(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

Nature vs. nurture? More like, nature plus nurture. Cooperation where previously antagonism was perceived.
http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=fumanchaw&itemid=171889

Meanwhile, lately I've been reading The Alphabet Versus the Goddess by surgeon Leonard Shlain. Not my usual fare, but I've been intrigued by the concept since I heard about the book. I disagree with the author's position, but at this point it's just a gut feeling; outside of my standard argument against the concept of "patriarchy" as a gloss-over, I haven't pieced together a counter-argument yet.

Interestingly it ties today's journal entries together. It is a complex argument, but the conclusion can be easily summarized. This summary is from the book jacket.

"Shlain argues that, with the advent of literacy, the very act of reading an alphabet reinforced the brain's left hemisphere -- linear, abstract, predominantly masculine -- at the expense of the right -- holistic, concrete, visual, feminine. This shift upset the balance between men and women, and initiated the disappearance of goddesses, the abhorrence of images, the decline of women's social and political status, and a long reign of patriarchy and misogyny."

Alright, darn it. I'm getting back to work.

Comments

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

So in short, he's saying the ability to think is unfeminine.

His argument is that abstract linear thought specifically was more likely developed to assist the hunters than the gatherers.

So basically, yeah, that's what he's saying.

That's one of my qualms with radical feminist arguments in general -- that they depend upon the very stereotypes that feminists hate most.