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percy-l - Re: [percy-l] Chimp is a challenge

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Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

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  • From: Ken Armstrong <armstron AT ohiou.edu>
  • To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>, "'Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion'" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] Chimp is a challenge
  • Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:27:27 -0400

Rhonda, Karey, Robert, et al,

Remember the Far Side cartoon, "what dogs hear": blah blah blah blah blah Fido blah blah blah. And the companion 'toon, "what cats hear": blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.... In _The Phenomenon of Man_, which I haven't read for years and about which I should probably not trust my memory, de Chardin says at some point our ancestors were hit with (or entered into, I don't remember the verb) self-reflexive thought. It's an interesting thought to entertain, because presumably to that first individual (or was there a wave?) self-reflexive thought occurred without the benefit of language (or what Percy would mean and I agree is language).

For my part, I am quite in agreement with Percy's adamant stance, and what occurs to me when I hear that we exhibit hubris when we claim exclusivity to language is that when we don't, we, not to put it too strongly, fail at our charge. To me that is much more sobering than considering that we may be slighting an animal whose jaw has to be massaged in the effort to coax "words" out of it.

Ken A.


At 02:09 PM 3/25/2008, Karey Perkins wrote:
Good point. Percy said language was necessary for consciousness. That’s something I’ve been trying to decipher. What exactly is he meaning by consciousness? Are my cats not conscious? They definitely feel. Are they only conscious to the point of survival impulses, instinct, and the emotions related to the two? I think if we interpret Percy’s claim, it has got to mean that you can’t know something beyond survival impulses unless you have language. You can’t be aware of the inevitable arrival of death, and so can’t experience “the denial of death” and the anxiety of death and the need for a causa sui (cf. Ernest Becker) – or other human emotions, such as guilt and regret and redemption. (I’m quite certain my cats don’t feel guilt.) Is that what he means by consciousness?






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