Meandering about . . .

Today is the birthday of Walker Percy (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990), novelist and essay writer, whose interests included philosophy and semiotics.

Walker Percy's works explore "the notion that human beings are out of place in the cosmos, that they have become alienated to the world they inhabit, and that they are searching for ways to bring significance into their lives. In short, as the title of one of his works of non-fiction implies, they are looking for "the message in the bottle" that will bring a salvation of sorts." direct quote source (1)

"Why is it that one can look at a lion or a planet or an owl or at someone’s finger as long as one pleases, but looking into the eyes of another person is, if prolonged past a second, a perilous affair?" - Walker Percy

"I have discovered that most people have no one to talk to, no one, that is, who really wants to listen. When it does at last dawn on a man that you really want to hear about his business, the look that comes over his face is something to see. " - Walker Percy

"You live in a deranged age, more deranged that usual, because in spite of great scientific and technological advances, man has not the faintest idea of who he is or what he is doing. " - Walker Percy

"Why it is that of all the billions and billions of strange objects in the Cosmos -- novas, quasars, pulsars, black holes -- you are beyond doubt the strangest?" - Walker Percy

"If I had the choice of knowing the truth or searching for the truth, I'd take the search." - Walker Percy

Percy image source (1)