Books!
Yuki's favorite past-time is reading.
Let me rephrase: she is ALWAYS reading. XD She's reading when we first see her; she's reading when we *last* see her; she's reading in most, if not all, of her spare time in the club room; she's reading while she also happens to be water skiing...
That said, she has a list of her 100 favorite books (with some thrown in from Itsuki), composed of both Japanese, English, and some other language titles thrown in as well.
...Because I'm dedicated (or crazy!) I AM working at reading her list, at least the English ones. But this is going to take me, approximately... forever. XD I will continue and add to this essay as I complete more.
Any questions or things to add about books you've happened to read are welcome!
Speaking generally about complicated things keeps us from going crazy! Aka, what's Yuki's favorite type of book?
Yuki's books tend to follow a few trends:
1. Sci-Fi/Horror which deals with either a view of a future universe, space travel, outer space aliens/horrors in general, or all of the above.
2. Books that contain some sort of philosophy about the universe. Not necessarily fiction or nonfiction.
3. Mystery novels. Usually the kind where the reader is presented with all the same "clues" as the main protagonist, and is asked if he/she him/herself can solve the puzzle.
That being said, Yuki's books also can be taken as a metaphor for the entire plot of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, if not, then probably that particular episode. For example, in the Mysterious Island Caper episode, Yuki happens to be reading a detective story that has the exact same solution as what is happening in the events around her.
An Individual Look: Hyperion and its metaphor for the series.
Released in the late eighties/early nineties, Hyperion is a book series with a provocative plot: it's the distant future. The people we would call "humans" are finding themselves about to face a war with a humanoid but not-quite human species, and at this time, they assemble a group of vastly different (in terms of history and outlooks on the world) individuals together. This group of seven individuals is being sent to make a pilgrimage to Hyperion, where hopefully they will meet the Shrike. The Shrike is a being that lives on the world, and appears to transcend time and space. It may in fact be God. Everyone has their own individual theory about and wants from/for this Shrike.
Those of you who are at least five episodes into The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi should be going "Ohhh... NOW I get it!" XD Books in the Hyperion series are the first ones we see Yuki reading. She's reading "The Fall of Hyperion" when Haruhi and Kyon first meet her, and she soon lends Kyon the first book in the series to read, "Hyperion."
...I'm not quite finished with this book yet (not even the first one!), but it would seem that other than the general outline of the plots being a bit similar, the similarities seem to end there. However:
The book has, in its ubiquitous narrative, a very objective, almost detached storytelling method. When I first started reading it, it made me smile. Because it seemed exactly, to me, the sort of writing style Yuki would like and appreciate.
Switching gears! Serious philosophy enters an anime! Aka, wow, the author of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi has fancy book-learning. Hegel's Phenomenology of Being!
Now, we take to discuss the great German philosopher, G.W.F. Hegel. A man who lived from 1770-1831. He was a professor at Berlin, but eventually, Hegel would become the literal dictator of German thought: you could not be a philosopher or a student or whatever in Germany around his time and not study Hegel and not use his method and not agree with the world-view he set up. But what is that world view?
To give some historical context, Hegel lived in the time of Napoleon. He saw Napoleon ride into Germany, conquer it, and change the laws. For example, the Jews were liberated, and were now no longer looked down upon as second class citizens, but were free as any other German. And when Napoleon was chased right out of Germany, it went back to how it was before. When he saw Napoleon riding on a white horse, he said: "That is history on horse back." In other words, apart from the individual of Napoleon, who might've been deranged, Napoleon was acting as a FORCE for history. The "world's soul." A being who captured the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist. History itself had conquered Germany in that time.
And that brings us to his book, The Phenomenology of Mind/Spirit, written in 1807. Let me preface this: I'm a political science major, and my focus is in political theory. (Aka, philosophy is some way being applied to how government/society should be.) And never on Earth did I think an anime would make me write an essay about Hegel one of the most important/impactful philosophers you could study. XD Seeing Yuki read it one episode... It makes me weep with JOY at how perfect it is...
But I digress. Hegel was anything but modest, when he first began writing this book, he wrote: "I am now going to write the most important philosophical book to be ever created or read in history." Was he right? Let's see.
Hegel was mainly concerned with the development of ideas. He wrote that we, as individual humans, in understanding an idea, we make it ours. Furthermore, he wrote about a thing he called the Absolute. What is the absolute? "Existence is the autobiography of the Absolute. ...In the beginning, there was the Absolute, and it knew nothing. In the end, there will be absolution, and it is all that will be known."
What the hell does that mean? Let's set up a time frame...
Okay, the "beginning" means, the literal beginning. The Genesis of all existence. Call it "point A," where the Absolute is born. It's the only thing, and it progresses towards an ending point. But in this process, the Absolute will be absorbed into what will be known. Imagine... a completely adult human being suddenly "born" alive. It asks questions, and begins a process of existence. Eventually, it will answer all questions, and existence as we know it, will end.
(Haruhi fans, now is your "Ohh... is THAT what it is..." moment. XD)
Years later, Hegel would... 'clarify' this a bit more, and give a more easy description: "The Absolute is God." But I digress, again.
What is Phenomenology, as Hegel used it? Hegel argued that to exist, to be, is to have movement. From an abstract concept (which is simple, underdeveloped, and fragmented), to concrete (which is complex, developed, and whole). As this process continues, things become abstract again, etc. The reason, is the Kraft (power). That is, to exist means to manifest yourself as you are, your essence. But to be is also in the becoming, meaning, your potential.
Example: imagine an acorn. As it is, it's just a small seed for squirrels to gather. But, it also has the POTENTIAL to become a mighty oak tree. This is its inherent power. However, Hegel also argued: if that acorn does NOT become that oak tree, it never had that potential in the first place.
That is, things are not only what they are, but what they're TRYING TO BE. Their goal, which Hegel called the volk (wisdom). [Should note, 'volk' in this context does not exactly mean 'people', even if it sorta became that way.]
For a thing to exist, it must realize itself and achieve it's goal, it's potentiality of what it wants to be. How does it do this? When the subject becomes the object. We are all the Absolute, given material form.
So, now we have three processes of Phenomenology: Being (Mind), Reason (Abstract), and the Goal (Concrete).
And what goes through this process? ...Hegel had a big plotthrough of how our consciousness plods thorugh it, but I'm going to skip it because it's long and doesn't relate to Haruhi that much. XD; Anyway, the main point is covered.
Through this, Hegel 'creates' (more like revives) a logic he calls the dialectic. You may have seen it summed up this way: "Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis." ...However, this is more or less, a bastardization of what Hegel really meant. Let me give an example. Suppose you were talking with a friend, and you told her: "I have this cat!" and you pulled out a cute kitten from your backpack. Your friend might respond: "That's not a cat!" and then bring in a lion.
Both the kitten and the lion are different versions of the "cat," but which is the cat? ...Anyway, just understand that Hegel wasn't arguing two completely separate points be put together, but one main point in an internal struggle that couldn't exist without the other. (Expressed mathematically: A = B)
HEGEL'S POINT: is that the ABSOLUTE is trying to discover THE answers to the questions it asks in the process of its existence. The Absolute wants to know what is the cat. What is the human life? What is the religious truth (etc)? Some people might read this and go: "There's no way to know those things! People will believe whatever." But, Hegel offers a solution to his own situation. That is, Hegel says there IS a right way to live, a right way for government to be run, a right set of philosophical/religious ideals, and we will know these because the right views, in being the right views, will allow the people and country that has them to triumph. History will vindicate this.
Furthermore, later, Hegel would go on to say that the ideal state of existence was Prussia, at the time he was alive. And the best form of religion was the state's Lutheran doctrine. (And, of course, the Absolute was God.) And, again, how does he prove this? HISTORY will verify it. "The historical subject merges with the transhistorical object, and the process of history will end." ...Meaning, if you happen to be part of a country you think has the right state, go out defeat other countries in war, nonideal by very definition. If you win, you proved you have the ideal state.
...Putting aside facts like it was around this time Hegel became official Philosopher of State and every philosopher in Germany had to follow this, Hegel is, shall we say, "rolling big dice." If he's right, he's defined philosophy as we ever could know it, and if he's failed, he's failed. There are people who take his framework and have argued that the United States of America is Hegel's ideal state, but I digress again.
A pertinent question: WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH HARUHI?
Let's say for example that Haruhi is Hegel's Absolute. Haruhi has questions about herself she wants answered, and this is her state of existence. Indeed, the very point of all existence. By living her life and discovering the Right way to live and answering all the questions she has about the universe, she will come to know everything there is to know, answer every question that could be asked, and will say: "All right! I'm God, creator of being for the universe, which has led out towards this. My will is this." And then... the world will be finished. Thank you for existing, universe of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi.
I don't quite mean that in a sad, apocalypse sort of way. More like, that was the point of the entire universe, and it worked itself out. Hip hip hooray. XD;
At any rate, for those still here, thanks for reading so far into that. I only hope my use of language was clear. If you attempt to read The Phenomenology of Spirit by yourself... *be careful*. The language is really, really, not easy to decipher. (I'd suggest asking an expert to guide/explain, someone more than me. XD;)
Coming soon!
Let me rephrase: she is ALWAYS reading. XD She's reading when we first see her; she's reading when we *last* see her; she's reading in most, if not all, of her spare time in the club room; she's reading while she also happens to be water skiing...
That said, she has a list of her 100 favorite books (with some thrown in from Itsuki), composed of both Japanese, English, and some other language titles thrown in as well.
...Because I'm dedicated (or crazy!) I AM working at reading her list, at least the English ones. But this is going to take me, approximately... forever. XD I will continue and add to this essay as I complete more.
Any questions or things to add about books you've happened to read are welcome!
Speaking generally about complicated things keeps us from going crazy! Aka, what's Yuki's favorite type of book?
Yuki's books tend to follow a few trends:
1. Sci-Fi/Horror which deals with either a view of a future universe, space travel, outer space aliens/horrors in general, or all of the above.
2. Books that contain some sort of philosophy about the universe. Not necessarily fiction or nonfiction.
3. Mystery novels. Usually the kind where the reader is presented with all the same "clues" as the main protagonist, and is asked if he/she him/herself can solve the puzzle.
That being said, Yuki's books also can be taken as a metaphor for the entire plot of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, if not, then probably that particular episode. For example, in the Mysterious Island Caper episode, Yuki happens to be reading a detective story that has the exact same solution as what is happening in the events around her.
An Individual Look: Hyperion and its metaphor for the series.
Released in the late eighties/early nineties, Hyperion is a book series with a provocative plot: it's the distant future. The people we would call "humans" are finding themselves about to face a war with a humanoid but not-quite human species, and at this time, they assemble a group of vastly different (in terms of history and outlooks on the world) individuals together. This group of seven individuals is being sent to make a pilgrimage to Hyperion, where hopefully they will meet the Shrike. The Shrike is a being that lives on the world, and appears to transcend time and space. It may in fact be God. Everyone has their own individual theory about and wants from/for this Shrike.
Those of you who are at least five episodes into The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi should be going "Ohhh... NOW I get it!" XD Books in the Hyperion series are the first ones we see Yuki reading. She's reading "The Fall of Hyperion" when Haruhi and Kyon first meet her, and she soon lends Kyon the first book in the series to read, "Hyperion."
...I'm not quite finished with this book yet (not even the first one!), but it would seem that other than the general outline of the plots being a bit similar, the similarities seem to end there. However:
The book has, in its ubiquitous narrative, a very objective, almost detached storytelling method. When I first started reading it, it made me smile. Because it seemed exactly, to me, the sort of writing style Yuki would like and appreciate.
Switching gears! Serious philosophy enters an anime! Aka, wow, the author of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi has fancy book-learning. Hegel's Phenomenology of Being!
Now, we take to discuss the great German philosopher, G.W.F. Hegel. A man who lived from 1770-1831. He was a professor at Berlin, but eventually, Hegel would become the literal dictator of German thought: you could not be a philosopher or a student or whatever in Germany around his time and not study Hegel and not use his method and not agree with the world-view he set up. But what is that world view?
To give some historical context, Hegel lived in the time of Napoleon. He saw Napoleon ride into Germany, conquer it, and change the laws. For example, the Jews were liberated, and were now no longer looked down upon as second class citizens, but were free as any other German. And when Napoleon was chased right out of Germany, it went back to how it was before. When he saw Napoleon riding on a white horse, he said: "That is history on horse back." In other words, apart from the individual of Napoleon, who might've been deranged, Napoleon was acting as a FORCE for history. The "world's soul." A being who captured the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist. History itself had conquered Germany in that time.
And that brings us to his book, The Phenomenology of Mind/Spirit, written in 1807. Let me preface this: I'm a political science major, and my focus is in political theory. (Aka, philosophy is some way being applied to how government/society should be.) And never on Earth did I think an anime would make me write an essay about Hegel one of the most important/impactful philosophers you could study. XD Seeing Yuki read it one episode... It makes me weep with JOY at how perfect it is...
But I digress. Hegel was anything but modest, when he first began writing this book, he wrote: "I am now going to write the most important philosophical book to be ever created or read in history." Was he right? Let's see.
Hegel was mainly concerned with the development of ideas. He wrote that we, as individual humans, in understanding an idea, we make it ours. Furthermore, he wrote about a thing he called the Absolute. What is the absolute? "Existence is the autobiography of the Absolute. ...In the beginning, there was the Absolute, and it knew nothing. In the end, there will be absolution, and it is all that will be known."
What the hell does that mean? Let's set up a time frame...
Okay, the "beginning" means, the literal beginning. The Genesis of all existence. Call it "point A," where the Absolute is born. It's the only thing, and it progresses towards an ending point. But in this process, the Absolute will be absorbed into what will be known. Imagine... a completely adult human being suddenly "born" alive. It asks questions, and begins a process of existence. Eventually, it will answer all questions, and existence as we know it, will end.
(Haruhi fans, now is your "Ohh... is THAT what it is..." moment. XD)
Years later, Hegel would... 'clarify' this a bit more, and give a more easy description: "The Absolute is God." But I digress, again.
What is Phenomenology, as Hegel used it? Hegel argued that to exist, to be, is to have movement. From an abstract concept (which is simple, underdeveloped, and fragmented), to concrete (which is complex, developed, and whole). As this process continues, things become abstract again, etc. The reason, is the Kraft (power). That is, to exist means to manifest yourself as you are, your essence. But to be is also in the becoming, meaning, your potential.
Example: imagine an acorn. As it is, it's just a small seed for squirrels to gather. But, it also has the POTENTIAL to become a mighty oak tree. This is its inherent power. However, Hegel also argued: if that acorn does NOT become that oak tree, it never had that potential in the first place.
That is, things are not only what they are, but what they're TRYING TO BE. Their goal, which Hegel called the volk (wisdom). [Should note, 'volk' in this context does not exactly mean 'people', even if it sorta became that way.]
For a thing to exist, it must realize itself and achieve it's goal, it's potentiality of what it wants to be. How does it do this? When the subject becomes the object. We are all the Absolute, given material form.
So, now we have three processes of Phenomenology: Being (Mind), Reason (Abstract), and the Goal (Concrete).
And what goes through this process? ...Hegel had a big plotthrough of how our consciousness plods thorugh it, but I'm going to skip it because it's long and doesn't relate to Haruhi that much. XD; Anyway, the main point is covered.
Through this, Hegel 'creates' (more like revives) a logic he calls the dialectic. You may have seen it summed up this way: "Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis." ...However, this is more or less, a bastardization of what Hegel really meant. Let me give an example. Suppose you were talking with a friend, and you told her: "I have this cat!" and you pulled out a cute kitten from your backpack. Your friend might respond: "That's not a cat!" and then bring in a lion.
Both the kitten and the lion are different versions of the "cat," but which is the cat? ...Anyway, just understand that Hegel wasn't arguing two completely separate points be put together, but one main point in an internal struggle that couldn't exist without the other. (Expressed mathematically: A = B)
HEGEL'S POINT: is that the ABSOLUTE is trying to discover THE answers to the questions it asks in the process of its existence. The Absolute wants to know what is the cat. What is the human life? What is the religious truth (etc)? Some people might read this and go: "There's no way to know those things! People will believe whatever." But, Hegel offers a solution to his own situation. That is, Hegel says there IS a right way to live, a right way for government to be run, a right set of philosophical/religious ideals, and we will know these because the right views, in being the right views, will allow the people and country that has them to triumph. History will vindicate this.
Furthermore, later, Hegel would go on to say that the ideal state of existence was Prussia, at the time he was alive. And the best form of religion was the state's Lutheran doctrine. (And, of course, the Absolute was God.) And, again, how does he prove this? HISTORY will verify it. "The historical subject merges with the transhistorical object, and the process of history will end." ...Meaning, if you happen to be part of a country you think has the right state, go out defeat other countries in war, nonideal by very definition. If you win, you proved you have the ideal state.
...Putting aside facts like it was around this time Hegel became official Philosopher of State and every philosopher in Germany had to follow this, Hegel is, shall we say, "rolling big dice." If he's right, he's defined philosophy as we ever could know it, and if he's failed, he's failed. There are people who take his framework and have argued that the United States of America is Hegel's ideal state, but I digress again.
A pertinent question: WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH HARUHI?
Let's say for example that Haruhi is Hegel's Absolute. Haruhi has questions about herself she wants answered, and this is her state of existence. Indeed, the very point of all existence. By living her life and discovering the Right way to live and answering all the questions she has about the universe, she will come to know everything there is to know, answer every question that could be asked, and will say: "All right! I'm God, creator of being for the universe, which has led out towards this. My will is this." And then... the world will be finished. Thank you for existing, universe of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi.
I don't quite mean that in a sad, apocalypse sort of way. More like, that was the point of the entire universe, and it worked itself out. Hip hip hooray. XD;
At any rate, for those still here, thanks for reading so far into that. I only hope my use of language was clear. If you attempt to read The Phenomenology of Spirit by yourself... *be careful*. The language is really, really, not easy to decipher. (I'd suggest asking an expert to guide/explain, someone more than me. XD;)
Coming soon!