"Further, just as the human stomach -- unlike the termite's -- can't digest wood, so there are some things our brains just aren't capable of knowing."
— Kaplan, Eric
Author
Work Title
Date
December 20, 2014
Metaphor
"Further, just as the human stomach -- unlike the termite's -- can't digest wood, so there are some things our brains just aren't capable of knowing."
Metaphor in Context
Church's argument is double-barreled. First he argues we have no way of knowing if Santa is really there. Even if we observed every chimney in the world, we wouldn't know that Santa couldn't slip through in some as yet undetected and untheorized manner. After all, we know today that both Church and Virginia had neutrinos passing through their bodies although neutrinos were far beyond the most advanced physics of their day. Maybe Santa's like that. Further, just as the human stomach -- unlike the termite's -- can't digest wood, so there are some things our brains just aren't capable of knowing. Maybe Santa is one of them.
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Eric Kaplan, "Should We Believe in Santa Claus?" New York Times (December 20, 2014). <Link to NYTimes.com>
Date of Entry
12/25/2014
