|
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? The huge evolutionary gap that Langer
speaks of, that Robert points out, might explain why Percy continually insisted
on a qualitative difference – it really seems that way if the
quantitative difference is so big. Though if it’s really quantitative,
there’s a whole separate set of implications about who man is and how he
differs from other creatures – that are belied if it’s qualitative. Karey From:
percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of RHONDA MCDONNELL Another question: Can you know
something (beyond survival impulses) without having the language to articulate
it? --Rhonda
> Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008
11:50:08 -0400 Test your Star IQ Play now! |
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.