Hi Sam, 3WD, All:
Just getting caught up on some back correspondence after a switch in
internet connections that, as anyone could predict, was full of bugs and
bungling.
To 3WD who wrote about how Ram Dass blamed his stroke on not
being a vegitarian--all I can say is Mr. Dass must still be brain-addled
by all the LSD he imbibed. In the absence of mainstream medical
studies to the contrary, I do not find eating meat to "evade, overide, or
circumvent" lover levels and thus become a threat to health, much
less be immoral.
To Sam who wrote that Pirsig used language incautiously in parts of
LILA (referring to the statement that eating meat is "scientifically"
immoral)--all I can say is I wish that it were so, but in my judgment
Pirsig was exceedingly careful in choosing his words throughout LILA.
I agree, however, that since Pirsig did not show that abstaining from
meat affects one's Dynamic capacity one way or another, his sanction
against eating meat was considerably weakened.
After Horse pointed out Pirsig's hypocrisy on the vegitarian matter, I
went back to LILA and dug out a dozen acts that Pirsig specifically said
were immoral. Stephen M., Brian and Marco have written excellent
responses which I plan to answer shortly. For now it seems clear that
each of us brings our preconceptions to the issues at hand and
thereby render different conclusions about Pirsig's meanings. Happily
in this particular exercise at least three of us agreed more often than
not. Marco took greater exception to my interpretations than the others.
Maybe there's something in the water in Italy. (-:
Platt
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