Hi Struan, Puzzled Elephant, Horse, Peter L. and all,
> ELEPHANT:
> Crystal clear. What is less clear it is that you think a firmly held
> dichotomy would have to have before it became a firmly held
metaphysics. I
> suspect that what it would have to have, in your veiw, is the label
> "metaphysics" attached to it by a bit of string, or, failing that, the
> British Academy.
I think that pachyderm has hit the nail on the head with this one, and
rightly asks for us to define metaphysics.
IMO, everyone operates under a set of assumptions or guideline that
constitute a worldview (philosophy).
Some people, like Struan, Einstein, Iris Murdoch and thousands of other
philosophers realise the fact. The man in the street does not - thus he
frequently fails to question his assumptions and recognise their
limitations.
Unfortunately, our collective approach is the latter, and this (IMO) is
what Pirsig says very forcefully.
The idealists of this world (like Plato) have always looked for a
perfect metaphysical axiom to underpin the whole - but according to
Goedel it cannot exist. The empiricists (like Aristotle) have ignored
the issue, and will use whatever axioms serve their purpose. (The
scoundrels of history have ABuse the very same axioms).
Pirsig's quality has an attractiveness about it (-; a nice tautology ;-)
because it serves both empiricists and idealists. However, the MoQ (as
presented by Pirsig) also has its limitations, and criticising it is
easy sport, enjoyed more by (Struan) than others. I think we need people
like Struan to make sure that assumptions are ALWAYS questioned. Struan
keeps us on our toes, and while he is taking pot-shots at Pirsig, he
makes a very welcome alternative target!
Have a Merry Xmas to all of you out there celebrating it.
Jonathan
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