[Buddha-l] the true authority on meanings

[Richard Hayes]

On Sun, 2007-10-21 at 20:22 -0700, Michael Essex wrote:

> 'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone,' it
> means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.'

This shows why one should never trust an egghead.

I can't resist an anecdote. Some years ago I used a passage from Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland to illustrate some terribly important point I
was trying to make in a graduate seminar. No sooner had I mentioned the
work in question than I found myself being ferociously attacked by a
woman in the class, whose sensibilities had been offended by the "fact"
that I had chosen to cite the words of a "known pedophile." When I tried
to defend the great logician and mathematician by pointing out that the
allegations of pedophilia were based entirely on speculations that
emerged in the early 1970s, I was met with "Come on! Why would an adult
man write a book for a little girl unless he was a sexual predator?"
That piece of reasoning, which immediately threw all authors of
children's literature into suspicion, was on a par with most of the
splendid displays of comic logic in Charles Dodgson's writings.
Nevertheless, I was so intimidated by the ferocity of the attack that I
have tended to steer clear of anything having to do with Alice, whether
Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking-glass, Alice's
Restaurant, Alice Cooper, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore or Alice Well
on the Western Front. 

Thank you for daring to mention this man in public. It has emboldened me
to bring Charles Dodgson's quips back into my graduate seminars. 

--
[Name withheld by request]
Department of _______
University of _______