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This essay explores the epistemological limits in Moby Dick, highlighting its relevance to philosophical debates from the 19th century.
Daniel Shilansky's essay, "Reason, Obsession, and the Abyss; Or, Make The Pequod Great Again," offers a comprehensive philosophical analysis of Herman Melville's *Moby Dick*. It examines how the novel's structure and language embody the limitations of empiricism and idealism in understanding the whale and the universe, emphasizing the persistent inaccessibility of ultimate meaning. The work explores key themes such as epistemological boundaries, the nature of obsession, and the failure of traditional frameworks to resolve the novel's central questions about justice, knowledge, and existence. By situating *Moby Dick* within the broader philosophical debates of the nineteenth century, Shilansky demonstrates the novel's enduring relevance as a meditation on human longing and the abyss of understanding.
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Daniel Shilansky (2026) studied this question.
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