--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All arguments between the traditional…" description: "\"“All arguments between the traditional scientific view of man as organism, a locus of needs and drives, and a Christian view of man as a spiritual bein..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/walker-percy-1958_science_all-arguments-between-the-traditional-sc_1798995.jpg" --- # All arguments between the traditional scientific view of… ![“All arguments between the traditional scientific view of man as organism, a locus of needs and drives, and a Christian view of man as a spiritual being not only unresolvable at the present level of discourse but are also profoundly boring...From the scientific view at least, a new model of man is…” quote by Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/walker-percy-1958_science_all-arguments-between-the-traditional-sc_1798995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/walker-percy-1958_science_all-arguments-between-the-traditional-sc_1798995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be4/walker-percy-1958_science_all-arguments-between-the-traditional-sc_1798995.jpg) > ““All arguments between the traditional scientific view of man as organism, a locus of needs and drives, and a Christian view of man as a spiritual being not only unresolvable at the present level of discourse but are also profoundly boring...From the scientific view at least, a new model of man is needed, something other than man conceived as a locus of bio-psycho-sociological needs and drives. Such an anthropological model might be provided by semiotics, that is, the study of man as the sign-using creature and, specifically, the study of the self and consciousness as derivatives of the sign-function.”” [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that traditional scientific models of humans as driven by needs are insufficient, urging a semiotic view that sees humans as sign‑using beings with consciousness emerging from sign‑functions. **In simple terms:** Science sees humans as need‑driven; semiotics sees us as sign‑users. Key Takeaway Adopt a semiotic perspective on self and consciousness. Themes anthropology philosophy theology semiotics Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - personal identity exploration - interdisciplinary research Key Concepts sign‑function consciousness human nature Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing humans as sign‑users change ethical decisions? - What evidence supports semiotics over biology? A Different Perspective Semiotic models may lack empirical testability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropological Model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropological-model-2014483/) [Man Organism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-organism-2014484/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Provided Semiotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/provided-semiotics-2014485/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Semiotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semiotics/) [Semiotics Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semiotics-study-1504549/) ## Related quotes > [I don't read novels, but my semiotics study influenced everything about the way I read and edit and write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-don-t-read-novels-but-my-semiotics-study-influenced-everything/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [Man is an organism, not a mechanism; and the mechanical pacing of his life does harm to his human responses, which naturally follow a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/man-is-an-organism-not-a-mechanism-and-the-mechanical-pacing-of-his/) [Richard M. 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Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-d-hamilton/) > [“Man as an organism is to the world outside like a whirlpool is to a river: man and world are a single natural process,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/man-as-an-organism-is-to-the-world-outside-like-a-whirlpool-is-to-a/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“My own conviction is that semiotics provides an escape from the solipsist prison by its stress on the social origins of language--you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/my-own-conviction-is-that-semiotics-provides-an-escape-from-the/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“This is the perennial danger which besets semiotics: what with man being preeminently the sign-using creature, and what with man using signs in everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/this-is-the-perennial-danger-which-besets-semiotics-what-with-man/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [One of the reasons I love language is that concerning semiotics, language is an arbitrary sign system, which means the signs within it are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/one-of-the-reasons-i-love-language-is-that-concerning-semiotics/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [When Britney shaves off all her hair and beats paparazzi with umbrellas - that's what celebrities are supposed to do. 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Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) [Browse all 27,477 Science quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All arguments between the traditional scientific view of man as organism, a locus of needs and drives, and a Christian view of man as a spiritual being not only unresolvable at the present level of discourse but are also profoundly boring...From the scientific view at least, a new model of man is needed, something other than man conceived as a locus of bio-psycho-sociological needs and drives. 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