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percy-l - Re: [percy-l] "I don't pay much attention to the right or the left. . ."

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

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  • From: "Brian N." <brian AT beachcitygas.com>
  • To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] "I don't pay much attention to the right or the left. . ."
  • Date: Thu, 02 Jan 2003 10:19:02 -0800

Jim Piat and Friends--

Seems to me he held there some truth or
reality accessible to literature and the word in general which is simply not
accessible to science --and that it is mistaken to hold the two approaches
the same standards or assume they are interchangeable.

I found Wendell Berry's recent book "Life Is A Miracle" to be a great answer to this most important consideration. He seems to be saying that our options are mainly a despairing reductionism (thanks to science and Nietzcshe), or admit the obvious: that we live our daily lives in a world of "tacit knowledege" (to borrow a phrase from Michael Polanyi) that is beyond the self-imposed limitations of "scientific" knowledge. I guess there would be a third option, too: the annihilationism of Buddhism and other reality denial systems. But such never have much appeal to me in a world where much mercy and grace is needed.





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