[lit-ideas] Re: The Natural and the Artifactual

 
 
In a message dated 8/31/2004 10:51:03 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
A.A. We  can make the further distinction between artificial and synthetic.   
Synthetic is using chemical reactions to create a substance that is identical 
 to the original substance, e.g. laboratory synthesized vitamin C is  
identical  to nature-made vitamin C.  That was, I think, the point  of synfuel 
from 
Carter's days.  Or Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.   Artificial is creating an 
entirely new substance that mimics certain  properties, such as artificial 
sweetener.  Artificial sweetener has  sugar's sweetness, but occurs nowhere in 
nature.


--- I like that.
 
I'm not sure all people have recognised the distinction though (at all  
times). -- between 'artificial' and 'synthetic'. A quote from the OED for  
example 
reads:
 
"With the synthetic idiot,  Harpo, you must have a vein of the ridiculous in 
your laughter gland if boredom  is to be kept at bay."
 
where 'synthetic' is defined (by the OED)  as 'artificial'. More quotes from 
the OED below.
 
Curiously, plastic would be _both_ synthetic and artificial (for Geary) --  
and ultimately 'natural' (in his logic -- "Omnia est naturalis", "taton  
phusis"). -- Cheers,
 
JL
 
----
 
'synthetic'
 

Pertaining to or involving synthesis; of organic compounds, produced by  
artificial synthesis: 

1753 Cycl. Supp. 1796 in  Phil. Trans. LXXXVI. 430 It  appears from the 
synthetic experiments that the grain becomes finer as the  proportion of tin is 
increased. 1800 Epit. Chem. (1808) 155 A decisive synthetic proof of  the 
nature 
of this acid. 1857   Elem. Chem., Org. (1862) i. §3. 69 Synthetic Production 
of Organic Compounds. 1899  Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 491 The  chromatin 
(nuclein) in some manner regulates the synthetic metabolism of the  cell.


b.  Of a substance: made by chemical synthesis in imitation of a natural 
product. Also, esp. of a man-made fibre or fabric: made from  synthetic 
materials 
rather than natural ones. 


1874 Chem.  News 12 June 265/1 (heading) Synthetic  cymol obtained from 
normal bromide of propyl and crystalline bromtoluol. 1907 Chem.  Abstr. I. 1179 
(heading) Synthetic resins. 1907 Nature 25 Apr. 614/2 Since  â??syntheticâ?? 
indigo 
was put upon the market in 1897, some uncertainty has existed  regarding its 
tinctorial value as compared with the natural dyestuff. 1932 B. HEDWORTH 
Foolish Pelican  II. iv. 136 She had discovered..that  synthetic stockings wore 
better than pure silk. 1946 Stand. Handbk. Textiles i. 66 The du  Pont 
company..commenced the manufacture of a synthetic fibre which has since  become 
known..as 
nylon. 1955 Dict. Dairying (ed. 2) 1005 Synthetic  or imitation cream. 1955,  
1973  Materials & Technol. VI. 485 The cleaning of man-made fibres is usually 
a relatively simple  operation which involves a treatment with a mild soap or 
a synthetic detergent  solution. 1983 Sci.  Amer. Apr. 73/3 In the 19th 
century, before the  boom in organic chemistry that followed the discovery of 
synthetic dyes, many  prominent chemists had undertaken analyses of inorganic 
natural substances.

c.  fig. Artificial, imitation, invented.  

1930 Daily  Express 16 Oct. 10/5 With the synthetic idiot,  Harpo, you must 
have a vein of the ridiculous in your laughter gland if boredom  is to be kept 
at bay. 1932 Sun (Baltimore) 29 Aug. 8/2 A  printing press upon which were 
struck off bogus service certificates for  â??synthetic veteransâ??. 1934 Amer. 
 
Speech IX. 101/2 Even when launched in a  preliminary fashion, with say fifty 
or 
a hundred users, the synthetic language  will not grow of itself. 1948 No  
Highway iv. 92 The synthetic, phoney film  business. 1948 Newsweek 10 May 34/2 
He 
has been  in London long enough to achieve a synthetic British appearance. 
1949 Hansard  Commons 12 Dec. 2417, I have seldom heard such an  outburst of 
indignation... It seemed to me a little synthetic. 1976 E. FROMM  To have or to 
Be? (1979)  II. iv. 92 The learned, synthetic  smile of the  marketplace.


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