Transcending Death and Culture with Tolkien and Homer | Jonathon Stanley | TEDxMarshallU
What do The Iliad and The Lord of the Rings have in common? According to Jonathon Stanley, these stories, written hundreds of years and miles apart, share a unique commonality that may reveal one of the fundamental desires of humanity that transcends beyond both culture and time. Diving into these works and drawing one of their major parallels to paint a picture of the human desire to transcend death and exist beyond one’s own mortality, Stanley explains how culture may be the ultimate endeavor to transcend death. Understanding this can bridge cultural divides and barriers. A lawyer by trade (and a student by nature), Jonathon C. Stanley, Esq. has dedicated his life to finding the true, good, and beautiful in the stories of literature and history. Mr. Stanley graduated from Brigham Young University with degrees in History, Russian, and Anthropology, before graduating cum laude from Washington & Lee University School of Law. During these studies, he was awakened to the profound nature of myth--particularly, how myths which seem to divide cultures can actually unify them. He has since found his passion in immersing himself in literature and art from around the world.
Mr. Stanley is a member of the law firm of Robinson & McElwee PLLC. He is a resident of Cabell County, West Virginia, where he lives with his wife and four children. He is an active member of his community, including his religious congregation. Prior to living in West Virginia, Mr. Stanley lived in Virginia, Texas, Minnesota, and Utah, as well as two years in Western Siberia. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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