[인용] 『The River of Consciousness』, by Oliver Sacks ①

올리버 색스의 책을 읽으면서 새삼 내가 의식과학 전공 지망생임을 되돌아보게 됐다. 책 전체에 정말 킵해두고 싶은 문장들, 사례들, 아이디어들이 많아서 여러 차례 나누어 발췌해놓으려고 한다. 시간 될 때 느낀 점도 정리해보고 싶다. 

볼드체는 챕터 제목. 

'Darwin and the Meaning of Flowers' 

"Darwin... was preeminently an investigator, concerned with the 'how' and 'why' of plant structure and behavior, not just the 'what'." p.6-7

"No one could be a good observer unless he was an active theoriser." - Darwin p.7

"Natural beauty, for Darwin, was not just aesthetic; it always reflected function and adaptation at work. Orchids were not just ornamental, to be displayed in a garden or a bouquet; they were wonderful contrivances, examples of nature's imagination, natural selection, at work." p.21

"It is often felt that Darwin, more than anyone, banished "meaning" from the world--in the sense of any overall divine meaning or purpose. There is indeed no design, no plan, no blueprint in Darwin's world... Darwinism, it is often said, spelled the end of teleological thinking." p.21-22

"[Darwin's] son Francis writes, 'One of the greatest services rendered by my father to the study of Natural History is the revival of Telelogy. The evolutionist studies the purpose or meaning of organs with the zeal of the older Teleologist, but with far wider and more coherent purpose. He has the invigorating knowledge that he is gaining not isolated conceptions of the economy of the present, but a coherent view of both past and present.'" p.22

'Sentience: The Mental Lives of Plants and Worms'

"Nature has employed at least two very different ways of making a brain--indeed, there are almost as many ways as there are phyla in the animal kingdom. Mind, to varying degrees, has arisen or is embodies in all of these, despite the profound biological gulf that separates them from one other, and us from them. p. 77