[percy-l] Walker, animals and Julian Jaynes

Nikkibar at aol.com Nikkibar at aol.com
Tue Mar 25 20:20:01 EDT 2008


Although we did not read Julian Jaynes' (TOOC&TBOTBM)book in  the book group, 
we did discuss Jaynes' theory of the development of the corpus  callosum  and 
the notion that our distant human ancestors may have walked  around in the 
world hearing instructions from some outer or perhaps inner voice,  like so many 
teenagers with cosmic i-Pods. Walker tended to resist any  attribution to 
animals of anything that smacked of an animal soul in the lower  primates or 
mammals. I always held for the opposite view and it was I who  introduced Jaynes' 
theories to the group. 
 
On the other hand, Walker was uncommonly fond of his own animals  (to the 
point of sardonic sentimentality) and kept schnauzers, and a Siamese cat  that I 
gave him (Old Broke-tail, photographed on his lap in a TIME magazine  story) 
and at the time of his death he had an affectionate corgi named Sweet  Thing. 
The schnauzers were forever getting smashed flat on the street and were a  
cause for great grief whenever it would happen. Unfortunately Walker developed a  
painful allergy to Old Broke who had to be given away. There was nothing  
sardonic about MY affection for the non street wise schnauzers or Old Broke, as  I 
was (and am) unreservedly sentimental about mine, but then I think of them as 
 younger brothers, a non-canonical view that Walker regarded as  just plain 
silly. But then, whenever one of them got spread-eagle flattened  on Jahncke 
Ave. he was some broken up. Sometimes the emotional centers in the  hippocampus 
over-rule the cerebrum.
 
Towards the end of Jaynes' popularity, the word went round that his  book had 
been an elaborate academic leg-pull, and Walker very much enjoyed  feeling 
that he had gotten the best of the argument, in the notion that even  Jaynes had 
not been serious. Later I had occasion to discuss this urban myth  with 
Jaynes' tennis partner and his view was equivocal. So we'll never  know.
 
Nikki



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