Subject
Re: THOUGHTS: Creationism and VN
From
Date
Body
TO: VICTOR FET
Thank you for your correction. Could you help me to find the most
historically appropriate word for “creationism” in the modern sense? In
other words, how would VN call “creationism” if he were to address the
matter?
Thank you,
Grigori
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf
Of NABOKV-L
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 4:41 AM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] THOUGHTS: Creationism and VN
[EDNOTE. This is the first of two messages from Victor Fet on this topic.
-- SES]
Jansy (and Grigory):
I think we are mixing here a lot of apples and oranges -- or Oranges and
Peaches (Darwin's famous book title, as you know :).
Grigory used "creationist" in its strict modern context, i.e. an
anti-evolutionist, i.e.a person one who is opposed to Darwinian evolution
defined as (let me tackle this), say, process of life forms/systems being
able to become other life forms by means of natural selection (and other
means, depending on your definition of selection). In this sense,
"creationist" was not use din VN's times -- teh argument is old but
terminology had developed only recently.
Jansy: I do not think that calling VN a "creationist" in art helps too much
-- in art VN was a "creator."
Dr. Blackwell might correct me but I tend to think that both VN's mimicry
work and abstract species theories (Father's Butterflies) still are very
much in the vein of evolutionary biology, largely divorced from metaphysics.
And while it is true that VN was (and many are still) dissatisfied with
neo-Darwinist models of his (pre-molecular) times, I daresay he never
disputed evolution as a process: instead, he celebrated its wonders every
time he had chance both as an artist and as an intellectual.
Clearly it has nothing to do with modern "creationism", largely an
anti-intellectual political and cultural phenomenon.
Apes and monkeys: in Russian indeed they are a single word, unlike in
English ("obezyany") --- but I would not read evolutionism into English
language only because it has a separate word for apes.
Russian, for example, has no word for "privacy" (best rendered as "not your
business") but there still are deeply private Russians.
(Also, neither of modern European languages evolved within geographic range
of any four big species of apes, which always were exotic creatures to the
Europeans. Not so for monkeys: they are found in Northern Africa).
Victor Fet
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Thank you for your correction. Could you help me to find the most
historically appropriate word for “creationism” in the modern sense? In
other words, how would VN call “creationism” if he were to address the
matter?
Thank you,
Grigori
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf
Of NABOKV-L
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 4:41 AM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] THOUGHTS: Creationism and VN
[EDNOTE. This is the first of two messages from Victor Fet on this topic.
-- SES]
Jansy (and Grigory):
I think we are mixing here a lot of apples and oranges -- or Oranges and
Peaches (Darwin's famous book title, as you know :).
Grigory used "creationist" in its strict modern context, i.e. an
anti-evolutionist, i.e.a person one who is opposed to Darwinian evolution
defined as (let me tackle this), say, process of life forms/systems being
able to become other life forms by means of natural selection (and other
means, depending on your definition of selection). In this sense,
"creationist" was not use din VN's times -- teh argument is old but
terminology had developed only recently.
Jansy: I do not think that calling VN a "creationist" in art helps too much
-- in art VN was a "creator."
Dr. Blackwell might correct me but I tend to think that both VN's mimicry
work and abstract species theories (Father's Butterflies) still are very
much in the vein of evolutionary biology, largely divorced from metaphysics.
And while it is true that VN was (and many are still) dissatisfied with
neo-Darwinist models of his (pre-molecular) times, I daresay he never
disputed evolution as a process: instead, he celebrated its wonders every
time he had chance both as an artist and as an intellectual.
Clearly it has nothing to do with modern "creationism", largely an
anti-intellectual political and cultural phenomenon.
Apes and monkeys: in Russian indeed they are a single word, unlike in
English ("obezyany") --- but I would not read evolutionism into English
language only because it has a separate word for apes.
Russian, for example, has no word for "privacy" (best rendered as "not your
business") but there still are deeply private Russians.
(Also, neither of modern European languages evolved within geographic range
of any four big species of apes, which always were exotic creatures to the
Europeans. Not so for monkeys: they are found in Northern Africa).
Victor Fet
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.5.2/766 - Release Date: 4/18/2007
7:39 AM
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.5.2/766 - Release Date: 4/18/2007
7:39 AM
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm