Transcending Death and Culture with Tolkien and Homer | Jonathon Stanley | TEDxMarshallU

Key Concepts:

• Death Transcendence: The human desire to overcome mortality and leave a lasting impact.
• Cultural Borders: Divisions between cultures, often perceived as barriers.
• Transcendence (of Borders): Overcoming cultural divisions by recognizing shared humanity and the universal experience of mortality.
• Humanity: Recognizing the shared human experience, especially the awareness of mortality and the desire for meaning.
• Myths: Stories that reveal fundamental truths about human nature and cultural values.

I. The Problem of Mortality and Cultural Borders

• The speaker begins by highlighting the universal awareness of mortality and how it unites people despite their differences.
• The central proposition is that recognizing our shared mortality can help us transcend the borders that divide us.
• The speaker uses two myths, Homer's Iliad and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, to illustrate this point.

II. The Iliad: Achilles and Priam

• The Iliad is presented as a story about war, death, and cultural borders, specifically the wall of Troy.
• The focus is on the encounter between Achilles and Priam, Hector's father.
• Achilles is consumed by anger and refuses to return Hector's body, denying Hector and Priam the opportunity to live on through memory.
• Priam crosses the cultural border (the Trojan wall) and appeals to Achilles' humanity by reminding him of his own father and mortality.
• Achilles is reminded of his own mortality and comprehends a way out of his rage by seeing the humanity in his enemy.
• Achilles returns Hector's body, transcending the literal and figurative borders.
• The speaker emphasizes that Achilles sees Priam being human, not just as scientifically human.
• Humans are unique in their awareness of their finite existence and their desire to transcend death through culture.
• Culture is described as a collective human effort to transcend death, manifested in language, traditions, art, temples, museums, universities, and myths.
• Cultural borders should be seen as attempts to transcend, not divide, and can themselves be transcended.
• The Greeks tried to tear down the border of Troy, resulting in death, while Priam and Achilles transcended the border, resulting in unity.
• Quote: "Each in turns indulged to the gush of woe / And now the mingled tides together flow / The infectious softness through the heroes ran / They bore as heroes but they felt as man."

III. The Lord of the Rings: Gimli and Galadriel

• The speaker uses the example of Gimli and Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings to further illustrate death transcendence.
• Gimli, a dwarf, encounters a desecrated dwarven homeland (Kazad-dûm) and experiences loss and disillusionment.
• He is then brought to Lothlórien, an elven realm, where he initially faces prejudice and cultural barriers.
• Galadriel, the elven queen, transcends the cultural border by speaking to Gimli in his own language and acknowledging the significance of Kazad-dûm to his people.
• Quote: "Dark is the water of Ked-Zaram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-Nala. And fair were the many-pillared halls of Kazad-dûm in elder days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone."
• Galadriel's understanding of Gimli's culture and his desire for death transcendence allows him to see her and her culture's beauty.
• Gimli's perception changes, and he recognizes the value of Lothlórien and Galadriel.

IV. Real-World Application and Conclusion

• The speaker shares a personal anecdote of witnessing cultural transcendence in a mosque in Siberia, where an American man and a Bashkarian imam bridged their differences.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of viewing culture as an attempt to transcend rather than divide.
• By making the effort to change our perceptions, we can comprehend the unifying border of death transcendence.
• This can lead to the revelation of hidden beauties, the opening of eyes, and the transformation of hearts, resulting in a more exquisite world.

V. Key Terms

• Death Transcendence: The desire to leave a lasting impact and overcome mortality.
• Cultural Borders: Divisions between cultures that can be transcended through understanding and empathy.
• Kazad-dûm: The underground nation of the dwarves in The Lord of the Rings, representing their cultural heritage and death transcendence.
• Lothlórien: The elven realm in The Lord of the Rings, initially perceived as foreign and unwelcoming by Gimli.

VI. Synthesis/Conclusion

The speaker argues that recognizing our shared mortality and the human desire for death transcendence can help us overcome cultural borders and find unity. By understanding and appreciating different cultures' attempts to transcend death, we can break down barriers and create a more connected and meaningful world. The examples from the Iliad and The Lord of the Rings, along with the speaker's personal experience, illustrate the transformative power of cultural transcendence.