How does an academic movement begin? Well, often such a movement begins
with a single author and a small group of people who are devoted to
understanding what he is trying to say. And as a particular interpretation
becomes more and more popular, a new field of study is born.
The first logic step in creating a new discipline is to create texts. I
imagine one day seeing a paperback book published by Routledge: The
Metaphisics of Quality: A Reader. Or perhaps a hardcover textbook published
by Harcourt-Brace: An Introduction to The Metaphisics of Quality, something
for the undergraduates. If such reference were available, and well
marketed, more than a few disgruntled English Professors would pick them up.
Primary texts are great, but if you want the MOQ to really take off, you
have to teach it. And, people are listening better these days especially
the kids, they’re really listening.
Does the MOQ belong in some obscure class in the philosophy department?
Probably not, but that’s at least one step closer to legitimacy than living
suspended in cyberspace. And after a few semesters, a few people might even
begin to make waves in other departments. Even though it's a complicated
book, we don't have the cliff notes to ZMM because it’s not assigned reading
anywhere.
I may be young, but I’m not naïve. I know that books get published because
they are expected to make money. There is already a large fan-base of
educated dynamic people who might buy a secondary text. And a lot of people
(like myself) would consider ZMM or Lilia to be their favorite book.
Among, the subscribers to this list we might most of a collection of essays
about MOQ already in existence. And we can steal Zen poems, scientific
essays, and anything else that belongs in an anthology. Pirsig gave the MOQ
its first dynamic push into existence, now we have to latch it down.
I'd love to spend hundreds of thankless hours editing and formating essays,
using desktop publishing software, and writing provocative letters to famous
publishers.
-Daniel Colonnese
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