Stephen Black wrote: > I just want to remind people that my original post actually referred > to a remarkable new paper on the famous novelist Iris Murdoch, and > never mentioned Flew directly. Garrard et al (2004) showed that > despite the great skill Murdoch displayed in writing her last novel, > _Jackson's Dilemma_, a computer analysis of the text showed that > hidden within it were subtle signs of the onset of the disease with > which she was diagnosed a year later. By mentioning this case in the > context of a discussion on Flew, I was, of course, hinting that the > same might apply to him. What makes the paper remarkable is that it > shows that even while one is still functioning at a very high level > (who among us could write a novel even half as good as this mediocre > one from Murdoch), the disease was nevertheless beginning to exert > its relentless effects. So I think it's reasonable to speculate that > something similar is taking place with Prof. Flew.
Not until (1) it is clear what Flew is actually saying his current position is, rather than what is being reported in various places (2) There is some evidence (e.g., of the kind Stephen cites in the case of Iris Murdoch) for this. That, in his '80s, Flew somewhere mentions some depreciation in his day-to-day mental capacities (I can't recall offhand what he was alluding to, perhaps his memory), is equivocal evidence, as this would be normal for his age. Allen Esterson --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
