Great Books Ep 86. Euripides - Electra. The Psychological Buffer of Modern Weapons

Over time, advanced weapons like guns, missiles, bombs and drones have created emotional and psychological distance from the act of killing in warfare.

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“and as he was bending down, thy brother rose on tiptoe and smote him on the spine, severing the vertebrae of his back; and his body gave one convulsive shudder from head to foot and writhed in the death-agony”

~ ‘Electra’ by Euripides (Edward P. Coleridge translation. GB5 - p. 334)

Brief Summary

The play starts with a mono…