9/8, Austen & Durant

The character of Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice has surprisingly significance in the story. His character serves not only as great entertainment for the reader, but for purposes of solidifying the characteristics of the plot, of societal conformity at the time, and also for building up and further expressing the characters of other individuals in the book. Austen makes a spectacle of Mr. Collins, and provides some humor for the reader in the awkwardness of his presence.

Mr. Collins’ audacity in Chapter XX to still ignorantly believe that Elizabeth’s repeatedly straightforward refusal of his long winded proposal was actually due to her "bashful modesty and the genuine delicacy of her character" stirs about much frustration in my modern mind. The inability of Mr. Collins to realize that a young woman could have the independence to outright refuse a marriage proposal beneficial to the family represents the general view of society towards such matters. Also the fact that Elizabeth’s intimate friend Charlotte marries Mr. Collins emphasizes the uniqueness of Elizabeth’s character. She was set in her romantic ideals of marriage, and was unwilling to stray from these standards in order to conform to society.



Durant’s preface and introduction to his book The Story of Philosophy professes the necessity of understanding and studying philosophy. In my opinion, Durant views philosophy as vital for the gaining of wisdom and for understanding the meaning and worth of the things we human beings do in our lifetimes. He is very eloquent in convincing us that science does not produce wisdom. Science produces knowledge, but this stand-alone knowledge is useless and incomplete if it cannot be related holistically to purpose and seeking truth. I particularly enjoy his claim that ‘Every science begins as philosophy and ends as art; it arises in hypothesis and flows into achievement.’ He wants the world to know that science and philosophy are not two separate entities forever at war, but that they are interrelated, that one springs up from the other, and that the flow of wisdom and knowledge through the rivers of thought is not separated or distinct. The massive flows of scientific pursuit cannot exist without the numerous streams trickling the beginnings of philosophical thinking.