John Lawton (Marty Jorgensen) and M(ultitude)D.
You wrote
> The assertion that Quality is Reality becomes extremely murky when we
> see that the observer/theorizer etc. is also part of Reality. Such
> that our statements fail to capture anything all-inclusive. We can
> only realize that Totality and therefore speak meaningfully of it when
> the observer ceases. In this case we fall into the silence of
> mysticism. However to make pronouncements on all of Reality as if
> anyone had intellectual access to that object seems rash to me. As
> Pirsig said in Lila both the Mystics and the Philosophers had a
> problem with his Metaphysics. And with good reason. I find his efforts
> stimulating but, ultimately, unsatisfying.
You (and Marty Jorgensen) bring up the observer/reality issue as if
Pirsig has forgotten such an obvious thing before publishing his
ideas, but the "observer (SUBJECT) vs reality (OBJECT) versus
DYNAMIC Quality vs STATIC Quality" is what everything is about.
Marty comments on what Dan Glover wrote so I will not interfere
there, rather address you on the same issue.
You correctly refer to the two opponents to metaphysics: "..of the
two kinds of hostility to metaphysics he considered the mystics
hostility the most formidable.." It sounds as if your side with the
mystics, but also sympathize with the logical positivists who says
that metaphysics is simply a collection of unprovable assertions...
forget it!
This at page 65/66 (in my LILA copy) but just after the cited
passage Pirsig says: "As long as you are inside a logical coherent
universe of thought you can't escape metaphysics...etc". Most
people believe that their perception is natural - undiluted, but the
"universe of thought" is based on a hidden assumption - and the
current perception is the S/O ("observer/reality") metaphysics.
I could have gone on but the key to it all lies herein. This point can't
be refuted - only overlooked - and if so nothing will dent your
(SOM) conviction, but I believe that you, who find Pirsig's ideas
"stimulating" must have sensed SOMETHING, and are willing to
explore new metaphysical ground.
Thanks for reading.
Bo Skutvik
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