OFMG, Melville basically tells us straight out what he's doing on goddamn page 4-5! Look:

"…meditation and water are wedded forever … Narcisuss, who because he could not grasp the tormenting, mild image he saw in the fountain, plunged into it and was drowned. But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all."

And of course everyone drowns except Ishmael, whatever that means, though I suppose if I think about it then I'll just drown in Moby Dick myself. Scholarship as suicide, as another alternative to pistol and ball, heh.

Throughout modern history, there has been an abundance of interest regarding the concept of the psychopath and sociopath. Many portrayals of sociopaths seem to be overly romanticized, and fictional characters such as Hannibal Lector or Dexter Morgan (Silence of the Lambs and Dexter respectively) are sources of fascination for an uneducated public. It is difficult when watching such characterizations to discern what is true and what is fantastical about their portrayal, and that is why I began researching psychopaths and sociopaths. While the information I found was educational, it is clear that there is some confusion as to how exactly one can define these mental disorders, even among the scientific community.

What is Déj

What is genre? What is constitutes as a modern view onliterature? What is to explore? What is a fairy tale? Most importantly whatqualifies as good motifs in a fairy tale?

For a variety of reasons, I've been thinking a lot about depression recently, not only about peoples' experiences with it (including my own) but also about how to make sense of it from a neurobiological perspective. A variety of conversations, including a recent one in a senior seminar course in neural and behavioral science, has significantly added to my thoughts, helped to crystallize some of them, and suggested some intriguing directions for further exploration.

My most current extended writing on complexity, emergence, and beyond ... into a "hybrid" world involving both chance and intention. Recently published in the interdiscipinary journal Soundings (Volume 90, Issue 1/2, pp 301-323, 2007). Available as a Word file.

And assigned as a reading in a recent course. Which in turn triggered an essay by a student in that course, Alexandra Funk, making an interesting link to Mary Catherine Bateson's 1989 book Composing a Life. An excerpt from Alexandra's essay ...