CHAPTER 6 - PERCEPTION AND PROPORTION Flashcards
empiricism
empiricism, in philosophy, the view that all concepts originate in experience, that all concepts are about or applicable to things that can be experienced, or that all rationally acceptable beliefs or propositions are justifiable or knowable only through experience. (Britannica)
John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)
Locke asks a central question : what is the capacity of the human mind for understanding a knowledge ?
Locke rejects the doctrine of innate ideas : the view that certain kind of knowledge, the knowledge of the existence of God, of certain – truth, those kind of knowledge are innate as already imprinted on the human mind and its creation.
Plato and the world of ideas
world of idea exists and we are born to access to this world of idea. If you accept the doctrine of innate idea, we’re all born with a knowledge of what is good, what is evil and with a knowledge of the existence if God.
⇒ Locke rejects this idea and argues that the source of all knowledge is first sense experienced : human being experience sense in the low? world : colour, sounds, light, texture..
Then reflection : awareness that one is thinking ex of the mind such as believing, doubting..
“Let us suppose the mind to be, as we say, a tabula rasa, void of all characters, without any ideas. How comes it to be furnished? Whence comes it by that vast store, which the busy and boundless fancy of man has painted on it, with an almost endless variety? When has it all the materials of reason and knowledge? To this I answer, in one word, from experience. »
Xp for Locke
Knowledge cannot be reduced only to sensory experience that will be printed on the mind
⇒ The mind isn’t simply some kind of simply device, the mind processes data, the mind processes sensory data : sensory experiences which lead to mental construction which relies on association of ideas, and thus to understanding.
Sensory Xp in itself isn’t sufficient to the processes of understanding and therefore to the processes of knowledge.
For as I happened to lie on my Back, I found my Arms and Legs were strongly fastened on each Side to the Ground […]. I likewise felt several slender Ligatures across my Body, from my Armpits to my Thighs. I could only look upwards; the Sun began to grow hot, and the Light offended mine Eyes. I heard a confused Noise about me, but in the Posture I lay, could see nothing except the Sky. In a little time I felt something alive moving on my left Leg, which advancing gently forward over my Breast, came almost up to my Chin; when bending mine Eyes downwards as much as I could, I perceived it to be a human Creature not six Inches high,* with a Bow and Arrow in his Hands, and a Quiver at his Back. In the mean time, I felt at least Forty more of the same Kind (as I conjectured) following the first. (I, 1, 17)
Wift uses empiricism to write travels
When G wakes up in Liliput = sensory xp
In passage repetition of “feel”, lexical field of body and abundance of perceptual verbe
The entire passage is anchored in the character perceptual experience. We are reading about how Gulliver analyses what his body is telling h im to understand the situation
When box of Gulliver is picked by an eagle
⇒ inner focalization : scene described from the pov of Gulliver who is tracked inside the box : very limited knowledge of what is happening to him
“In a little time I observed the Noise and flutter of Wings to encrease very fast; and my Box was tossed up and down like a Sign-post on a windy Day. I heard several Bangs or Buffets, as I thought, given to the Eagle (for such I am certain it must have been that held the Ring of my Box in his Beak) and then all on a sudden felt my self falling perpendicularly down for above a Minute; but with such incredible Swiftness that I almost lost my Breath. My Fall was stopped by a terrible Squash,* that sounded louder to mine Ears than the Cataract of Niagara; after which I was quite in the Dark for another Minute, and then my Box began to rise so high that I could see Light from the Tops of my Windows. I now perceived that I was fallen into the Sea. (II, 8, 130)
Phrases which index the mind capacity to interpret
Because G is in the box and doesn’t know it’s an eagle, he relies on his senses in order to interpret the situation.
Bangs and Buffet
“I did then I do now supposed” : the eagle was pursue by 3 others.
Do = Gulliver the character
I did now = gulliver narrator reflecting back on his xp
⇒ process goes from sensation, hypothesis to interpretation attempt = G can be said to be the prototypical Lockean subject
Type of empirical writing that has to be related to the royal society and to the convention prescribed by the royal society. Because the royal society asked their contributors to base their writing on xp to experience experiments.
In 2 chapters when G visits the academy of Lagado, we’re dealing with satire. Empiricism on the one hand =
Swift doesn’t criticise empiricism in itself, he is interested in ito and relies on some of their basic argument and principles in the way he writes but when it comes to science and knowledge it has to be related to satirical project of the narrative.
6.2 Empirical observation and optical devices
The 18th century was obsessed with observation of nature. Modern science can be traced back to the beginning of the century? Optical devices allowed the scientist to closely observe what is normally invisible to the naked eye.
Modern science examples
–BK 1: the hidden glasses and spyglass (I, 2, 32) = to observe the lilliputians but hide them from the lilliputians in his pockets. He keeps them hidden in order to keep them from being “lost or spoil” = signal value he attached to these 2 objects = significant because the possession and the use of the spyglass position G as a scientific observer.
–BK2: size and magnified imperfection. In BK 2 don’t need them anymore and observe people of Birmingham as if through a magnifying glass
This made me reflect upon the fair Skins of our English Ladies, who appear so beautiful to us, only because they are of our own Size, and their Defects not to be seen but through a magnifying Glass, where we find by Experiment that the smoothest and whitest Skins look rough and coarse, and ill coloured. (II, 1, 83)
+ There is no need for Magnyfing glass to observe lies
h. (II, 4, 101-102)
+ There is no need for Magnyfing glass to observe lies
I could see distinctly the Limbs of these Vermin with my naked Eye, much better than those of an European Louse through a Microscope; and their Snouts with which they rooted like Swine. They were the first I had ever beheld; and I should have been curious enough to dissect one of them, if I had proper Instruments (which I unluckily left behind me in the Ship) although indeed the Sight was so nauseous, that it perfectly turned my Stomac
⇒ probably ref to Robert Hook and micrographia = st major publication of the royal society ; book which became somehow famous for his detailed representation of mice
⇒ In this passage, G is in the posture of the scientist, observing the anatomy of the animal, the mice?
⇒ Because it is not enough, he considers the possibility of dissecting : from observation to dissection to better understand the structure of the organism under study. But he doesn’t dissect, so the excerpt doesn’t finish on the idea of furthering knowledge but on the profound disgust that the acuity of perfection amplifies.
–the observer observed: observation and classification
G is observer but also become the observing subject and the observed object.
Cf book 2 example : it is the giant of Brodingman that needs glasses to observe Gulliver. Quote BK 2 chap 3, the king of Brodingam is trying to determine the nature of GUlliver : what is gulliver and the king assume that he is a “piece of clockwork” : he realizes he is not and asks scholars to examine him.
One of them seemed to think that I might be an Embrio, or abortive Birth. But this Opinion was rejected by the other two, who observed my Limbs to be perfect and finished; and that I had lived several Years, as it was manifested from my Beard; the Stumps whereof they plainly discovered through a Magnifying-Glass. (II, 3, 93-4)
⇒ hypothesis is proven wrong by observation BUT doesn’t stop here, observation is correlated to classification, in other words, to which category G belongs
In this passage, Swift is satirizng, the ignorant dogmatism of scientist because when G responds to the scientist of Brodingman and tries to prove that he is a human being and nota freak of nature (not an expectation) but a member of lager group : attempt are rebuffed but the scientist.
⇒ Process of experimentation which allow scientist to remove an hypothesis that is wrong
⇒ Rest of passage :refuse to complete the scientific process
// In BK 4, the hynhms are incapable of conceiving if the Hyhmnhs are diff from them or diff from the yahoos ⇒ connection btw 2 books + because of this, interpretation of the theme is going to change.
⇒ 2 lvls of interpretation : topical satire (= wift does in BK 3 with economy of Lagado, and about decentring the figure of the scientist and more generally decentring the figure of Man) and general satire
Murray Roston on Gulliver’s use of optical devices
“metaphorically correcting his human myopia in order to see human affairs more objectively and with the distancing necessary for empirical observation”
6.3 relativity
Relativity is linked to the notion of perspective and scales which the narrator puts on. Objectivity os something of an illusion ⇒ changes in proportion and dimension BK 1 and 2 are reminding that Man isn’t a fixed entity and that “nothing is great or little otherwise than in comparison” p 78)
Throughout voyages Standard of reference for G is England.
comparison and voyage narrative
Throughout voyages Standard of reference for G is England.
Everything he discovers he compares to everything he is familiar with.
> “my hats was dragged along for above half an English Mile” (I, 3, 37)
“a squall that you might have heard from London-Bridge to Chelsea” (I, 2, 82)
“the town, which is about half the bigness of London” (III, 4, 162)
⇒ He shares his knowledge with Englishmen and the comparison are here to establish a commonality
⇒ establish communality btw G the fictional author and the reader
→ England becomes the norm that defines everything else
comparison and voyage narrative
⇒ Comparison as a device to deal with what’s new = typical of travel narratives ⇒ compare familiar and new ⇒ assessing the unfamiliar in comparison the the familiar.
Because G travels plays with variety of places, the very notion of norms are questioned and to a certain extent undermined.
Chap 2 Ideal of relativity and changing perspective with
–BK 3: the case of Lord Mundi : he is introduced through judgement of the King of Laputa.
“a well-meaning man, but of a low contemptible Understanding” (III, 4, 163) (extremely -)
Judgement that is shared by the Great Lord who introduces G to court and who is considered as the “most ignorant and stupid person among that”. No interests for music and mathematics = most validated
“every thing about him was magnificent, regular and polite” (III, 4, 163) (extremely +)
