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Re: Fw: [NABOKV-L] great novelist (Lolita, Pale Fire, Pnin) ...
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JA: ... you are probably right to be puzzled by my doubt[... ]His books are so suffused with consistent qualms about notions of "the struggle for survival" I never quite thought somehow that he might have separated that from the process of evolution. And to be honest I'm still kind of puzzled as to why he should do so.
JM: Since S.Blackwell hasn't opined, I'd rather wait for the appearance of his "forthcoming work on this topic." I only know that ideas can evolve without the challenges from a "struggle for survival" competition: intelligent arguments that only destroy "scarf-skin" are obstacles enough to promote a change of perspective (at least, when freed from the "publish or perish" ordeals, or the sophistries engendered by fear of unavoidable silly mistakes). What I keep asking myself, though, is if VN considered mankind as the (biological) end-result of evolution because he placed the "observer" in such a privileged position...
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JM: Since S.Blackwell hasn't opined, I'd rather wait for the appearance of his "forthcoming work on this topic." I only know that ideas can evolve without the challenges from a "struggle for survival" competition: intelligent arguments that only destroy "scarf-skin" are obstacles enough to promote a change of perspective (at least, when freed from the "publish or perish" ordeals, or the sophistries engendered by fear of unavoidable silly mistakes). What I keep asking myself, though, is if VN considered mankind as the (biological) end-result of evolution because he placed the "observer" in such a privileged position...
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
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/