Hi Tanya:
Thanks for the thanks. You wrote:
> I'm still 'thinking on it' (although I'm fairly confident it's not an
> entirely 'intellectual' pursuit) I think Pirsig is thinking on it
> too, well prepared to make the 'leap' outside of 'intellect' as well.
> As I read the last 10 chapters or so of Lila, vaguely suspicious it
> was 'God' he was getting to, but for whatever reason not speaking it
> out loud (perhaps for fear of loosing 'intellectual' audience?, or
> better yet, not wanting to deprive the reader of the intimacy of a
> personal quest/discovery!), I found myself on the edge of my seat,
> hoping he'd at least adopt a fall back position, barely able to
> contain myself from saying out loud : "say it! Say it! Call it Love!"
> to Pirsig ... but he never did...
The best he could do was to say that "Quality" could not be defined. In
other words, whatever it is, it is beyond intellect's ability to describe it.
Before it, we are struck dumb, speechless. Love is like that. So is
beauty. In fact, experience itself -- the taste of chocolate, the smell of
rose, the sight of an airplane crashing into a building -- is beyond the
power of intellect to reproduce other than in symbolic form, a pale
substitute. That's why Pirsig makes no distinction between direct
experience and Quality. Both are indescribable. Those who have never
experienced love cannot know what love is, no matter how many books
by Erich Fromm they read. So I wouldn't blame Pirsig too much for not
naming it anything other than Quality.
> Seems one of the biggest problems I'll encounter in my 'philosophy'
> quest is that "Love" is mostly dealt with in Psychology, Psychiatry
> and Religion, and even there the waters get very muddy very quickly -
> so many variants come into play in love's practise with real people.
>
> And I'm a beginner! - - So this is a plea to all! - I'll be grateful
> if anyone can reference for me any writing on the 'philosophy' of
> Love.
Sorry, can't help you except point to the New Testament which is not
philosophy, of course, but revelation. Maybe this is the place to develop
such a philosophy. The first step is to define the term. That in itself
could take many weeks before agreement is reached. But it sure would
be fun.
Platt
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