Theos-Talk Archives (March 1998 Message tl00153)

Mark Kusek wrote:

> Lastly, when I said "Manas is the defining human attribute," what I
> meant is that it is the Human kingdom's destiny to fully develop Manas,
> as it is the Animals to fully develop Kamas. That's Textbook theosophy,
> but it doesn't mean that the lines of demarcation are hard and fast
> between kingdoms. Animals share in developing lower Manas up to the
> point of individualization when they technically enter the Human
> kingdom.

    The science of linguistics is actually going a long way towards
demonstrating this. Humans are a LOT smarter than simple natural selection can
account. While some animals can show a degree of intelligence up until about
the human 2 year old level, humans progress beyond that level very rapidly,
while animals appear to be hitting a ceiling. The key is the human linguistic
ability. Animals (and plants) can communicate in icons (the object or action
represents itself), or indexes (something associated with the object or action
implies the object or action), but language involves a complex cross-linking
system that allows the creation of virtual worlds which only humans can access.
By looking at this top-down, it appears to be dualism, but when one realizes
that the virtual world builds on indexes and icons, you can see that it is an
evolutionary rather than revolutionary step.

    Bart Lidofsky