Synopsis: In nineteenth-century Vienna, a drama of love, fate, and will is played out amid the intellectual ferment that defined the year. Josef Breuer, one of the founding fathers of psychoanalysis, is at the height of his career. Friedrich Nietzsche, Europe’s greatest philosopher, is on the brink of suicidal despair, unable to find a cureContinue reading “When Nietzsche Wept – Review”
Author Archives: michaelwestbrook326
Call Me by Your Name – Review
Synopsis: A sudden and powerful romance blossoms between Elio and Oliver on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attention, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. recklessly, the two verge toward the one thingContinue reading “Call Me by Your Name – Review”
Rumi’s Poem
Last night in a gathering I caught a glimpse of my beloved. Too embarrassed to embrace him I put my face against his cheek pretending to whisper something in his ear. – Rumi’s Little Book of Love The feeling of not being able to outwardly express one’s love to its intended recipient has been knownContinue reading “Rumi’s Poem”
Plato’s Symposium – Definitions of Love
Background: In Plato’s dialogue, the Symposium, we observe key figures of Athens enjoying a meal and drink over conversation. Agathon then proposes that in honor of the god Love, each person shall give a speech in praise of Love. Plato’s dialogue explores each speech the members give ending with Socrates. Phaedrus: Love is one ofContinue reading “Plato’s Symposium – Definitions of Love”
The Indifference of Constitutional Interpretational Belonging: The Example of the Libertarian & Ninth Amendment
The topic of whether a libertarian’s reading of the ninth amendment comports with one “recognized” constitutional interpretation or another has been the constant subject of debate between libertarian jurisprudence, originalism, and living constitutionalism. However, what each advocate fails to realize is, it simply does not matter. Libertarians are hesitant to proclaim their interpretation of theContinue reading “The Indifference of Constitutional Interpretational Belonging: The Example of the Libertarian & Ninth Amendment”
The Maidens – Review
Synopsis: Marina Andros is certain that Edward Fosca is a murderer. But Fosca is an untouchable Greek tragedy professor at Cambridge University. Fosca is the head of a secret society of female students known as the Maidens. Mariana, a group therapist, becomes fixated on the Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe,Continue reading “The Maidens – Review”
The Song of Achilles – Review
Synopsis: Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks” and Patroclus, an awkward young exiled prince are brought together by chance. They forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath. Suddenly, Helen of Sparta is kidnapped by Troy. Achilles, seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny and Patroclus torn between love and fear joinContinue reading “The Song of Achilles – Review”
My Policeman – Review
Synopsis: It is in 1950’s Brighton that Marion first catches sight of Tom. He teaches her to swim in the shadow of the pier and Marion is smitten – determined her love will be enough for them both. A few years later in Brighton Museum Patrick meets Tom. Patrick is besotted with Tom and opensContinue reading “My Policeman – Review”
Libertarianism as a Consequence of the Hobbesian State of Nature
I. Introduction In an attempt to understand the connection or lack thereof between the state of nature and political ideology, I will examine the specific relationship between Thomas Hobbes’s state of nature and the ideology of libertarianism. The analyzation of the relationship is due to the high degree of prima facie difference. Hobbes, as elaborated later, advocates forContinue reading “Libertarianism as a Consequence of the Hobbesian State of Nature”
The Secret History – Review
Synopsis: Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsessionContinue reading “The Secret History – Review”
Ivory Tower 