our object of study, Professor Godshalk, is not "past experience" but the
human soul, which Arcadian texts explore. Unlike you, I do not find this
amusing. I find this subjects us to an ethical and intellectual imperative.
This imperative is one of the most serious components of my life, just as
is sex.
In view of this ethical imperative, I would be more wary about declaring to
the world I find its consequences amusing, and the subject of
homosexuality, which is one of the consequences of this imperative,
something about which one ought to be apologetic.
To those who complain about discussions of the subject on this list, I
could only say that the exploration of the human sould *does* inevitably
involve pain and suffering. Aracdians well knew pain is an inseparable
constituent of jouissance. But the ethical imperative to always say
(not)-all the truth about the human soul obliges us to reflect upon
jouissance, even if some of us remain too afraid to touch it and develop a
substitute preference for amusements.
best,
Dr. Shirley Sharon-Zisser
At 14:55 21/01/01 -0500, you wrote:
>I apologize for bringing up the subject of homosexuality. Believe it or
>not, I had forgotten about the earlier discussions of this topic --
>discussions which I found amusing, though others did not.
>
>Of course, the blind bow boy is Cupid.
>
>And, of course, we can never experience the sexualities of the past. We can
>only attempt to reconstruct them using what he know of the present.
>Nevertheless, categorization is important in our attempts to understand the
>past and the world around us.
>
>Yours, Bill Godshalk
>**********************************************
>* W. L. Godshalk
*
>* Professor, Department of English *
>* University of Cincinnati *
>* Cincinnati OH 45221-0069 * Stellar Disorder
>* [log in to unmask] *
>*
> *
>**********************************************
>
>
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