Borges and I
"Borges and I" | |
---|---|
Short story by Jorge Luis Borges | |
Original title | Borges y Yo |
Country | Argentina |
Language | Spanish |
Genre(s) | Fantasy, short story |
Publication | |
Media type |
"Borges and I" (originally in Spanish "Borges y Yo") is a short story by the Argentine writer and poet, Jorge Luis Borges. It is one of the stories in the short story collection, The Maker (originally in Spanish El Hacedor), first published in 1960.[1]
Analysis
Borges explores the concept of Self as being separate from the public persona perceived by readers through his works. Borges' Self is more similar to the prose of Stevenson than he is to the writings of his public persona. He goes on to highlight the differences between his Self and his persona. He also evaluates his own work quite critically, saying Borges, "has put together some decent passages, yet these passages cannot save me."
Philosophical Implications
Borges' story raises many philosophical questions of Self and epistemology. Viewed through the analytic lens of Russell's knowledge by description, the story explores the interesting concept of knowledge of Self by description (as opposed to the more expected knowledge by acquaintance). This is emphasized by the mention of receiving Borges' mail and reading about Borges in a book.
Also, the distinction between persona and Self can be interpreted as a distinction between author and writer. The author would be analogous to the persona and Borges. The writer would be the Self and "I." Theoretically, the writer could be anyone, it just happens to be Borges. With this interpretation Borges is seen to be commenting on the cognitive differences between processing third person information and first person information.[2]
External links
- Borges and I and Borges y Yo (an English translation and the Spanish original)
References
- ^ [1], publication information and text in English at Northwestern University.
- ^ [2], Amherst philosophy lecturer John Perry discusses the differences between the two possible interpretations in depth. Perry, John. “ ‘Borges and I’ and ‘I’.” The Amherst Lecture in Philosophy 2 (2007): 1–16. <http://www.amherstlecture.org/perry2007/>.