Moby Dick

Melville was not a scientist, and yet he reveled in details regarding the science of whales and whaling. He also considered philosophy a science, as did most of his nineteenth century peers. This group’s posts will consider how passages or events in the novel might reveal Melville’s thinking about the science of whales, of the sea, of humankind, and can also consider how his philosophical cogitations might be attempts at scientific explanation (of human motivation, or of humanity’s relationship to whales and the natural world). Another possibility: how does science seem to fall in line with, or oppose, or mingle with, the aspects of religion in this novel? How does Melville write about religion and science together?

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