[lit-ideas] General Picus Picus

Picus Picus (Was: A Nation of Warmongers)

Helm quotes Geary

"Except he's all wrong.  I can see him
walking his dogs in San Hyacinth (as JL would have it) and muttering to
himself: 'War, we need more war, war to make brave, honorable men of these
sissy boys.  Give me war, I want war, WE need war.'"



and aptly comments,

"Gad!  Where is that charred spear.  I can never find that thing when I need
it.  Maybe it's up on that pot-shelf behind Mommsen.""

Exactly.

Incidentally, I'm reading "The Birds of the Latin Poets", and he says that 
'picus picus' the wood-pecker was the Roman symbol of masculinity and the God 
Mars -- whom they ALWAYS represented with his one big phallic attribute:

??????????? the spear ---- offense

and

??????????? the shield -- defense.

I would like to know more about the picus picus/Mars association.

Also, I wonder if there is a difference between 'strategy' and Habermas. 
Habermas thinks there is a level of what he calls "communicative rationality" 
("communicative action") that has to do with what he calls "dialogue ethics" 
and the United Nations. Within this rationality, nations co-operate.

On the other hand, he says, there is a lower, "strategic rationality", which I 
thought was good -- and indeed from which we could retrieve the other type of 
rationality but not for Habermas. Strategic rationality is different from 
means-end (instrumental) rationality, in that it's a co-ordination of a 
rational subject and another rational subject, but apparently, not aimed at 
cooperation.

I first thought Habermas was wrong. But now, after Loebbing a bit 
("Strategica", etc.) I see that in the very word 'strategos', there _must_ be 
an element of _deceit_. A general wants his co-rational agent NOT to know 
certain things. This would be enough for Grice to avoid the work of 
'implicatures' or things like that. 

I think this is all too subtle. If we have a problem with forestation, say, we 
wouldn't use a 'strategy' because a tree cannot think. But then perhaps it can. 
So, if we have a problem with the quarries, say -- rocks -- then that's 
different.
Unless there _is_ a God.

If you understand what I mean, maybe you can comment.

Cheers,

JL

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