The Soul of Chickens, The Soul of 'Shropshire'

Anyone who has studied philosophy seriously will be warmed by Grice's reference to his undergraduate student, "Shropshire": he demonstrated that the soul is aeternal, on the strength that a chicken runs around the couryard for a quarter of an hour after being beheaded."

The argument involves analogy, transcategorial epithets -- and faith.

Soul has always interested philosophers, since the time of Orfeo. As per this rarely performed opera -- I own the DVD filmed with C. Bartoli:


"L'anima del filosofo [ossia Orfeo ed Euridice]", by Haydn.

In a letter to his mistress, he writes:

"Up to now our opera has not yet opened, and since the King [Haymarket] won't
t give the licence, Signor Gallini intends to open it as if it were a
subscription concert, for if he doesn't, he stands to lose twenty thousand pounds
Sterling. I shan't lose anything, because the bankers in Fries in Vienna have
already received my money. My opera, entitled L'anima del filosofo, will be
staged at the end of May; I have already completed the Second Act, but there
are five acts, of which the last are very short. In order to show the public
his theatre, his opera and his ballet, Signor Gallini has had the clever idea
of arranging, one evening a few days ago, a dress rehearsal in such a manner
as if it were the real opening night; he distributed four thousand tickets,
and more than five thousand came. We now await a yes or a no from the King, and
if our theatre is opened, the other theatre, that is, our rivals, will have
to close their doors."

Unfortunately, it never opened. I wonder why they didn't think of taking it to Oxford.

I read:

"No one can imagine what Haydn would have revised if his noble Orfeo ed
Euridice had ever reached the stage."

Apparently, it's all from Ovid, except the eponym 'anima del filosofo' who
(the anima) is (apparently) performed by a "Genio".

It all connects with Plato's neo-orphic doctrines he ascribes to good ol' Socrates. And the intermezzo is a delight.

Etc.