Servitude and Tragedy in Rural Extremadura
Life on the Estate: Servants and Masters
The story centers on the life of a family of servants on a rural estate in Extremadura, framed by the daily routine. The narrative masterfully uses language adorned with local idioms. The background features the power embodied by the ‘Master’, Iván, and his feverish passion for hunting. We also see the scatterbrained wife of Don Pedro Perito, an unhappy puppet, almost another servant within the established hierarchy, highlighting the limits of power.
The Servant
Read MoreReligious Terms: Definitions and Origins
Ablution (Lat. Ablutio): In some religions, a ritual purification ceremony using water.
Agnosticism (Gr. Agnostos “unknown”): Philosophical doctrines that consider understanding or knowledge of all things (especially the existence of God and nature) inaccessible to humans, reducing knowledge to phenomenal science.
Anathema (Lat. Anathema): Canonical sentence of excommunication from the bosom of the Church.
Totem (Algonquin, totem): Natural entities, generally an animal, considered a religious object
Read MoreCatholicism: Key Terms and Concepts Explained
Key Catholic Terms and Concepts
Creed – Latin credo, “I believe.” Confession of faith.
Transcendentals – Goodness, truth, and beauty. God reveals himself through these things.
Evil – Absence of goodness/love.
Angels – Pure spirits created out of nothing for union with God at the beginning of time.
Incarnation – The mystery of how God, the second person of the Trinity, became human.
Demons – Angels that follow Satan.
Guardian Angels – Angel given to each person to pray for, protect, and guide.
Transubstantiation
Read MoreThe Inca Civilization: History, Society, and Culture
The Inca culture occupied the area previously inhabited by the Tiahuanaco culture, estimated to have begun around 1200 AD. According to historical tradition, the Incas arrived in the region now known as Peru, which was then inhabited by the Quechua and the Chanca peoples. They subsequently mixed with these groups and adopted the Quechua language. This culture was located in the territory of countries such as Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and part of northeast Argentina. As a whole, the Inca empire
Read MoreUnveiling Plato’s Cave: Knowledge, Education, and the Soul
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Analysis
This fragment from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave encapsulates several key doctrines: his theory of knowledge (epistemology), his view on education (pedagogy), his ontological dualism, his political philosophy (the philosopher king), and his anthropological concept of humanity as composed of body and soul.
The text’s dialogic format reflects Plato’s philosophical intent: to foster dialogue and understanding among individuals, rather than resorting to violence, as
Read MorePope Pius X: Defender of Tradition and Opponent of Modernism
Pope Pius X (1903-1914)
Background
Known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine and promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox theology, Pius X defended the Catholic faith against popular 19th-century attitudes and views such as indifferentism and relativism, which his predecessors had warned against. He followed the example of Leo XIII by promoting Thomas Aquinas and Thomism as the principal philosophical method to be taught in Catholic institutions. Pius
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