’s a bit of a surprise that it took two volumes to do it. Looking back from the 21st century, one doubts that the West had enough morals to fill even one volume. This volume contains: ChapterI.The Natural History Of Morals. Chapter II. The Pagan Empire. Chapter III.The Conversion Of Rome.

Harrow and Heston Classic Reprint. London, Longmans. 1890. 480p.

By Friedrich Nietzsche.

Vilified and adored, the works of Nietzsche wreaked havoc with 20th century philosophers, his then far out ideas used by politicians, tyrants, worshippers of the free, and the like to justify their lofty aims, and for some, their unmitigated adoration of violence. Some how, God was lost, perhaps forever. Or perhaps was transformed into the antichrist.

Harrow and Heston Classic Reprint. 1885.

By S. Giora Shoham.

This tantalizing book is based on the pioneering work of Claude Levi-Strauss, who postulated that myths are links between nature and culture. Shoham enlarges this concept and claims that myth in the form of a mythogene, the structural longings and experiences of the individual as projected onto mythology, links history and transcendence, the individual and society, and consciousness and energy-matter. The mythogenes are related to Shoham's personality theory, which, in essence, postulates that personality types can be taxonomized along a continuum with one pole having the Tantalic type, which aims to melt into the object, and the other pole having the Sisyphean type, which aims to overpower and control the object. This incredible tour-de-force that spans the great works of science, literature, philosophy, sociology and religion will shake you to the roots of your being. It is hard to come away from this book without asking, who am I, and have I really came that far? And what future is there?

NY. Harrow and Heston Publishers. 2012.

By Jeremy Bentham.

In this typically exhaustive treatise, Jeremy Bentham outlines an innovative theory of what morals should be the subject of legislation. How to do it will require an entirely new psychology of law and human behavior, accompanied by a thoroughly new sociology of law and legislation. Bentham was way ahead of his time, indeed, way ahead of the psychology that underlies moral legislation even in the 21st century.

NY. Harrow and Heston Classic Reprint. 1823. 248p.

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By Emile Durkheim.

A Tour-de-Force of religious life, thoughtful and incisive, by the father of modern sociology. A must read for all students of sociology, not to mention theology, though many of his insights are a relevant today as they were in the early 20th century. The inventor of the phrase “the sacred and the profane” (1915) 563 pages.

George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1915, 533 pages