Hi Simon:
Maybe it's just me, but I find it hard to respond to your post of 29 May
because you seem to have missed the whole point of the MOQ. I came
to this conclusion from two things you wrote at the end of your post:
> No, it kind of means that morality is subjective doesn't it.
and
> Come to think of it, perhaps all quality is social. Would explain a hell of
> a lot.
Well, if the MOQ means anything it means just the opposite of your
conclusions. According to the MOQ, reality consists of four moral
levels made up of static patterns of quality plus a dynamic life force.
Morality is NOT subjective and quality is NOT exclusively social.
I can't quote all of Lila to illustrate the point, but that's what the book is
all about--taking morality out of SOM's subjective and social realms
where practically everyone believes it belongs and making it the total of
reality. Perhaps this paragraph from Chap. 13 sums it up as well as
anything:
"What is today conventionally called 'morality' covers only one of these
sets of moral codes, the social-biological code. In a subject-object
metaphysics this single social-biological code is considered to be a
minor, 'subjective,' physically nonexistent part of the universe. But in the
Metaphysics of Quality all these sets of morals, plus another Dynamic
morality, are not only real, they are the whole thing."
Of course, you can call Pirsig a nut case if you want. You'll have lots of
company. But to discuss the MOQ and its relevancy to various
government systems, it helps to refer to what the MOQ says.
Pirsig would be the first to admit that he might be wrong. But what
attracted me to his philosophy was that it explained a lot of things
(platipi) that Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, James, etc. didn't or couldn't.
Pirsig's explanation of why free enterprise is better than socialism is
one that even a conservative economist like Friedrich Hayek never
conceived of.
Have I misinterpreted your statements?
Platt
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