The philosopher's stone is used to change regular metals into gold. The philosopher's stone and the elixir of life could be used, when combined, to achieve immortality. He is fascinated by this because he wants to use the same idea to bring something dead into life. Victor's fascination is an admirable one because he wants to find the secrets of science and this quote form the book describes his fascination towards them.
"Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery, if I could banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!"
The Philosopher's Stone is a legendary stone capable of keeping the owner alive forever. It is like a geological form of the Fountain of Youth explorers sought so desperately in the New World. It is also capable of turning lead and rock into gold. Alchemists, the predecessors of chemists, were for a time obsessed with creating or discovering it. As a young boy, Victor, like those alchemists, is fascinated with the stone because of its ability to "render man invulnerable." (p. 36) He would also be able to "banish disease form the human frame" p. 36. Victor is tricked into desiring this through outdated authors and false sciences. However, his motivation is not entirely selfish. He never speaks of using the stone solely for himself, or for only those he cares about; its benefits could benefit the entire globe. Small children need no longer starve or die of illness; he would be saving millions. Helping people is an admirable goal.
In order to avoid repetition, instead of explaining the concepts of the Philosopher’s Stone, I am only going to respond to the opinions of Max and Sarah. They said that they think Victor’s fascination with the stone is admirable, I don’t necessarily agree with this. I think that the fact that he is so passionate about science and making discoveries is very admirable. Many people aren’t passionate about things that have the potential to be beneficial. However, his particular fascination with something as unrealistic as the Philosopher’s Stone is not very admirable. His new professor, M. Waldman states, p.33, “The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera.” Victor himself later states, p.33, “More, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” Victor took the words of his professor as a challenge to prove that he can play God and go farther into science than any one has gone before by creating a living being. This is not something that I would say is the least bit admirable because this wasn’t meant to be possible for us. We need to let God do the work of creating and use our scientific motivations for something more beneficial to all. This fascination of his led to the creation of a monster that he came to despise; I wouldn’t quite say that is commendable.
@Joe, here's the part in the book in which the philosopher's stone is actually mentioned, which is in chapter 2: "Under the guidance of my new preceptors, I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher's stone and the elixer of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention."
As stated above, the philosopher's stone is an object that, once acquired can grant eternal life. I believe that having a fascination with such an object is unhealthy and dangerous, death is a part of life and something that every person should have to go through and have to understand. I believe that it is ironic that he so longed to have the philosopher's stone and elixer of life to live forever, when at the end of his life all that he could think of was either the death of himself or the death of his creature/monster.
I think this is a very interesting question, considering what Victor might do if he actually obtained the Philosopher's stone. I think he would have definitely aspired to benefit human kind with it, but the mere idea of the "elixir of life" sparked an unnatural bond to it in the first place. A fixation that might push him to use it for himself as well (even create life himself); and who's to say that he would continue to use it only for himself? It is understandable to have an obsession with eternal life; humans have had it for centuries. Roman empires wanted to survive forever; tyrannical rulers wanted to rule their people forever. The problem with this, similar to Hope's view, is that death is a part of the stark reality that Victor fails to accept. He has particular trouble in coping with unfortunate events such as his mother dying, his brother's murder, and his own isolation.
I think the philosopher's stone is an incredibly foolish item to pursue. Victor wisely dismisses the thought of attempting to attain it. Eternal life is not always a positive characteristic to have. Death was created for a purpose. It allows hunger, angst, war, and suffering to end. Without death, some people on this earth who are now six feet under would still be corrupting our societies. People such as Adolf Hitler or Jeffrey Dahmer. If they possessed the ability to live forever, our world would be an entirely different place. The fascination with this stone is an unjustifiable one with no logical thoughts applied to the effects such an ability could have.
The problem with analyzing this is that there is no definition of what is admirable. Can we measure a person's intentions? Are they responsible for unintended consequences? If I meant to shoot a man, but instead shot a lion that was going to kill the man, was my action "good"? How do we know I meant to shoot the man? How do we weigh intentions? What makes an action good? Are we trying to analyze Victor's goals, or the outcomes of his goals? P.S. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense! Just thinking out loud.
The philosopher's stone is used to change regular metals into gold. The philosopher's stone and the elixir of life could be used, when combined, to achieve immortality. He is fascinated by this because he wants to use the same idea to bring something dead into life. Victor's fascination is an admirable one because he wants to find the secrets of science and this quote form the book describes his fascination towards them.
ReplyDelete"Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery, if I could banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!"
The Philosopher's Stone is a legendary stone capable of keeping the owner alive forever. It is like a geological form of the Fountain of Youth explorers sought so desperately in the New World. It is also capable of turning lead and rock into gold. Alchemists, the predecessors of chemists, were for a time obsessed with creating or discovering it.
ReplyDeleteAs a young boy, Victor, like those alchemists, is fascinated with the stone because of its ability to "render man invulnerable." (p. 36) He would also be able to "banish disease form the human frame" p. 36. Victor is tricked into desiring this through outdated authors and false sciences. However, his motivation is not entirely selfish. He never speaks of using the stone solely for himself, or for only those he cares about; its benefits could benefit the entire globe. Small children need no longer starve or die of illness; he would be saving millions. Helping people is an admirable goal.
I feel very confused on the topic of the Philosipher's Stone in the book or where it even came into the book. Can someone please fill me in?
ReplyDeleteIn order to avoid repetition, instead of explaining the concepts of the Philosopher’s Stone, I am only going to respond to the opinions of Max and Sarah. They said that they think Victor’s fascination with the stone is admirable, I don’t necessarily agree with this. I think that the fact that he is so passionate about science and making discoveries is very admirable. Many people aren’t passionate about things that have the potential to be beneficial. However, his particular fascination with something as unrealistic as the Philosopher’s Stone is not very admirable. His new professor, M. Waldman states, p.33, “The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera.” Victor himself later states, p.33, “More, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.” Victor took the words of his professor as a challenge to prove that he can play God and go farther into science than any one has gone before by creating a living being. This is not something that I would say is the least bit admirable because this wasn’t meant to be possible for us. We need to let God do the work of creating and use our scientific motivations for something more beneficial to all. This fascination of his led to the creation of a monster that he came to despise; I wouldn’t quite say that is commendable.
ReplyDelete@Joe, here's the part in the book in which the philosopher's stone is actually mentioned, which is in chapter 2:
ReplyDelete"Under the guidance of my new preceptors, I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher's stone and the elixer of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention."
As stated above, the philosopher's stone is an object that, once acquired can grant eternal life. I believe that having a fascination with such an object is unhealthy and dangerous, death is a part of life and something that every person should have to go through and have to understand. I believe that it is ironic that he so longed to have the philosopher's stone and elixer of life to live forever, when at the end of his life all that he could think of was either the death of himself or the death of his creature/monster.
I think this is a very interesting question, considering what Victor might do if he actually obtained the Philosopher's stone.
ReplyDeleteI think he would have definitely aspired to benefit human kind with it, but the mere idea of the "elixir of life" sparked an unnatural bond to it in the first place. A fixation that might push him to use it for himself as well (even create life himself); and who's to say that he would continue to use it only for himself? It is understandable to have an obsession with eternal life; humans have had it for centuries. Roman empires wanted to survive forever; tyrannical rulers wanted to rule their people forever. The problem with this, similar to Hope's view, is that death is a part of the stark reality that Victor fails to accept. He has particular trouble in coping with unfortunate events such as his mother dying, his brother's murder, and his own isolation.
I think the philosopher's stone is an incredibly foolish item to pursue. Victor wisely dismisses the thought of attempting to attain it. Eternal life is not always a positive characteristic to have. Death was created for a purpose. It allows hunger, angst, war, and suffering to end. Without death, some people on this earth who are now six feet under would still be corrupting our societies. People such as Adolf Hitler or Jeffrey Dahmer. If they possessed the ability to live forever, our world would be an entirely different place. The fascination with this stone is an unjustifiable one with no logical thoughts applied to the effects such an ability could have.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with analyzing this is that there is no definition of what is admirable. Can we measure a person's intentions? Are they responsible for unintended consequences?
ReplyDeleteIf I meant to shoot a man, but instead shot a lion that was going to kill the man, was my action "good"?
How do we know I meant to shoot the man? How do we weigh intentions? What makes an action good?
Are we trying to analyze Victor's goals, or the outcomes of his goals?
P.S. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense! Just thinking out loud.