Confucius & Mencius | Two-of-a-Kind

Can you cite a specific example on how the GOLDEN RULE: “Do not do unto others what you would not like yourself” applies in real life? Recall an experience in your life in which you reaped what you have sown and explain.

Ever since I was a kid, I have already experienced being teased by other people because my thin and sickly body. Growing up, my parents told me it is best to just ignore them and continue doing my thing and improving myself rather than engaging into scuffles with them. 

I know what it feels like to be teased just because of how I look. I know how disheartening it is and how it can bring down anyone's confidence. Hence, whenever I think of or see someone being teased or made fun of, I remove the thought in my head and I do not engage with such things any further. 

In a way, I never wanted that to happen to me and so, in not doing it to others, I preserve the self-respect that emanates from being aware of how others feel too.  

As a student, do you think Mencius’ philosophy of ‘Following Your Heart’ has relevant implications in choosing a career path? Explain your answer.

Yes. 

My mother used to tell me that when I was younger, I had mentioned several career paths that I would like to take someday, each changing depending on what caught my attention in those years. 

I remember the day I knew what my father's job was and the first time he brought me to his workplace--that was the day I said to myself, "I will become an electrical engineer someday."

It was not a decision that my parents persuaded me into; it was a choice of heart that conspired with the mind. 

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Give your understanding of the Tao.

I confess that I do not have any understanding of Tao. But as far as I can account to, understanding the Tao is not about knowing everything about it or being able to explain it to others. Tao is a way of living—and we get to understand it by living it through our experiences. 

Just like in any learning context, it is better if you know a topic by heart than just knowing it through words or terms. That is, being able to show it in your actions, which I believe is the best way of teaching, rather than explaining it through words. 

Actions speak louder than words. Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experiences. 

Mystery in the Moor: Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Of all the detectives and crime people this world has known, there is arguably no one that could possibly be as prominent as Sherlock Holmes, the world's first and only consulting detective. Among the four novels and 56 short stories he had appeared in, it was in The Hounds of the Baskervilles, third in the thick of the four, to with which he was "best-loved", according to Sherlockian scholars who listed it as their top Holmes novel.

In the story, Dr. James Mortimer sought the advice of Sherlock Holmes, after the death of his friend, Sir Charles Baskerville. The dead man was found on the grounds of Baskerville Hall, set in Dartmoor, Devonshire, England and Dr. Mortimer now fears for the life of Sir Henry Baskerville, Charles' nephew and remaining sole heir just arriving from Canada, after the devastating event. Heart attack was pronounced as the cause of death but Dr. Mortimer found it dubious, for according to him, Sir Charles had an expression of horror in his face and footprints of an enormous hound were found nearby, which led him to attribute these to the Baskerville curse. Supposedly, the Baskerville family has been under a curse since the English Civil War when their ancestor Hugo Baskerville allegedly sold his soul to the devil in aid for abducting a woman. At that, Hugo was reportedly killed by a giant ghostly hound. Sir Charles was among the believers of the curse and apparently, he was running away from something when he died.

Sir Henry was staying at London Hotel during his arrival and he received numerous warnings that prevented him to move into the Baskerville Hall in the breadth of the alleged curse. One of his new boots was even inexplicably missing from his rooms. Intrigued by the case, Sherlock Holmes, alongside Dr. Watson, followed Sir Henry from their apartment to his hotel and they noticed a bearded man following him in a cab. They pursue the bearded man but ended up losing him. Dr. Mortimer, however, told them that Mr. Barrymore, Baskerville Hall's butler, has a beard that is similar to that of the stranger. Afterwards, one of the new boots which was lost reappeared, but an older one vanished.

Holmes then sent for the cab driver who shuttled the bearded man but the resulting event astounded Holmes as the bearded man gave the name "Sherlock Holmes" to the cab driver. Holmes became more interested in the case, but was also amidst others, so he dispatched Dr. Watson to come with Sir Henry to the Baskerville Hall, with further instructions about sending him constant reports about the house, grounds and neighbors. Upon arrival, Sir Henry and Dr. Watson came to know that an escaped convicted murdered by the name of Selden was apparently in the area.

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Dr. Watson ran into Mr. Barrymore and his wife, who informed him that they also wanted to leave the estate soon. He heard the cries of a woman during the night and to him, it was obviously Mrs. Barrymore, but Mr. Barrymore denied it. Moreover, he could find no proof that the butler was in Devonshire during the chase in London. He then met Mr. Stapleton, a naturalist and his beautiful sister, Ms. Stapleton. Whilst they were talking, a horrible animal sound was heard but Mr. Stapleton was quick to deny that it was related to the mythical hound. He then left Dr. Watson and his sister to catch some butterflies. Finding the time quite impeccable, Ms. Stapleton warned Dr. Watson to leave and mistook him as Sir Henry. She and Sir Henry however, encountered each other later in time and immediately fell in love with each other, which prompted Mr. Stapleton to be angry. Nonetheless, Mr. Stapleton apologized to Sir Henry and even invited him to dinner in his place a few days later.

On the other hand, suspicions on Mr. Barrymore grew even more when Dr. Watson and Sir Henry caught him at night with a candle in an empty room. He refused to answer their questions but Mrs. Barrymore confessed that the escaped convict Selden is her brother and the candle serves as signal to him that they had already left supplies for him.  Dr. Watson and Sir Henry chased Selden on the moor but he escaped, as Dr. Watson observed another man on the neighboring tor. They soon reached an agreement to let Selden run away from the country and Mr. Barrymore revealed the contents of a partially burned letter that instructed Sir Charles to be at the hall gate at the time of his date. The letter bore the initials L. L., and upon Dr. Mortimer's directive, Dr. Watson interrogated a certain Laura Lyons, whom appropriately, was the letter's signee. This Laura Lyons wished to have her divorce be financed by Sir Charles, but she did not keep the appointment. Dr. Watson trailed the man he saw in the tor and he discovered it to be Holmes, who sought for a faster resolution in a solitary investigation. Holmes further informed them later that Mr. Stapleton is actually married to the supposed Ms. Stapleton and he promised to marry Laura Lyons to get her cooperation.

They then heard a scream from the moor and found the dead body of Selden. They had the initial mistake that he was Sir Henry, but later realized that it was Selden dressed in Sir Henry's clothes.

© Sebastien Ecosse/DeviantArt

At the hall, Sherlock Holmes noticed the likeness in the image of Mr. Stapleton and Hugo Baskerville. He thought that Mr. Stapleton is probably an unknown Baskerville relative who sought to claim the family's wealth by killing the other family members. Holmes summoned Inspector Lestrade at once and the two of them with Watson traveled to the Stapleton's place where Sir Henry was dining. He was on his way home when Mr. Stapleton released the hound to slay him but the three arrived just in time to rescue him and Holmes shot the animal dead in the encounter. It was soon revealed to them that it was not supernatural in any sort: a mix of bloodhound and mastiff, painted with phosphorus to give it a ghostly look. Mrs. Stapleton was found inside the house, held as a captive while Mr. Stapleton apparently died when he attempted to reach his hideout in a proximate mine. Sir Henry's boot was also found, which was used to give the hound his scent.

Weeks later, Sherlock Holmes revealed the other focal points of the case. Mr. Stapleton was the son Rodger Baskerville, youngest of the three Baskerville brothers and also had the name Rodger. For many years, he lived through crime before learning that he could inherit his family's fortune by murdering his uncle and cousin. At first, he took Sir Henry's new boot, but it had no scent, so he returned it and took the old one. The hound ran after Selden because he wore Sir Henry's clothes and therefore had his scent. Mrs. Stapleton negated his husband's plan, so she was held off as a captive to prevent her from interfering.

The story ends as Holmes and Dr. Watson set off to watch an opera. 

Traditional Analysis | Inside the Mind of the Master: Arthur Conan Doyle 

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Conan Doyle worked as a physician and this largely explains the abundance of medical context in his stories. When he was still studying, he met a surgeon from Edinburgh infirmary named Joseph Bell, whom had the gift of telling broad but accurate conclusions from minute observations and is seen as Holmes’ molding figure. Sherlock Holmes was not the first detective in fiction. Numerous others have been present before him, most notably Chevalier Auguste Dupin by Edgar Allan Poe and Monsieur Lecoq by Emile Gaboriau. Conan Doyle’s allusions of these literary figures, in guise of Holmes’ and Watson’s lines, somehow give off the idea that Conan Doyle wanted to make a detective character that will use the previous ones as foundations but he will be built with cognitive skills and methods that will bring him closer to reality.

For eight years, Conan Doyle did not write about Sherlock Holmes because he wished to devote more of his time towards his historical novels. When he supposedly killed of Holmes in The Final Problem, he received a lot of protests and his readers opted to unsubscribe from him. He wrote this third novel, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, after years of resisting public pressure but to the public’s demise, it had a setting years before the date in Holmes’ supposed death. The eventual success of the novel, however, would later make Conan Doyle bring Holmes back for good, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, further explaining his faked death in The Adventure of the Empty House. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was promptly knighted by The Queen of England for his literary contribution after the critical acclaim of the novel.

The Clyro Court, which is now called the Baskerville Hall, is widely considered as Conan Doyle’s inspiration for the story. His ideas rooted from Richard Cabell’s legend, resident of Brook Hall, Buckfastleigh, Devon. Cabell lived his life hunting and he was described as a “monstrously evil man”. Allegedly, he sold his soul to the devil and had murdered his own wife, Elizabeth Fowell. On the night of his interment, phantom packs of hound were seen across the moor, howling at his tomb. Whenever his death anniversary came, he would be seen leading the packs of hound or otherwise the hounds were to be found on his tomb howling and shrieking. Devon’s folklore of a Yeth hound, a ghostly supernatural dog might have also provided influence to Conan Doyle.

Stylistic Analysis | On the Methods of the Master

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 The novel utilized many traditional techniques that had been largely abandoned by that time. These include diary extracts, letters and interposed manuscripts. Like in most of his Holmes stories, Conan Doyle used the descriptive writing style in The Hounds of the Baskervilles. The style makes the readers feel as if they are in the middle of the stories. The calm and relaxed narrations of Dr. Watson give climactic possibilities that make the readers more excited in reading rather than by barraging them with overly excited text. This style of Conan Doyle makes the reader feel immersed in the story and the suspense incorporated in cliffhangers make the stories more fun than others of its kind.

These elements purposively serve as strong cornerstones and cases for Conan Doyle’s stories to be the best in the field of mystery literature.

Overall, this book is a must—read for adventure and mystery seekers like me and I gladly offer my deepest gratitude to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in introducing Sherlock Holmes to the world.  

“What one can be, one must be.”

I fancy you have played a game in which you are a character, perhaps a hero, whom at first is given a “basic” skillset. Per se, a default one. As you go through the game, you encounter various levels. In those levels which you have to conquer, you can gain important improvements that can improve your default skillset. On the way, you can achieve or unlock you full potential once you have garnered the required levels and be the best version of your hero.

Now, imagine life in that way. Actually, life is more like that way for real. The difference is, the game was instructed and synthesized by the codes, with some interaction from you. You have some preloaded templates which you can follow in unlocking the full skillset of your hero. In life, you have to do this by yourself. No codes. Especially cheat codes. You first need to realize what you can and what you want to be. And then you go for it.

Of course, there will be some people you will meet along the way, who can possibly lend you some help. But, mostly, it is just you.

When you have successfully conquered all of this, you can now say that you have achieved self—actualization.

Abraham Maslow popularized the concept when he introduced his hierarchy of needs, in which self—actualization ranks as the highest. It is therefore implied how important it is to master the previous levels in the hierarchy before one can achieve it.

We need to first make ourselves physiologically stable in order to survive.  This includes the basic needs of a person like food, shelter and clothing.

When this is achieved, an individual proceeds to the level of safety, which in a sense is a feeling or state which you will feel once you have met your physiological needs. This is where one feels either physiologically (can be financially, for instance) stable.

The next level focuses on our abilities to form and maintain emotionally significant relationships. This involves the feelings of belongingness—to love and be loved.

When one has conquered these three levels, there goes a feeling of having self—esteem and self—respect, which comprise the fourth level. What follows is called self—actualization. This is the moment of truth, where everything comes down and boils up. You know what you are and what you can be. You dream it and achieve it. 

It is truly amazing how we, people, tend to have different perspectives on the lives we are living. Maslow, for example, had his hierarchy of needs as his implied meaning towards life. We give various meaning on events and things in life, but we still end up being on the same plane.

When we all have achieved self—actualization, I fancy, is the time when there will be no catastrophes in the world we live in. That is, achieving our individual potentials will bring out the best of us and keep us fully equipped in traversing the world we live in.