tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824571417982044594.post8665659762386923951..comments2020-07-20T02:52:06.783-05:00Comments on Reading in Exile: Cheerful NihilismMark K. Spencerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08283753483254749770noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824571417982044594.post-43934753036542349952016-07-01T18:01:35.112-05:002016-07-01T18:01:35.112-05:00When I teach Othello, I always present Iago as a k...When I teach Othello, I always present Iago as a kind of nihilist, especially based on his use of the image of the garden that stands for our outward actions and identities. As our own gardeners, we may do with them what we will. Now one could argue that he is chasing after the value of revenge in his destructive work, and that seems to be true. However, he also has a rather desperate destructivity; he must know that his lies will eventually come to light. Indeed, his famous silence at the end seems to indicate an even deeper evil than hatred born of revenge: a simple hatred of goodness without any clear reason. In any case, one thing that he particularly brings to light is the way in which the radical "freedom" of complete self-creation actually gives birth to a monster chained to the blind way of hatred. If one really wants self-knowledge and a meaningful identity, the turn to pure willfulness is the exact opposite of what he will need.msauterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09392533765734005102noreply@blogger.com