Austin Gragg

Essay from the year 2006 in the subject Philosophy - Miscellaneous, University of Colorado at Boulder, language: English, abstract: The concept of freedom is an idea formed throughout history dealing with multiple ideas of how it ought to be described. Freedom is inherently a social trait considering human beings are social beings. The idea must come from some idea of what it means to be unfree which would make it a relational concept. This means it can only be known when comparing the relationships between people and their relative abilities to act in self-directed ways. Freedom is often described as one’s ability to be a self rationalized being, a rational being that acts in accordance with it’s higher self. Another conception of freedom is the absence of external constraints or barriers, which may prevent an individual from acting in a particular manner. The distinction between what has been described as positive and negative freedom has focused the freedom debate on whether or not men should be coerced or regulated in helping them live according to what their higher self would will, or whether they should be left alone to determining their own actions. While this distinction helps to broaden ones perspective on how freedom is to be defined, it leaves out the inseparable interplay between the two. Positive freedom cannot be had without negative freedom and vice versa. Instead the two should be taken as casually interacting and directly affecting the other. Since humans are social beings, it is of primary importance to consider freedom in social context.

The Philosophy of Freedom

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, , language: English, abstract: In the works of William Shakespeare there is often times an air of mystery often equated to forces of occult powers. It is my belief that the mystery conveyed through his plays is not mere tricks to entice an audience. Rather his methods involved a comprehensive understanding not only of human nature, but also of forces of higher powers. These powers are often talked about in religious studies and would have been known to most as “God”. So for the purpose of this essay we will think of God as a force rather than a being, a total and comprehensive all pervasive weaving in the fabric of time. To the person uneducated in the occult powers, it is easy to see the outrageous pieces of his art as magic. Which is like the ultimate cop out, just throwing away its value and meaning to the wind. To read Shakespeare is to feel Shakespeare, not some rational understanding. To read Shakespeare is to transport from the ephemeral material world to the eternal realm of spiritual eternity. The sense that this brings to mind is where the aesthetic pleasure of reading Shakespeare envelops the world. It is why we are still reading Shakespeare today and will continue to do so for quite some time. But to know time is to exist on a different plane than Shakespeare inhabited. For Shakespeare’s world was that of the eternal due to a super conscious understanding of the Divine. More than likely these forces were working through him because he had found a way to open himself up to the muses in order to become a muse himself. In other words we are mere fools in time and Shakespeare suffered greatly to give the world a piece of himself.

The God Within. The Mystery of the Divine in Shakespeare's Plays

Jonathan Maberry

Jane Lindskold

Alessandro Manzetti

Scott Edelman

Ian Rogers

Jennifer Shelby

John Palisano

Eric Del Carlo

John Jos. Miller

Lauren C. Teffeau

David Amburgey

Mark Gallacher

 Sarena Ulibarri

Gustavo Bondoni	

Tyler Tork

Davide Mana

L. Deni Colter

Gordon Linzner

 John Linwood Grant

A haunted father who discovers a place where incomplete things—and people—are made whole. A mischievous satyr who hatches a plan to set loose chaos on a global scale. A workaholic witch in search of her kitty companion. Invasive technology to rewrite the human brain. Dragon slayers. Zombies. Time travelers. Ice skaters. These twenty short stories stretch across multiple universes and beyond death—and yet, they remain intimate, personal, emotional. They demonstrate the strength of the human spirit to find hope and seek a better tomorrow in even the darkest times. A selection of the best speculative fiction from DreamForge and Space & Time literary magazines, these are the stories we need today as we struggle through a pandemic, divisive politics, rampant misinformation, a belligerent defiance of facts and science, and new technologies that are already spiraling beyond our control. Read, my friends… and take hope. This short story anthology includes: Answered Prayers By Scott Edelman Pioneer By Mark Gallacher The Ghost of a Smile By John Jos. Miller The Spiral Ranch By Sarena Ulibarri An Infinite Number By David Amburgey Sing! & Remember By Lauren C. Teffeau A Sip of Pombé By Gustavo Bondoni Born from Memory By Jane Lindskold Tea with Gibbons By Tyler Tork The Weight of Mountains By L. Deni Colter Sapiens By Davide Mana The Dead Don’t Dream By Gordon Linzner Collecting Violet By Austin Gragg Humani By John Palisano Joy of Life By Alessandro Manzetti Artifact By Jonathan Maberry The Feline, the Witch, and the Universe By Jennifer Shelby Hands of a Toolmaker By Eric Del Carlo A Farewell to Worms By John Linwood Grant A Glass Darkly By Ian Rogers

Worlds of Light & Darkness

Austin Gragg

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