From: BrettMan35@webtv.net (Brett Robertson) Date sent: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 12:25:23 -0500 (EST) To: virus@lucifer.com Subject: Re: virus: Technology (was manifest science) Send reply to: virus@lucifer.com
> No, I mean a dead human's bones-- those which are found "just lying
> there" (and which are neither used FOR tools nor made BY "tools" in the
> generally accepted sense of the word... except that I would agree that
> something broken by the hands is formed by a "tool" in the broader sense
> of the word and/or that bones are similarly formed by such "tools" of
> nature). Yes, these bones are considered "artefacts". No, they do not
> follow the definition you suggest.
>
This is an example of your inability to understand the distinction
between tool and body even when explained to you in words of few
syllables.
>
> An (expanded) explanation of "artefact":
>
> An *artifact* is an icon divested of its "living" significance (ex.
> human bones can be said to be "artifacts" of a "dead" civilization).
>
An ancient statue of the Buddha may be an artifact, and still retain
significance to contemporary (and living) Buddhists.
>
> An icon is anything which, because of its prominence (within a culture,
> for example), is useful for interpreting ideas, ideals, and individuals
> to a common standard. In addition, however, the icon has *living
> significance* because it is embodied by an individual whose life becomes
> an example of what the icon represents (thus, the icon has a changing
> nature which suggests that the significance OF it is partly due to its
> contemporary application).
>
So Mother Theresa can be at once both the icon of a sainted
hungry-child-in-India-feeding nun and the anti-icon of an extreme
antiabortion campaigner who consorted with Haiti's Duvaliers. It is
odd that Catholics consider statues of the long-dead Jesus and
Mary to be icons.
>
> An artifact, on the other hand, is no longer embodied by a modern
> individual and so, while a useful standard for interpreting ideas and
> ideals related to "dead" cultures, an artifact is nonetheless seen as
> being divorced from the living significance with which it was once
> empowered.
>
And yet a living Buddhist may yet find personal inspiration in such
a thing.
>
> Brett Lane Robertson
> Indiana, USA
> http://www.window.to/mindrec
> MindRecreation Metaphysical Assn.
> BIO: http://members.theglobe.com/bretthay
> ...........
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>