I'm finding difficulty connecting this Ted Talk to Tragedy. Perhaps it's the fact that our path is determined for us, no matter how horrible and tragic its destination.
Upon writing that last sentence, I'm realizing how Puritanical it seems. The whole "unavoidable tragedy" principle that I gathered from that lecture would make our friend Jonathan Edwards delighted.
Usually in English, I'm used to exalting in the richness and persistence of the human spirit and such, but man, this stuff is heavy.
Anyway, I digress.
In a way, one could argue that Oedipus was never "In the driver's seat," as so well put by behavioral economist Dan Ariely.
Perhaps Oedipus did suffer from some inflated ego issues, but the tragic path that he followed was not of his choosing.
By some unfortunate miracle, Oedipus happened to fall in love with his mother, with whom he was unknowingly separated from at birth. The tragic events that followed hardly seemed to be his fault. In fact, he took several precautions with the people that he believed to be his biological parents.
But, on the other hand, upon practically ignoring the words of the gods and Tiresias, he was willingly taking a chance with fate, and unknowingly beckoned tragedy. He continued on his pursuit of the truth after Tiresias' reminder, and found that he had in fact followed the prophecy. Whether or not this is because of his indignant attitude is up to whether or not the reader believed Oedipus to be in control of his own decisions.
Upon writing that last sentence, I'm realizing how Puritanical it seems. The whole "unavoidable tragedy" principle that I gathered from that lecture would make our friend Jonathan Edwards delighted.
Usually in English, I'm used to exalting in the richness and persistence of the human spirit and such, but man, this stuff is heavy.
Anyway, I digress.
In a way, one could argue that Oedipus was never "In the driver's seat," as so well put by behavioral economist Dan Ariely.
Perhaps Oedipus did suffer from some inflated ego issues, but the tragic path that he followed was not of his choosing.
By some unfortunate miracle, Oedipus happened to fall in love with his mother, with whom he was unknowingly separated from at birth. The tragic events that followed hardly seemed to be his fault. In fact, he took several precautions with the people that he believed to be his biological parents.
But, on the other hand, upon practically ignoring the words of the gods and Tiresias, he was willingly taking a chance with fate, and unknowingly beckoned tragedy. He continued on his pursuit of the truth after Tiresias' reminder, and found that he had in fact followed the prophecy. Whether or not this is because of his indignant attitude is up to whether or not the reader believed Oedipus to be in control of his own decisions.