The Extraordinary Work of Ordinary Writing

Download or read book The Extraordinary Work of Ordinary Writing written by Jennifer Sinor and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2002-11-13 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Krutch’s trenchant observations about life prospering in the hostile environment of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert turn to weighty questions about humanity and the precariousness of our existence, putting lie to Western denials of mind in the “lower” forms of life: “Let us not say that this animal or even this plant has ‘become adapted’ to desert conditions. Let us say rather that they have all shown courage and ingenuity in making the best of the world as they found it. And let us remember that if to use such terms in connection with them is a fallacy then it can only be somewhat less a fallacy to use the same terms in connection with ourselves.”