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Neo-Hegelianism and F.H. Bradley’s Absolute

February 24, 2018

Note: the following article on Neo-Hegelianism and F.H. Bradley’s Absolute is a modified excerpt (pp. 53-56) from my doctoral dissertation, “Time is Everything with Him”: The Concept of the Eternal Now in Nineteenth-Century Gothic, which can be downloaded (for free) from the repository of the Tampere University Press. For a list of my other academic publications, see the list on the main website.

Introduction

Neo-Hegelianism is the branch of idealism that is historically most pertinent to the Victorian era. As the name implies, this school of thought draws from the works of the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

Typical representatives of British Neo-Hegelianism were Hutcheson Stirling, in his The Secret of Hegel (1865), the brothers Edward and John Caird, in several works in the late Victorian era – such as An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (1880) – and also F. H. Bradley, in works such as Appearance and Reality (1893) and Essays on Truth and Reality (1914).

Bradley’s Absolute: “No Truth which Is entirely True”
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How to Read Faster: A Practical Guide

February 14, 2018

I am what you would call a fast reader. However, the designation is a bit misleading. I am a fast reader if the book is interesting, and a slow reader when it’s not. I’ve finished 900-page books in two days, but I can spend months on something boring. Still, sometimes – boring or not – you must read a book as soon as possible. A student of mine once asked me for tips on how to read faster. I gave her a simple answer: just read more. Today’s article will expand on that short but accurate piece of advice.

I will divide my tips in nonfiction and fiction, as the dynamics are a bit different. But you should read both sections, as the lessons from the one can be partly applicable to the other one as well.

how to read fast
To read fast you need to read more
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3 Gothic Characters with a Secret (that You Don’t Know)

February 9, 2018

Gothic works seem to be as undead as the characters parading through them. Individual… species might come and go – vampires were trendy couple of decades ago, then we had zombies – but the fact remains: Gothic and horror fiction* will remain relevant, reflecting inner human fears. Gothic characters are merely manifestations of our own fears, both personal and social.
*read my article on the differences between Gothic, horror and science fiction

In today’s article I’d like to show you a sample of just how many secrets Gothic characters might hide. Forgive my somewhat assuming title, but whereas many know of Count Dracula and some might know there is something odd (indeed queer) about his sexuality, how many could claim to know the secrets around, say, the character of Quincey Morris?

Gothic characters
Gothic characters are what makes a narrative Gothic

Without further delay, let’s begin our list. The Gothic characters I have picked are:

  1. Margaret Saville, Frankenstein 
  2. Belle, A Christmas Carol 
  3. Quincey P. Morris, Dracula 
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