In a message dated 9/29/08 4:02:22 PM, Geoff writes:
"Words do not "do" anything. However, the reader apparently might feel
something after looking at words by Emily Dickinson. The reader's mind would
not
likely consider Emily Dickinson's line at that precise moment without the
stimulus of words on a screen or page. So, perhaps we might say that perceived
and
understood words lead to/elicit associations or responses, of course, mediated
by our minds."
You may have noticed I frequently use the word 'occasion'. I'll say that an
object or action is, when contemplated, "the occasion for" certain notion. It's
somewhat comparable to saying, "A rock hidden by long grass was the occasion
for my broken toe." The rock didn't DO a thing. It didn't break my toe. It
didn't CAUSE my broken toe. What "caused" my toe to break was my swinging my
foot
against the hidden rock.
The notion of "causation" is complicated and fuzzy in all of us , but a
useful rule to follow in discussion is this: "Objects do not cause, only
actions
do." (That's not my insight; it's in C.J. Ducasse's compelling book, NATURE,
MIND, AND DEATH.)
Similarly, what we call "words" are inert. They DO nothing, but though they
don't act they are the occasion for action. All the action is in our heads. We
contemplate the "word", the ink on paper; our receiving apparatus processes
it, principally by summoning up associated notion.
So I agree with Geoff's point that if a contemplating mind had not come
across Emily Dickinson's line it's unlikely to have mused about her evocative
imagery at that moment. Her line was the occasion for the mind to kick into
that
act of musing. I myself would probably avoid the word 'stimulus', which has a
faint connotation of action.
But the rest of Geoff's paragraph is the occasion for pause in me (note how
gingerly I avoid saying "gives me pause"):
"So, perhaps we might say that perceived and understood words lead to/elicit
associations or responses, of course, mediated by our minds."
I'd claim 'understood' is misplaced there. I'd use the word 'familiar',
perhaps. And I'd replace "lead to/elicit", again because of the connotation of
action by Dickinson's words. The "mediation" is entirely in the mind --
associating, considering.
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