Not exatly mimiesis, but... -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 20:00:32 02/03/08 Sun
Author: JPJ II
Subject: Not exatly mimiesis, but...
In reply to: Jfish 's message, "Animals smarter than we think" on 20:04:16 01/26/08 Sat

I think that our humanity may be tied to something quite the opposite of reason. Most upper-order animalia have the ability to make economic judgments to some degree (doing x equals good, doing y equals bad), and the difference between us and them in this regard is only one of degree. It seems that the real difference between humans and animals is our ability to know what is good for us and bad for us and then to willingly choose the lesser option; we can and do act to our own detriment, acting in an opposite manner than that predicted by a law of 'rational self interest'. Dostoevsky points it out in Notes from the Underground when he says something to the effect of: man will do the exact opposite of what is good for him just to prove that he can. The source of this? possible mimetic desire, possible not. Regardless, this seems to distinguish us from the animals a great deal more than our 'rational self interest'.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]