David Abram on Becoming Animal

There is a strain in philosophy of science that assumes nothing "there" beyond the reach of our detecting/measuring instruments - and "logical explanations." A major flaw with this is that our instruments, and detection methods in general, are almost entirely limited to what they are designed to detect. In other words, they "find" what humans instruct them to find; and very little else.

This reductionism seems fueled by the good old human lust to truly be THE Know it All....

It is refreshing to encounter David Abram who seems to grasp that flaw. He allows serious consideration for perceptions that just don't fit mundane "logical explanations."

It seems more healthy to maintain humility in the face of the vast portion of what can/may be known - in comparison to what we do, with reasonable assurance, actually know.

The human hubris for absolute certainty poisoned both early science and the faith reaction. Now there is an all too common strain among "the faithful" to read their traditional documents with the same absolutist, rational/empirical/literal, mindset - and thus miss the simple fact that those documents are intended to tackle serious, non-material, questions like what are we? and why are we here?, etc.

Those are questions legitimately tackled by myth stories/literature. This tradition offers many "how to" pointers for our inner lives. Science, on the other hand, is very adept at giving us "how to" pointers for the external world. Science tells us how to do things, while myth offers us ultimate purposes for doing what we do.

It seems Mr. Abram has perceived, as I have, that there is a real overlap of these two approaches - and that they can compliment each other.

Very well done interview!

I was present, during an intimate indoor concert with about 60 in the audience, for a series of duets and solos by jazz saxophonist Ned Rothenberg and Mongolian singer Sainkho Namtchylak - http://www.avantart.com/music/amulet.htm

Sainkho started the second set, singing *khoomei" (traditional shamanic "throat-singing") in which she has a four-octave range. Without warning we were surrounded (auditorily & and just at the edge of vision) by a flock of noisy, loud-flapping crows, wheeling in the air - which appeared without warning... and then disappeared during a later point in her song. Similarly, when I was recording the high Andes ensemble Grupo Aymara, during a rattle-ly, discordant song/drum/whistle song they "conjured" a driving rainstorm beating down upon a high-mountain plaza... and it was indeed *there* along with cracks of lightning/thunder (again as an auditory & felt, half-seen phenomena).

Such things can be done - these are just a couple from examples I have witnessed.