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percy-l - RE: [percy-l] Re: animals, order, symbol, self-consciousness, and The Fall of Man

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

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Parlin, Steven" <PARLINS AT culver.org>
  • To: "'percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org'" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [percy-l] Re: animals, order, symbol, self-consciousness, and The Fall of Man
  • Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 12:34:39 -0500

Hi Karey, t

The name of the course I'll be teaching is Language play and will revolve
around Yule's text, The Study of Language. Only a part of the course will be
devoted to this topic. The rest of it will cover the standard fare of
language inquiry.

No, I don't teach at a parochial school, but it is a private school and
religious beliefs are not checked at the door.

BTW: If you include any of my blatherings about how I think language works
like the Trinity in your dissertation, I'd appreciate a respectful nod in my
direction (a citation). I've been working on this idea for a few years now,
and it may eventually become my own dissertation, or at least a funny book.

Cheers!
Steve




-----Original Message-----
From: Karey L. Perkins [mailto:karey AT charter.net]
Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 5:59 PM
To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [percy-l] Re: animals, order, symbol,
self-consciousness, and The Fall of Man

Hi Jim...

This has been a wonderful discussion!! In my quick and probably inaccurate
count, 28 e-mails were generated in two days and all on the very topic of my
dissertation, so thanks to everyone!! However, I have only had time to sift
through some of them (too much to handle on such short notice) so far, and
contrary to Ken Ketner's exhortation that we be objective as possible in our
investigations, with our hypotheses always open to modification, I have
sought only those that support my/Percy's argument! : )

Really, I plan to sort through all of these later and examine them in more
depth (and then subject my hypotheses to modification). I do have a
question for Steve though, who said that he was teaching a course on this
next semester -- What is the name and the nature of the course? And, do you
teach at a parochial institution or how much leeway is allowed for
discussing religious beliefs?

To address your thought below, Jim, I do think the universe is "God's
thought" if you will, in that it is creation and lives that creation and
lives the presence of God by being itself -- for example, trees have far
more "consciousness" than Westerners believe, and such people as Native
American understood this. If anything, humans are the ones that fail at
living "God's thought." However, humans have the ability for wonder,
self-awareness, and symbolization (a word?) that rocks don't...this is the
FALL of man (a fall "up" according to some theologians) that separates him
from the rest of the world. Not only in terms of man's difference from the
rest of the world, but his ability to be comfortable and at peace with that
world -- that's something we have to "re-find" and the animals don't. Do we
re-find it through language? The "joy" of naming?

Karey


----- Original Message -----
From: James Piat
To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 5:42 PM
Subject: Re: [percy-l] Re: animals, order, symbol, self-consciousness, and
The Fall of Man


Dear Karey,

I half agree with you. I like your positive account of what language is
and I agree that your friend Ken has not adequately addressed this issue --
but I think you are mistaken (along with Percy) in the view that non human
animals (and indeed even so called inanimate rocks) don't participate in the
world of symbolic thought -- God's thought. Course if you had quoted me
even once I'd have forgone this quibble, but under the circumstances --just
kidding of course.

Jim Piat

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karey L. Perkins" <karey AT charter.net>


> To Ken and interested listeners --
>
> First of all, in both the e-mail below and previously, you (Ken D.)are
> disagreeing with Percy on the wrong grounds --

(snip)
> the animals come up in his argument but they
> really aren't what the argument is all about

(snip)
-- it is about understanding
> the nature of language, and hence, the nature of man.


--

An archive of all list discussion is available at
http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy/hypermail

Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy

--

An archive of all list discussion is available at
http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy/hypermail

Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy




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