[lit-ideas] Popper on Horses
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 13:59:38 EDT
In a message dated 10/12/2004 8:57:20 AM Eastern Standard Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
He favours the biological approach to understanding
selves as an upshot of the evolutionary usefulness of 'individuation' - an
approach he finds in Locke. Individuation gives organisms a footing for
self-defence and attack, and a basis for coordination of activities. He
believes only humans have true 'selfhood' and that we are not born selves but
become selves through our acquisition of language, self-consciousness and our
mental interaction with World 3.
---- This reminds me of something I was reading in "The Conquest of the
River Plate", by R. B. Cunninghame-Graham:
"Throughout the conquest numerous references appear to the fear the Indians
had of horses, and not unnaturally, for they were animals unknown to them. One
of the most touching of these occurred upon this expedition, and only such a
man as Nunez would have chronicled it. 'The Indians,' he says, 'had a great
terror of the horses, and begged the Governor (Nunez) to speak to them and
ask them not to be angry*, and so that they should be contented brought them
aboundant food.' ("Tenian muy gran terror de los caballos, y rogaban al
Governador que los dixese a los caballos que no se enojasen y por los tener
contentos los traian de comer") (p. 119).
Strictly, to beg the Governor to ask the horses not to be angry possibly
does not _presuppose_ (on the part of the begger) that the begger _thinks_ a
horse has selfhood or consciousness. Indeed, it is possible for a horse to
_understand_ the implicature ("Calm down, animal"), even if not what is
strictly
said ("the dictum"), or it is?
Cheers,
JL
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