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

[Jay Thompson <jay_thompson AT rocketmail.com>]

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Jay Thompson <jay_thompson AT rocketmail.com>
To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Tue, February 8, 2011 12:39:27 PM
Subject: Percy-L Digest, Vol 80, Issue 2

"You ask what Walker Percy is suggesting in this editorial. He is suggesting, as
an observer of humanity, that when someone cavalierly destroys a fetus because a
baby is an inconvenience, instead of thinking beforehand and behaving more
responsibly, that he destroys his humanity and perhaps our society." (Janet Cantor)

I appreciated the comments by both Wade Riddick and Janet Cantor, though I would suggest that Riddick's scientific Summa Biologica essentially points back to Percy's essential dilemma with science in the first place: what does science say to the matter of actually living as a human being? Or, in this case, what does it ultimately say about the ethical dilemma of abortion or the philosophical aspects related to the origins of life.

At the end of the day, surely a healthy respect for science, alongside the muse of the novelist/poet, and the logical arguments of the philosopher can at once be informative to our culture - a culture (as Percy would surely agree) is increasingly soul-less.

Jay Thompson
jay_thompson AT rocketmail.com