I was asked, what is
the most important idea Sondra Perl has contributed to in the field of
theorizing the writing process? In reading, “Understanding Composing”, I came
to the conclusion that the most important idea to Sondra Perl is “Felt Sense”. According
to Perl, while writing it does not occur with words but with “feelings or
non-verbalized perceptions…the move occurs inside the writer, to what is
physically felt” (Perl 30-31).
The term felt sense
comes from Eugene Gendlin who is a philosopher at the University of Chicago. As
Gendlin describes it as, the soft underbelly of thought…a kind of bodily
awareness that…can be used as a tool…a bodily awareness that…encompasses
everything you feel and know about a given subject at a given time…It is felt
in the body, yet it has meanings. It is body and mind before they split apart
(Perl 31). Felt sense is inside the body and deals with feeling while writing
and also feelings before you start writing. When we write, we must think about
our feelings towards the topic we have chosen to write about. When thinking
about our topic, we should think not only think about our ideas but also our
own feelings and thoughts in order to write a well thought- out and processed
paper. As the writer, you can’t write just on the topic alone, you must write
what you feel.
Ok, you show some understanding here, but there is work to be done too.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have "gotten" that felt sense is physical. That's good and important. But you have two major issues here that I want to address.
First, your title is filled with typos, not the least of which is BOTH the author's first AND last names are wrong. This makes the strong first impression that you didn't do the reading, or didn't do it well enough to be trusted on the topic. I'm not saying that as a personal insult, or even to suggest that I know you did or did not do the reading. I am just letting you know how it looks. Appearances mean a lot, in some ways they are almost all we've got, like it or not. Errors like these, so easy to fix, can do alot of damage to impressions. I'm over it now, but when I first saw that I actually had to step away from the computer because I was annoyed. So, be careful.
Also, it is important for you to re-think one aspect of what Perl is saying. She is *not* saying that "you can't just write about the topic alone" (I'm quoting you). She is saying you DO have to make sure (keep going back to make sure) you are "on topic," while also being sensitive and self-conscious enough to say what you really want to say.
And really, in this sense, ideas and feelings are the same thing. Anyone's response to a topic is a mix of mind AND body, ideas AND feelings. Part of what Perl is suggesting is that the separation we ASSUME between the two is false, or is part of what messes us up. That's important.