“Sly Little Rascal”

Paul Atreides’s first action in Dune is an imitation that fails.   As Reverend Mother Mohiam looks in on him, he pretends to be asleep.  Looking back from the end, we may call what he attempts “concealment in a no-consciousness,” while in light of Plato’s Sophist, we may call it “concealment in nonbeing.”  But Reverend Mother Mohiam, [...]

Duncan Idaho and Dune

I’ve struggled to use Duncan Idaho’s name as a means to connect the character to a high problem.  It’s occurred to me that “Duncan Idaho” may be a pun on dunamis or one of its forms.  One can consider also whether this conjecture offers insight into the meaning of the planet Dune and the series Dune.

Daniel and Marty

I think I’ve read a suggestion that the Face Dancers Daniel and Marty represent Frank Herbert and his wife.  However, their actions and their self-understanding as portrayed in their conversation suggest that they represent the readers.  Certainly I didn’t let the big mentat get away; I wanted to gather in his persona fully and make [...]

Luyseyal

In Anteac and Luyseyal’s audience with Leto, Leto begins by considering and rejecting the possibility that Luyseyal is a Face Dancer mimic.  It’s interesting to read the text with an eye for all the evidence that Leto quickly changes his mind.  It’s also interesting to note and consider the other, numerous features of the scene that have a bearing [...]

Sophists of Dune

The Dune series seems, in part, to be Frank Herbert’s exploration of themes and images he encountered in Plato’s dialogue The Sophist.  Herbert’s connection to Plato’s Sophist may be partly by way of Martin Heidegger, who wrote a commentary on The Sophist.

The Face Dancer Theaetetus

I think Plato’s character Theaetetus is in some ways Frank Herbert’s model for the Face Dancers in the Dune series.  I wonder if I’m the only person in the world who suspects this.