Thanks to L. Helm for his interesting commentary.
Helm quotes from the review (in the NYT) on this essay by Dugatkin on fox
taming and dog building. The reviewer writes:
“The [research] uses modern genomics to understand the genetics behind the
foxes’ changes in personality and appearance. The results are not nearly as
widely known among scientists, not to mention the public, as they deserve to
be.”
-- I wonder if McEvoy would ("or would not," as a non-Griceist might add) draw
a conclusion about that: GRICE would: for the reviewer there are 'two
cultures': and scientists and scientism and Grice's world of the
ordinary-language speaking layman never meet!)
Helm adds, referring to the quote he selects from the review:
“I’m not convinced of that. I’ve seen several articles on these foxes.”
Good to know!
“If [Speranza is] implying an argument [Speranza is] going to have to be more
explicit, for […] I was not able to dig one out.”
Ah, the Griceist in me -- just joking! (or 'kidding,' as Geary might have it).
I should myself review the review of the Dugatkin essay. Even if, as the
Reverend Sidney Smith used to say, “I never read [an essay] before reviewing
it; it prejudices a man so!".
It had just struck me that, here we were, discussing how nobody speaks of
'taming' dogs anymore -- it does sound circus-like -- as in Cole Porter,
"educated fleas do it" --; how Saint-Exupery has his fox asking the Little
Prince to tame him (Chomsky would love the ambiguous syntax of that one!), and
how now we must perhaps add this new essay (I don’t use the word ‘book’ if I
can avoid it!) on fox taming and (or 'versus,' as Helm might prefer?) dog
building!
But it is interesting, as we review the sources for the Dugatkin essay that L.
Helm is not convinced about the point on genomics.
I wonder what Saint-Exupery would say, or his fox for that matter!
I thought, incidentally, that the phrase ‘to build a dog’ was clever, if
artificial – at least less ‘Saint-Exuperyian’ (and thus 'heard') than
‘fox-taming’! (And I wonder what Dugatkin would say about the Saint-Exupery
fox!)
Perhaps we should research a bit more into the author, Dugatkin (but McEvoy
might argue that this would be non-scientific 'ad hominem') and check, into the
bargain if the thing got any good reviews in Amazon or other -- other than
meriting a review for the NYT 'public'! :)
My appendix on the grice, qua wild pig, was only for implicatural effect! (For
I doubt a Scotman ever tried to tame never mind build one!)
Cheers,
Speranza
