Letter 25: Hermione Granger to Arsenius Jigger, 1998, 25th April 1998

A/N: For simplicity's sake, titles of books, journals etc are underlined and emphases are italicised. In reviving the old tradition of epistolary novels, I understand the plot may be a little slow, laborious and difficult to follow. Some might consider it AU and a little OOC.

In order not to weary the reader's patience, a number of letters from the series of correspondences have been suppressed; those only have been given which appeared necessary to a complete understanding of the events in this group. For the same reason, some letters from the actors in the events of this drama have also been suppressed.

Proestigium or What the Seasons may Bring

Letter 25: Hermione Granger to Arsenius Jigger, 1998, 25th April 1998

Miss Hermione Jane Granger,

Hogwarts Castle,

Head Girl's Room,

Gryffindor Tower,

Scotland,

United Kingdom.

Arsenius Jigger

c/o University of York,

School of Magical Arts

Faculty of Alchemy

Potions Research Centre,

York,

United Kingdom

25th April 1998

Dear Dr Jigger,

I am sorry to have given you so much offence; it was not intended. I have been very busy with lessons and whatnot. Besides, examinations are coming up soon and I am worried because I am behind in revision. My potions project with Professor Snape is coming along very well. I shall not reproduce the modified wolfsbane-mallowsweet and arrowroot potion here, as it is the intellectual property of Professor Snape. He can be extremely possessive about his work material and notes. It appears that the mixture has successfully altered the DNA structure of the blood from our subject. It remains to be seen whether it will work on a live subject.

It is very good of you to encourage me to publish my responses to you. You will find the attached article below. I'm afraid it is not of the calibre that is worthy of your attention. I was very surprised when Ars Chemica wrote to inform me that it was accepted for publication. Surprisingly, Nomos also accepted the paper on azurinetic. Thank you so very much for your support and encouragement.

I hope it is not too much to ask, but would you consider taking me as your student when I leave Hogwarts? I will be more than happy to enrol in York. I would be honoured if you were to supervise my studies then. Apprise me of your opinion. Till then, keep in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Hermione Granger

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Journal Article

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Hermione Granger, Ghosts and the Truth behind Voodoo Love Potions: Response to Arsenius Jigger, Ars Chemica, Vol. 1204, no. 5.

Jigger's explanation of the theory behind Voodoo Love Potions is admirable. In Voodoo Love Potions: New Thoughts on an Old Theory, he successfully traced Voodoo love potions to its Chinese roots. He is right in assuming that the erroneous name of these love potions have contributed to much misunderstanding as to their intent. However, the evolution of the Affections of Li and Ren potion and their other effects, such as bringing back the beloved deceased as ghosts and transforming people into drones who mindless love the city's rulers, do not seem to be adequately considered by Jigger. As no one has sought to rename these potions, I shall address them by their proper names. This paper will study a particular type of Affections of Li and Ren potion (which all Voodoo potions are based on), namely, the Mo Tzu love potion.

The aim of Mo Tzu's political-philosophical project in the Mo Tzu love potion, which appears in Alexander Burton's translation of The Basic Writings of Mo Tzu appears simple enough. As the opening line of the chapter entitled 'Impartial Love' attests, "The business of the benevolent man is surely to strive to promote what is beneficial to the world and to eliminate what is harmful (16/1)." This much Mo Tzu appears to share with his Confucian opponents, namely Mencius and Xun Tzu. What distinguishes him from them are his account of the cause of political conflict and his proposed solution. Mo Tzu identifies the harmful things of the world with "great countries attacking small ones, great families wrecking havoc with lesser ones, the strong robbing the weak, the many doing violence to the few, the clever deceiving the stupid, the eminent lording it over the humble" (16/2–3; see also 4–5) ... a fitting description of the sociopolitical conditions of China in the Warring States period caused by the excessive use of the Affections of Li and Ren potion. He traces the cause of these problems to what he calls "partiality" engendered by the Affections of Li and Ren potion. Readers in ancient Greek political philosophy and potions will be familiar with the Platonic view of the dangers inherent in the love for one's own.

It is crucial to be reminded at the outset of the apparently extravagant claims Mo Tzu advances on behalf of impartial love that can be created by the use of the Mo Tzu love potion in this chapter. He seems to offer jian ai as the panacea for all social and political ills (see esp. 16/9–20). In view of the pervasive role that impartial love is thought to play in Mo Tzu's proposed solution to the chief problems of the world, one should expect that the doctrine would feature significantly in any argument against war, the very first item in his list of harms to the world. Yet when one turns to the chapter "against Offensive War," one discovers that while the utilitarian logic of the jian ai doctrine is discernible, the specific doctrine is not mentioned, nor is the problem of war analyzed in terms of the jian-bie distinction. Instead, a large part of this chapter is about how ghosts come to the aid of virtuous rulers in meting out condign punishment to errant individuals and states. The arguments against offensive war would therefore appear to rely much more on the arguments purporting to prove the existence of ghosts in "Explaining Ghosts" than the arguments of "Impartial Love."

At this point the modern potions student of Mo Tzu faces the following problem: does not the question of ghosts (and their resurrection) appear unworthy of serious philosophical and theoretical attention? It should be borne in mind that the Mo Tzu love potion brings back dead loved ones (as ghosts) as well, if well executed. How should one take seriously an argument against offensive war that depends so much on a belief in the existence of ghosts? It may be answered that regardless of our beliefs about ghosts, it would nevertheless be a mistake to underestimate the importance that Mo Tzu himself assigns to their existence. After all, Mo Tzu's project of promoting what is beneficial and eliminating what is harmful to the world rests on the possibility of resolving the problem of war. This means that his project would be essentially incomplete without such a solution. But if it is the case that the possibility of dealing with the problem of war is itself dependent on the persuasiveness of the arguments for the existence of ghosts, then it follows that Mo Tzu's project stands or falls with the success of his attempt to prove their existence. Thus, the arguments concerning the existence of ghosts are not details that can be dispensed with without putting at risk the whole of Mo Tzu's project. This seems reason enough for a modern student of Mo Tzu to take seriously his otherwise alien concern with ghosts.

Mo Tzu is far more interesting from the aspect of theoretical potions but, by the same token, far less optimistic with regard to the salvation of the world. Suppose we have been correct to argue that Mo Tzu's political project stands or falls with the success of his attempt to prove the existence of providential ghosts. What this implies is that his project contains an implicit understanding of the rational limits of dealing with the problem of war. In addition, if Mo Tzu is right to argue that the chief problem of the world ... interstate war ... can be rationally dealt with only if the existence of the ghosts of our dearly departed (as resurrected through the Mo Tzu love potion) can be rationally demonstrated, then it follows that if the existence of ghosts cannot be rationally demonstrated then there cannot likewise be a rational and complete resolution to all the problems of the world. As we hope to show, the text provides sufficient indication that Mo Tzu does not believe that the existence of providential ghosts can be demonstrated by any knockdown argument. Nevertheless, he seems to think that a defence of the belief in their existence is a prerequisite for resolving or at least moderating the problem of war. The arguments in "Against Offensive War" and "Explaining Ghosts" thus constitute a crucial correction or qualification to the otherwise optimistic tenor of "Impartial Love" as supposedly created by the Mo Tzu love potion. Such a qualification would, moreover, entail important implications for the understanding of Mo Tzu's political philosophy as a whole.

"Explaining Ghosts" contra "Impartial Love" is explained as effects caused by the applications of the Mo Tzu love potion. "Explaining Ghosts", where he explains the effects of bringing back one's dearly departed, consists of two disproportionate sections. There is a short introduction in which Mo Tzu first traces the disorder of his world to widespread doubts about the existence of providential ghosts and then proceeds to argue for the desirability of believing that they exist. This is followed by Mo Tzu's replies to a series of objections and queries posed by "those who claim that ghosts do not exist" (31/6, 13, 42–43, 60, 96, 102). The exchange between Mo Tzu and the sceptics can also be divided into two parts. The first part centres on the dispute over the existence of ghosts AFTER they have returned via the workings of the Mo Tzu love potion, the outcome of which is a stalemate that neutralises to some extent the doubts of the sceptics. In the process, Mo Tzu indicates at various points his own reservations concerning the strength of his arguments for the existence of ghosts. In the second part, Mo Tzu engages the sceptics on the more practical question of the utility of fostering the belief in providential ghosts apart from the question of their actual existence. We will begin with an outline of Mo Tzu's view about the relation between religion and morality contra his love potion that opens the chapter.

The introduction of "Explaining Ghosts" constitutes an important yet frequently overlooked qualification to the effects of "Impartial Love", which supposedly comes about from his love potion. While both chapters describe the main problems with the world in terms of conflict between groups and individuals, they differ in their analyses of the cause of conflict. In "Explaining Ghosts," the notion of "partiality" that is so central to the explanation of disorder in "Impartial Love" is only barely discernible in the comment that people assault and rob the innocent "for their [the robbers'] own benefit" (zi li ) (31/4). Other causes are more obvious here. First, the opening lines of the chapter suggest a departure from the moral standards of high antiquity as one of the causes of corruption: "The sage kings of the Three Dynasties have passed away and the world has lost sight of what is right, the princes regard might as right" (31/1). Second, Mo Tzu explicitly states that: "It [the present disorder] all comes about because people are all in doubt as to whether ghosts and spirits exist or not, and do not realize that ghosts and spirits have the power to reward the worthy and punish the wicked if the raise them to protect their interests and welfare as they once did when they were alive" (31/4–5). Having identified the underlying causes of moral and political decline, Mo Tzu goes on to propose a solution to the present disorder: "If we could only make all the people in the world believe that the ghosts and spirits have the power to reward the worthy and punish the wicked, then how could there be any disorder in the world?" (31/5–6). The precise form of Mo Tzu's solution should be noted: Mo Tzu is not saying that people ought to believe that his love potion really brings ghosts back, but that it brings back ghosts with "the power to reward the worthy and punish the wicked" (31/5) exist. Compare also his statement of the prevailing attitude toward ghosts: there are persisting doubts about their existence, and there is also a misunderstanding about their nature and power. This points to at least two different kinds of 'unbelievers' after the success of the Mo Tzu love potion is evident: those who do not believe that the resurrected ghosts of loved ones exist, and those who believe that the resurrected ghosts of loved ones exist but not that they have the power to reward the good and punish the wicked.

Mo Tzu appears to address exclusively the former, more radical group. In doing so he indicates that it is necessary to address this class of unbelievers in order to restore a belief in the existence of ghosts (through his love potion) and to reform beliefs about them so as to re-establish order. The reason for this may have something to do with the fact that the unbelievers in question are quite sophisticated and vocal in articulating their doubts about the existence of ghosts, as the subsequent account of their objections reveals. These unbelievers, according to Mo Tzu, are "spreading scepticism among the people and causing them to be in doubt as to whether ghosts and spirits exist or not, consequently the world is in disorder. The Potion is not supposed to work in that manner" (31/7).

All this does not imply, of course, that one needs to be in complete agreement with Mo Tzu over his substantive teaching or the necessity of such a form of rhetoric. But reasonable critique can be achieved only when one has reached a better understanding of his total teaching, and, as we have argued, the ghost elements of the Mo Tzu are not optional to this totality. To that end, it would be necessary to explore in depth other chapters dealing with Mo Tzu's political theology, for instance "The Will of Heaven" and ''Against Fatalism.'' And only on the basis of a comprehensive understanding of what appears to be a highly systematic teaching can one begin to appreciate the full extent of Mo Tzu's challenge to the classical Confucian Affections of li and ren love potion.

Footnotes

Proestigium is Latin for illusion. Ironically, the English word Prestige derives from it.

It's my story and I do what I want with it. In this story, Voodoo love potions (and only voodoo love potions) is based on a multi-purpose Chinese love potion, which in turn is based on the Confucian ideas of Li and Ren. The Confucian ideas are based on a lecture series that I am presently giving on Ancient Chinese political thought. The Affectations of Ren and Li potion is made up.

The numbers in parenthesis in the journal article are section references to Confucius's Analects and Mo Tzu's writings. It is an academic article; as such, it has to look like one. The words in parenthesis in the journal article are transliteration of Mandarin words.

The Voodoo babble is made-up rubbish; the rest are drawn from a lecture series that I am presently giving in Ancient Chinese Political Thought.

Thank you for bearing with me and this plot. I know that it may be a little difficult to follow and a little absurd at this point. Your kind words of encouragement and forbearance are appreciated.