ROGER REPLIES TO GLENN
GLEN:
I read all of Anthony McWatt's paper and I could not find my question in
it, much less the answer. There are some questions at the end of the paper
directed to Pirsig about the static nature of evolution and time and some
kind of paradox which I didn't fully understand (and neither did Pirsig),
but these were not my question. Did I miss something?
ROG:
Here is your question, which if taken at face value would imply that the MOQ
is rather daffy:
GLENN:
Finally, there's this business about DQ creating substance during
quality experiences. There's no empirical evidence for this, and it
contradicts science because a rock that you create and which you
claim to be several minutes old can be carbon-dated and shown to be
several million years old. Also, this idea of humans creating
substances like rocks on-the-fly contradicts another part of MOQ, which
states that the inorganic level evolved and pre-dated humans. In this
case either evolution is wrong or the creative power of DQ is not true.
ROG:
The paper answers your question of how the MOQ can rationally suggest that
objects are created out of DQ without being absurd.
"Quality is the changing flux of reality that logically
comes before any conceptual distinctions such as subjects and objects are
made. The concepts of subject and object are commonly confused with the
essence of reality because they have become such a common apparatus for
describing, understanding and analysing that reality."
"Pirsig ....believes that subjects, objects, and
events are only concepts applied to reality."
It is the static concept of a rock that is created. And of course, this is a
concept that includes such qualities as hardness, grayness, flecks of dirt
and several million years old carbon. The inorganic level does not predate
humans....in fact it does not predate Pirsig. It is a static concept used to
simplify and condense a huge range of dynamic reality into an easy to use
package. The MOQ does not contradict science, evolution is not wrong, and
Pirsig can build a coherent metaphysics where reality (DQ) is defined as
dynamic and flowing and concepts and patterns are derived from and out of
this reality.
Hope this helps.
Rog
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