The Odyssey Explains Why Nobody Can Relax Anymore
A lot of talk about wokeness in The Odyssey.
After reading Scott Alexander’s discussion of the Frankfurt School, I came across a relevant and fascinating essay.
Written by Frankfurt School philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno, the 1947 book Dialectic of Enlightenment contains a chapter titled “Odysseus or Myth and Enlightenment.” Left-wing intellectuals used to be of a much higher caliber in terms of IQ and erudition. Today we unfortunately get treated to their intellectual heirs. People of far duller and cruder minds.
This Horkheimer/Adorno essay was way more interesting than I anticipated. Even if the Christopher Nolan film turns out to suck (going to see it tonight), I’ll still be glad its impending release led me to read this.
I read the story in high school and recently revisited it in preparation for the Nolan film. Throughout his journey from Troy to Ithaca, Odysseus confronts the forces of the ancient mythical world. Sirens, Cyclopes, Circe, the Lotus-eaters, and so on. Rather than raw violence, though, Odysseus uses cunning and self-control to achieve victory. Horkheimer and Adorno claim this symbolizes an important shift.
Their literary interpretation of Homer turns into something much darker, explaining why modern people are materially comfortable yet psychologically restless.
The more you think about it, the more disturbing its central claim becomes: