Struan, Elephant, All
Struan, your Monday post in this thread with exerpts from your first
post to this forum triggered recollections of why I first became
involved here. Pirsig wrote both books in novel form. And, I think even
you have conceded that at least one was 'good' . But "Why as novels?",
has always bugged me. My biggest question after rereading ZaMM followed
shortly there after by Lila was, "Are these fact or fiction?" And then,
"What about the philosophy?". After a few years here and a little more
reading I think I've arrived at a reasonable answer.[at least for me]
But first, you said,
> Also for the record. I view philosophy as a adjunct to science, in the
> sense that it has a similar relationship to science as art criticism does to
> art. Science is undoubtedly the driving force and the foundation.
Possibly this is the root of most our disagreements. I view philosophy
by the more "common" definition: 'a particular system of principles for
the conduct of life'. These principles ideally would be based on a,
'love of, and search for,wisdom and knowledge." with wisdom leading to
some verifably good, right, or just and useful action.The science
critic, quickly seeing two common definitions of philosophy and steeped
in logic hears, "philosophy should be based on philosophy" and laughs a
superior laugh. Winning the argument but losing.
Within both Eastern and Western philosophic traditions there have been
schools which claim that this 'search' is ultimately an individual
endeavor. Both empiricism and buddhism have had advocates who promoted
this view. Both East and West also have a long tradtions of using 'art'
in its many and varied forms to help communicate complex intellectual or
moral concepts to a broader audience. Within the Zen tradition use of
"art" in this way has become such an integral part of the whole that it
almost becomes the philosophy. It is a 'showing' rather than a 'telling' approach.
Returning to Pirsig's books, the facts such as including Zen and Art in
the title of the first book, the novel form of both, and many, many
other similar issues have led me to conclude that what we are dealing
with here is hybrid Art. An amalgam of art, as the Zen tradition would
use it, combined with the primarily Western literary art form, the
novel. Pirsig's books are a combination of verifiable facts and
ingenious fiction of one "search" crafted to 'show' or 'point' to
possible paths others might search, what pitfalls might be encountered,
and the insights of that individual's experience. Rather than a
philosophical treasise which 'tell' what one can or should reasonably
think or do. And as such a rigourous application of Western logic
evaluating "Art" as "Science" or novels as philosophical treasises will
probably lead to fatally flawed conclusions with the risk of missing any
potential 'good'.
Put on your "art critic" hat surely you have one filed in a logical place.
3WD
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