Having recently reread James Bish’s great book “A Case of Conscience”, I’m once again stumped by Blish’s reference that tells how Descartes flung cats out of windows to prove they have no soul (Blish takes exception to the practice).
I’m unfamiliar with any cat-flinging stage of Descartes’ career. How, exactly was defenestrating kitties supposed to prove a lack of soul? (Wings, yes). I mean, presumably the cats objected to being flung out of windows, so what was Descartes trying to show (other than the fact that cats aren’t helium filled)?
Fenris