Re:The Argument Against Terraforming Mars (2016)
by Retric on Sunday June 04, 2017 @09:23PM
(#14484720)
In a modern context it may seem like nobody could ever have believed Icarus, but that's unlikely. People look back on the 'great' thinkers for what they got right and ignore thinks like a great logician comparing volcanoes to the bowel movements of animals. Consider all of the outrageous things people firmly believe in a religious context (not pointing fingers there is plenty of things to go around even if you exclude whatever your personal faith is.)
So, unless you have very firm evidence the tale may have be out before the moral.
As to using the walking dead to make a point, think this through a little more. Because it's pure circular reasoning. A is true because of A.
Sorry, but the story of Icarus is loaded with meaning, a meaning which has been examined, discussed, and argued about for two millennia by some of the greatest thinkers.
Most of myth, just like cautionary tales and proverbs, is meaning concentrated. It is an observation/insight/point made into story.
It's your comment that rather seems devoid of meaning, seeing that humans have been able since forever to construct stories, metaphors, and examples from both real and non-real-world-events to convey particular ideas, concepts and worries.
There would be nothing silly to "using the plot line of The Walking Dead to justify" one's self if it works for making their point.
What would be silly would be if someone conflated Icarus or the Walking Dead plotline for something that actually happened. But nobody does that -- they recognize it for what it is, a metaphor, and are able to see the point being made, regardless of if there are wax wings or zombies in real life.