Pick one image from Hayy Ibn Yaqzan and write a bit about what you think it might mean or represent so far in the narrative. This is an invitation to be speculative and thoughtful and creative, so choose something interesting and see where it goes!
"establish his superiority was the fact that even his lower, .... resemblance to those heavenly star substances that lived beyond the world of generation and decay, far beyond all change and want” (315 of the Electronic PDF)
While reading the text, the narrator's discussion of the stars caught my eyes. Many often look to the stars for answers of the universe -- commonplace examples include Galileo, Issac Newton, and many other philosophers / physicians. So it was interesting to read how the narrator interpreted their version of the answer in this text.
From what I gathered, the narrator had thought of the stars as a hierarchy leading up to their god on top of everything. This belief stems from the discussion of how the character was inferior to the stars. It's a novel way of thinking I haven't thought of before.
When looking at the muslim faith, I could see how the narrator was influenced to include this in the text. I'm not muslim, so the following sentences comes from my limited knowledge on the topic, but I believe in the muslim faith that the moon is something to be respected of. I believe that the author took inspiration and tied it towards the story.
I speculate that the protagonist in the story will continue to look towards the sky and tell people of his belief if / when he interacts with other human beings. I believe the protagonist's belief in higher powers is in support of the claim that mankind would believe in religion in the natural state of mind -- a point I think the author wants to illustrate in the text.
I also noticed a lot of details mentioned about stars and science, which made me think a lot about the Enlightenment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the images of stars had connections to thinkers/philosophers as well as religious connections.
ReplyDeleteStars are so beautiful because they are so mysterious to humans. In a way, we know as much about space as humans did thousands of years ago. I feel like the mysticism of stars is still alive even though science just says they are giant balls of gas.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the star imagery as I was reading. I think the author uses an interesting mix of scientific explanation within a religious context, especially when referring to the stars and sky.
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