Sentient versus Sapient, or, Through The Smelling Salts
Phil OKunewick
I have no idea why I was compelled to do this, but I looked up
sentient and sapient in a few different dictionaries. A change in the
meaning of "sentient" is visible, as a function of the age of the
dictionary.
As I have maintained all along, "Sentient" means anything from
"responding to stimuli" to "intelligent". "Sapient" means anything
from "intelligent" to "highly intelligent; problem-solving; etc."
So depending on the context, they both can mean "intelligent". The
word "intelligent" itself is vague; a liberal abuse of the term could
even make it applicable to a plant that bends toward the light.
So there. :-)
As for "Alice in Wonderland", reading the political history of the
era will show you the parallels. The story was written at a time when
freedom of the press was not guaranteed; writers used parody and
satire to make political comments. Likewise, the Mother Goose
stories, today considered childrens nursery rhymes, were almost
exclusively political satire when they were written. I believe Mother
Goose herself was the matriarch of the british royalty.
There is even speculation that Lewis Carroll, a.k.a. Charles
Dodgson, was neither - that the writer was in fact a member of the
british royal family. This speculation may be complete bunk.
So are skunks sentient/sapient/intelligent? Sure, as long as your
definition of intelligent can include a skunk's behavior. And if
not... OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!! OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!
(Oh dear, I'm late...)
Dave Marks
>
...
> As I have maintained all along, "Sentient" means anything from
> "responding to stimuli" to "intelligent". "Sapient" means anything
> from "intelligent" to "highly intelligent; problem-solving; etc."
Not in my dictionaries...not a word about intelligence or analytical. The
closest they come is "conscious". No references?
> As for "Alice in Wonderland", reading the political history of the
> era will show you the parallels.
Having lived in the UK for ten years, I know a bit of the era's political
history. No examples?
> Likewise, the Mother Goose
> stories, today considered childrens nursery rhymes, were almost
> exclusively political satire when they were written.
Well, some were thinly veiled sexual jokes, and some were about the plague
("Ring Around the Roses"). But as for political satire... No evidence?
No credence!
("Left a good job in the city, workin' for the man every night and day...")
DMM
__________________________________________________________________________
Dave Marks, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, 708/491-8615, Fax: 708/491-9982; Materials
Science Dept., 708/491-3571, Fax: 708/491-7820 dma...@casbah.acns.nwu.edu