[lit-ideas] Re: A Zlywchlvel By Any Other Name
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 6 Apr 2009 20:04:36 -0500
JL:
Well, but can a rose _smell_ sweet? To me it can only _taste_ 'sweet'.
Ah, you see, here we have the typical messy confusion caused by philosophers
trying to philosophize about biology/physiology -- like Plato explaining the
origin of the sexes in Timaeus and so many other embarrassing instances.
The thing is roses cannot smell. No matter how hard they try, they can't.
They have no olfactory nerves. Nor do they have taste buds, ergo they
cannot taste sweet or salt or bitter or the wonderful taste of Guinness
Extra Stout. Poor roses.
A TRUE STORY ABOUT ROSES AND ME.
Old Catholics will remember that the school day started with Mass at 8:00.
And they will know that you had to fast from midnight if you wanted to go to
communion the next day. And being an ass-kisser, I always wanted to be
noticed going to communion at Mass. But one spring morning when I was 10
years old and cutting through a neighbor's backyard, I noticed a rose bush
in glorious bloom. Without thinking I pulled one of the blossoms and
mindlessly ate the petals. I don't really remember how it tasted -- I
don't think it was "sweet". Anyway, I realized briefly afterwards that I
had broken my fast -- dilemma-city: what matters more my image with the nuns
or my immortal soul? I chose image. It's been downhill ever since.
Mike Geary
once a good Catholic
----- Original Message -----
From: <Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 6:32 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: A Zlywchlvel By Any Other Name
In a message dated 4/6/2009 7:11:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Je ne parle pas Englais. Je ne parle jamais "sweet".
Jean-Michel du Geary
----
Well, but can a rose _smell_ sweet? To me it can only _taste_ 'sweet'.
If you _smell_ sweet, you are using it 'metaphorically'. These type of
sense-variation phenomena fascinated Grice. Did you hear that there was a
rabbit
recently born with two noses. Are we right in calling the things 'nose'?
----
So my point was Eco. His novel, "Il nome della rosa", Latin: Nomen Rosae.
A
topic of universalia, etc.
Shakespeare got it right:
A rose by any other name would smell so sweet.
But that's an English expression. If we replace it with Japanese (to
please
McCreery) we have:
A [INSERT-JAPANESE-FOR-ROSE] would smell so [INSERT-JAPANESE-FOR-SWEET].
Protocol experiment:
Have a Japanese smell it, and describe the aroma:
(i) Wow, it's sweet.
(ii) Puajj! It's bitter
(iii) It's bitter sweet
(iv) other.
(v) Can I taste it? I cannot decide on the basis of a _smell_ only?
How do you say "fart" in Hungarian?
Cheers,
JL
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