New QTDDTOT-thread

Can one be moral without believing in the Trinitarian God?

Please be serious.

>>9193981
>be moral

>>9193984
>everything is a spook except for spooks

>>9193981
>can you derive morals from anything other than dogmas
It's pretty obvious.

>>9193996
Actually the Church is the least dogmatic organization out there. You can't truly be free and moral without accepting the supreme good, one God in three existences.

It's really not that difficult. Maybe read more?

>>9194027
>here's some nonsense bait
>you're also dumb too
>please respond
Have a (You), lad. But you should look into improving your life instead of staving off suicide by shitposting.

Do I have to know the structure and architecture of venice to read invisible cities by Calvino?

>>9194051
Kek, nice projection.

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Does anyone have the ebook of Plus by McElroy? It's sold on Amazon and the Dalkey site but was wondering if anyone already has it.

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who are these people

>>9194220
They are not people at all. They are a Goblin, an Elf, and Gnome.

>>9194236
who are these goblins, elves, and gnomes

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Is it bad that I think he's extremely overrated?

Is Diogenes Laercius relevant if I want to get into the history of ancient greek philosophy or should I read some modern historians?

I'm asking because from what I know most modern understanding of greek philosophy comes from studying his writings, so I figured I'd just skip the middle man and go straight to the source.

>>9193968
Reading Ulysses currently
>read Portrait
>watched movies for Odyssey and Hamlet half paying attention
>haven't read many books outside of it
I feel like a lot is going over my head, is that normal for someone of my small reading experience?

>>9193968
Why is romance so shit? Oh, wait

Nabokov's Collected Stories worth buying/reading?

>>9194320
No. You're allowed to have your own opinions and thoughts.

>>9193994
>you thought I was a stirner fag
Wew

>>9194670
Yes, it's not the lack of experience. Most of it is hot garbage and curtains that are blue. Anyways, a pomo retard will soon arrive and explain to you how much more you should have read to understand the fartsniffing genius. Enjoy.

>>9193968
>Shareef don't like it
>lock the taskbar
>lockin' the taskbar

This thread is awful

>>9194774
Your mother is awful

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Just added another to the work in progress list and I'm utterly losing my mind. I keep stumbling across great ideas that I'm very confident in and excited to bring to life. And I begin working on them and sorting them and get sidetracked and eventually stop revisiting the ideas. And whenever I do try to go back to one, I can't bring myself to put anything down. Even chicken scratch or rambling in need of multiple rounds of editing. And I'm dying more and more inside as I see the list growing. And some of these ideas are massive, especially the rock opera (spanning seven full-length albums), and each novel. A Walk in Autumn and Rhythms of Fire are very dear to my heart and causes ache when I stare at what I have down, or the lack thereof, with no confidence in the next steps I wish to take. How do you guys get over this? I try and lock myself down until I get some sort of ball rolling, but the harder I push, the less I feel comes to mind. Like trying to remember what you've just forgotten you were going to say. I need help, and I have virtually no one in my life who cares about lit or that could give me trustworthy advice, and, on top of that, I hardly have anyone in my life period. And that fact distracts me too. I'm spiraling right now and I'm really not sure how to stop.
Any advice at all? I'll take anything. Pic related, after organizing my writing folders this was everything set aside that I feel I absolutely must finish in my lifetime if I don't want to hate myself on my deathbed

>>9194670
>I'm reading one of the most notoriously difficult books ever written
>I haven't read many other books
>A lot is going over my head
I don't know what you expected. You're fine though, just enjoy it while it lasts and maybe read it again later in life. Also ignore the other guy, Ulysses is fucking great. What part are you on?

Would it be immoral to create a fake company with my friends in order to get actual jobs? Would it also be immoral to say I have a degree from another country in an unrelated field (just so it'll look impressive)? How much would I get checked out for this? I don't mean to say I'm applying for the DOD, but just an average place so I'm not at the very bottom of the ladder.

I'm saying this is /lit/ related because it's basically a story. Haha.

>>9195046
With today's tech it would take any hiring manger all but two minutes to realize you're a fraud. They definitely will not hire you.

>>9194320
his fans are redditors

>>9194977
Stephen just finished talking about Shakespeare with the newspaper people. I'm soldiering through. I want to write stream of consciousness and have been getting much better at it since reading Ulysses. Trying to brush up on my prose too, Portrait was stunning for the prose

>>9194266
I think they are some Britcuck antifa fags that /pol/ played with for a while. They look funny.

Are there any alternative methods of analysis that are in direct opposition to "death of the author"?

>>9193981
No you cannot, because the source of your morals needs to be transcendental in order to be true.

Did anyone else enjoy IJ but not Pale King?

What is special about the books in the /lit/ starter kit, or why were those books picked for the kit?

>>9193981
this question deserves it's own thread

and the answer is no

>>9193981
You can't be moral without god.

>trinitarianism

Why is it bad to have the self in writing?

>>9196836
If death of the author means what I think it means, the opposite method of analysis would be to start giving a fuck again about what the author wanted to say instead of falling for the "hurr durr the work of this author is independent from him and I can interpret it any way I want!!" maymay.

>>9196849
>this is your brain on religion
Aquinas, pls go.

>>9196892
Very good books that aren't very difficult to read. Lots of then are taught in American high schools, so there would be some familiarity to them.

What is an actual valid argument for the existence of free will?

>>9193981
>Can one be moral without believing in the Trinitarian God?
Yes, provided somebody who believes in the Trinitarian God already provided the concepts of morality for you. Deriving morality from first principles and without believing in the Trinitarian God is impossible.

>>9197296
>an indoctrinated retard can't accept there are rational reasons for objective morality
>therefore only with muh higher source
Seriously, just stop.

>>9197329
>>9197332

>>9197354
>>9197332
> let's namecall without making arguments, that's a surefire way to prove my appeals to rationality are true
Professional tip: morality by definition is not rational, otherwise it wouldn't be morality.

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The next door goat gives me this "fuck me" look every time I'm with her, but she is only going to be 18 next month. Should I wait or should I let it happen?

I'm thinking of building some hard skills for my resume while in college without taking classes, and I've wondered if the "X for Dummies" is a good investment to turn back to even when I've gotten more solid books on subjects or is it a meme.

>>9194701
bump

>>9194774
perhaps it will reduce the numbers of shit threads in the catalog though

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>>9197410
What is the best Islamic /lit/, Abdul?

Cormac McCarthy is a highly overrated author.

Agree?

what are books that will make me believe in a higher power? Was talking to my mom on the phone and she told me Anna Karenina made her believe in god. about 20% in and still atheist. what book will convince me of a higher power?

>>9194848
Just pick one you like it's really not that hard. Generally, the people I've met who flit between ideas aren't committed enough to the act of writing, so once they've gotten over that initial rush they both run out of ideas for where to go next and worry what they've got now isn't really that good, when they really need to focus. If you focus on one idea you can hammer out the kinks and find that the ideas come eventually.

I probably assume to much here but the basics is that writing is a discipline, and so you need to be disciplined. Just take an idea (probably best to be a short story, less time-investment) and see it to completion, even if you want to throw in the towel. You'll be better for it.

How hard is The Stranger by Camus? Do I need to know about absurdism or can I dive right into it?

>>9197717
Why are you so weak that you need to believe in a higher power?

Are you not capable of being––yourself?––

>>9195710
Not that other guy but you can definitely read Ulysses without reading the Odyssey or Hamlet or anything else, Joyce references so much that goes way beyond the two or three texts that get thrown around on /lit/ and there are so many possible readings that to suggest any one text is mandatory is really pointless.

Also, imo, the first reading is really just a precursor to a far more insightful reading later when you understand more and are used to it, the first reading gives you a general direction and shape for your second reading to take (although I think this about all great books so most probably disagree).

>>9197407
>lets present my shitty opinions as universal axioms
Morality can be derived from/constructed on top of numerous various rational views and concepts. Secular morality has long been here, you just have to suspend your relentless christfaggotry and give it a read. Of course that would render one of the few remaining functions of your dogmatic bullshit obsolete, so I guess I should look forward to angry pseud shitposting.

>>9197029
>I don't know what it means but I'm angry about it anyway!!

What?

Is there a nice kraut anon who can translate a short poem I wrote to German?

>>9197763
I wish I could, but I don't want to.

>>9197736
You're entirely right. No, I love writing and 3/4 of those ideas are outlined nearly to completion. I sit all day and think of plots, characters, developments and all sorts of ideas across all the stories. I have this crippling fear that if I do see one through, and put all this work into it, it'll end up being a huge disappointment or go unliked or unappreciated. I've always had a fear of failure and it nearly peaks in my writing so I shut down as soon I put pen to paper, even though all the way to the paper my head is swimming with great ideas.

>>9194774

QTDDTOT are extremely useful across the boards but /lit/ is painfully slow that a lot of questions go unanswered causing individual shit threads to start up with simple questions to still go unanswered and then get pruned

>>9197763
If it's short enough I can do a literal translation but if you want a proper poem in German see:
>>9197767

>>9194347
I haven't read it but here's what I hear : Diogenes Laercius is essential because he quotes a lot of texts that we don't know outside his work ; however he was not a smart guy and probably did not understand all the things he quotes or refers to. Moreover, if you're referring to scholars' works when talking about "modern understanding of greek philosophy", then Diogenes Laercius is indeed a major source for them, but not the only one.

If you wanna get into ancient greek philosophy without aiming at one specific author (Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus etc.), then you may get one of these books that collect fragments from this or that philosopher. For instance :
-Diels & Kranz, Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (there must be an updated edition in english). This provides all the texts written by the Presocratics, and other ancient texts about them. In some editions I guess there's a lot of useul notes.
Much more recent : Long & Sedley, The hellenistic Philosophers. Same kind of thing, but focused on stoics, epicurean and cynic authors. A lot of ancient texts collected and organized, along with useful, synthetic explanations.
I guess there's the same kind of stuff for most of the Greek authors.

>>9197762
RAAAWR.

Looking for a comfy lit book which is entry to intermediate tier difficulty to distract myself from a profoundly rough patch in life? Preferably not Murakami

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Is Captain Underpants and (underpantsposting by extension) the ultimate expression of anti-authoritarian sentiment?

I want to stop spending so much time on computer and quit it altogether(except for studying) and switch it with new hobbys and decided i want to start reading so i got a few questions.

what is the best genre to read if im interested in intellectual endeavors and i'm about constantly improving myself, what should i expect to get from these books?
Is scifi/fantasy even worth it if my goal is that what i said above?

What are the best books to start with that will make it possible for me to improve myself and i dont mean that cheesy self improvement, get rich bs?

>>9197746
No it's really simple. Entry-level, go!

>>9198968

I don't wanna troll and I'm well aware that this reply is gonna be disappointing, but maybe "improving oneself" only gets clearer when you find a book that makes you wanna follow it (or keep it somewhere between your mind and your guts). I mean, I wouldn't be able to tell what "improving myself" is unless I happen to read a book that causes that feeling, like, "hell, that's what I think, and it's so much clearer now that I read it", or "this is who I wanna be, and only now can I see it clearl".

I know it doesn't help. Maybe the advice of people close to you who know you pretty well are the ones that count. As far as I'm concerned, the encounter of life-changing books has always been completely random.

Searching for some good (audio) books with an antihero as protagonist

Has anyone here read The Kafir Project by Lee Burvine, and what are your opinions on it?

>>9199222
tldr; start reading anything and continue focusing on genre you like and enjoy basically?

>>9197691
No, The Road is damn near perfection.

Tips for starting the gulag archipelago?

>>9199723
Read The Revolution Betrayed, The Crimes of Stalin, and/or Forced Labor in Soviet Russia by Dallin and Nicolaevsky before for better context

How accurate is the follow statement in regards to Death of the Author?

>The essay “The Death of the Author” can have several implications, both literal and metaphoric. In literary criticism, the death of the Author is the “death” of the physical real-life author of the work: For example, Baudelaire’s “The Flowers of Evil” should not be analyzed in the context of Baudelaire’s life.

>In literary writing, the death of the Author is the “death” of the omniscient narrator and the author who calls attention to his presence in the text. For example, the author should not address the readers with phrases such as “dear reader”; the author should not give information about the characters that cannot be known in a “real-life” situation—such as characters’ thoughts and feelings. Another example is the use of “I” from the point of view of the author.

>>9198195
Thanks for your reply.

What I'm planning on doing is reading his works to get a general understanding in greek philosophy before I start reading specific authors, so I guess my plan wasn't a bad one at all.

>however he was not a smart guy and probably did not understand all the things he quotes or refers to.

This is pretty interesting to know and I'll be sure to keep it in mind while reading.

Why won't the mod stop deleting meta-threads where we complain about how bad /lit/ has become?

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>>9193968
What do people think of Roth? I've read Sabbath's Theatre, Portnoy's Complaint, and Goodbye Collumbus. Any suggestions on where to go next?

>>9193981
>2017
>unironically thinking the sandreligions somehow hold more weight than other religions
really made me think there, anon

>>9193968
I am looking for a chart that explained the fundamental concepts of different philosophies, each one had a stick figure performing an action related to the listed philosophy. The only philosophy I remember on the chart was Platonism with the description along the lines of "To know/learn more" Followed by a stick figure studying between piles of books. Anyone here have it?

>>9193968
What was post #9,200,000?
>>9200000

Is noumenon knowable at all?

>>9194068
No, not really. Much of it is universal.

>>9200385
Read a book

>>9194027
>the church is one of the least dogmatic organizations out there

As someone who spent 7 years in a private catholic college preparatory school, I can say that this is quite honestly the dumbest things I've heard.

Is horny short for hormonal

>>9194320
You can think whatever you want but I believe you'd have to be the ultimate contrarian to watch an interview of Terry and not love him.

>>9200830
no horn = bone as in boner

>>9193981
If God is trinitarian, no. Not because believing that he is trinitarian makes you moral, but because he makes you moral by saving you which includes knowledge of his essential nature - and God's personhood is essential, as is the personhood of who you are marrying or the personhood of who you are friends with. Anthropocentric theology leads us to believe that we become moral out of our own volition, but the Bible teaches that mankind is depraved completely and unable to do good without God. Not only would we be immoral without God but we would reject any offer of salvation without him changing us directly. Salvation and morality are top-down and not man-made.
Read the book of Romans.

>>9193968
What are the best books to read in spanish? Besides DQ and The Bible

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your pencil and paper of choice?

Can anyone reccomend a good textbook for learning ancient Hebrew?

Thanks

>>9199777
Holy trips!
>>In literary writing, the death of the Author is the “death” of the omniscient narrator and the author who calls attention to his presence in the text. For example, the author should not address the readers with phrases such as “dear reader”; the author should not give information about the characters that cannot be known in a “real-life” situation—such as characters’ thoughts and feelings. Another example is the use of “I” from the point of view of the author.
>the author should
>the author should not
why.
>In literary criticism, the death of the Author is the “death” of the physical real-life author of the work.
3dip5me.

>>9193968

Which one is correct: "I saw a dream" or "I had a dream"

>>9202397
had

>>9194701
It's been years since I read them all, but I remember them being very uneven although the good more than made up for the bad or mediocre. I wouldn't recommend reading them straight through but jumping around a bit. Just off the top of my head, "Cloud, Castle, Lake" "That in Aleppo Once..." "Russian Spoken Here" "Details of a Sunset" "The Return of Chorb" "The Aurelian" "Terra Incognita" "Signs and Symbols" and "The Vane Sisters" are memorable highlights. "Solus Rex" is I believe a rough sketch of Charles' character from Pale Fire.

I keep trying to read all the classics because I'm a lit student and I feel I should know everything, or at least have read everything, about classics but I get bored and never finish them
can /lit/ give me some advice?

>>9202786
You don't need to read all of the classics.

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How do I call the black diagonal feature of the hypothetical logo? A dash? Do I describe the logo as "Slashed at the corner with a dark line?"

>>9202383
Might be easier if I just link the analysis.

http://filmslie.com/death-of-the-author-roland-barthes-meaning/

>>9202911
I need to read at least most of them but I only read a few and the ones I read weren't even in english I can't help but find english boring as a language I think I should've went for french lit instead but what is done is done how do I get into reading english?

>>9203019
What classics are you referring to?

>I need to read at least most of them

Not even.

>>9199880
Zuckerman Bound, American Trilogy, the go for whatever interest you

>>9203047
what is there to read for someone who wants to major in english lit then? I'm sure there are some books every self-respecting lit student must have read before

>>9203158
I think you're putting too much thought into this. Many English undergrads read more than average but most certainly aren't "well-read" or even read many of the defining works in English lit.

Your university will have some books that you'll have to read for undergrad. but then you'll expand out depending on the classes you take. Most literature you'll read will have extensive notes on allusions and shit, so you won't have to worry about missing things.

When you get to grad school, you'll have to focus on something; but in undergrad, it's safe to read good books that you like.

If you want a list:

Bible (your college will teach you the KJV if you take it as a literature class, though I scooted by with NRSV and KVJ; in the archive in a recent Bible thread, there is a list of books from the Bible that you should read)
Canterbury Tales
Shakespeare (his major works like Hamlet and Othello)

After that, it's up to you to pick whatever. Your professor's won't care about how much you've read or how many allusions from the KJV you can spot in Moby Dick. The text you get recommended will likely come with those footnotes.

By the time you get out of undergrad, you'll be decently well-read (much more than the average person), and you'll likely have developed an interest in something if you're interested enough for grad school.

How do I enjoy Ernest Hemingway like everyone else seems to?

>>9203260
>everyone else

literally who?

How to find a quality book club? Most I've seen online seem to be oprah tier.

>>9193968

Why is Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun" so expensive?

>>9202918
It's corner partitioned in black, maybe?

>>9203262
I've seen few anons praising him
my teacher and academics do too
I'm starting to think they're either lying to themselves or I'm retarded for not getting whatever there might be to get in the guy's works

>>9203212
thank you so much anon!!!

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>>9194220
>>9196318

How can I get a qt literary gf guys?

>>9203301
No, problem. And I will add something:

Remember that when forming your opinions and making claims in papers, the ONLY thing that matters is whether your can defend them or not. If you can defend them, then it's great. It doesn't matter if you disagree with your professors or other critics: defensible positions is key.

Is it even possible for pure altruism to exist?
Is acting according to your own moral code not the same as acting for your own good?

>>9203538
>Is acting according to your own moral code not the same as acting for your own good?
Tell me you're kidding.
>Is it even possible for pure altruism to exist?
En el amor a Dios se disuelve el yo.

>>9203271
I have them as ebooks if you want

http://kalvin.life/books/

>>9203284
Not too many people rave about him here, personally I'm not a huge fan either but I haven't read him extensively. Doesn't answer you question but know you're not alone.

What is the male to female ratio on this board on a scale of 1 to Elliott Rodgers?