Re: A Sensibility of Worth

I think I agree with this, but I guess I'd disagree with the language,
"seek the humanity of" -- simply because every form of human
communication has embedded within it "humanity" mere by being a human
product. I think the word "humanity" in the phrase "seek the humanity
of" is code for something else. It doesn't signify the mere fact of
human production, but a specific set of admirable traits that are
admirably "huiman." The word "humanity" in these sentences usually has
embedded within it a distinction between "human" behavior and "animal"
behavior, with some emphasis on reason and Aristotelian virtues.

But I agree that Shakespeare communicates what he communicates about
humanity more densely, and with more nuance, than any television
commercial. And probably even more than a typical episode of _West
Wing_, but it's been awhile since I've watched that. Doesn't hold a
candle to _South Park_, though.

Jim

L. Manning Vines wrote:

>One can certainly study the television advertisements as an anthropologist
>studies tribesmen in the Amazon, or can participate as a loving member of
>the culture, or can act innumerably many ways that fall somewhere between
>these, but I think that one's desire to seek the humanity in Shakespeare in
>addition to or instead of television advertisements is not merely a matter
>of linguistic competence. Surely Shakespeare's language is prone to be more
>powerful than Revlon ads, but I think his depictions and explorations of
>humanity are simply more competent, more thorough, and more thoughtful.
>
>If you want to disagree for insistence that it cannot be anything but the
>reader who explores the humanity competently, thoroughly, or thoughtfully --
>that these explorations are not in any valuable way present in the text --
>then let me say that the depictions in Shakespeare (or whatever it is
>exactly that you do allow to be present in the text) is more conducive to a
>reader's competent, thorough, and thoughtful explorations than are their
>cognates in television advertisements.
>
>-Robbie
>
>
>

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Received on Mon Dec 15 16:02:40 2003