> I would be very appreciative if some of you could suggest where I might
> find information to give me the much needed background education so that
> I might be better able to digest and participate in your discussions.
Ryan,
At least you've had the best start in philosophy with ZMM and LILA!
In the following I've started with two good general introductions to
philosophy, these are:
Cooper, David E. (1996). World Philosophies, Blackwell, Oxford & Cambridge,
Massachusetts. (Though not MOQ, it's readable and gives the beginner a good
overview of both the Eastern and Western traditions.)
Morton, Adam (1996). Philosophy in Practice: An Introduction to the Main
Questions, Blackwell, Oxford & Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Obviously 1996
was a good year for Blackwell... Anyway, less historical than the above but
still containing readable SOM summaries of the main issues in Western
philosophy).
(As far as readibilty is concerned, both the above texts are far better for
the beginner than something like the Oxford Companion to Philosophy).
Though a bit old hat, there's not too much wrong (as an SOM text) with
Popkins and Stroll's Philosophy Made Simple (1956), W.H. Allen, London.
(It's been revised and reprinted many times since the 1950s).
Referring to my students reading list for MOQ-orientated texts, I recommend
the following in particular:
Pirsig, R.M. (1995). Subjects, Objects, Data and Values, Internet paper
found at http://www.moq.org (for a brief summary of the MOQ and it’s
relationship to quantum mechanics.)
Di Santo, R.L. & Steele, T.J. (1990). Guidebook to Zen & the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenance, William Morrow & Co., New York (the classic book for
the background of ZMM and a lot more besides. Essential).
Northrop, F.S.C. (1947). The Logic of the Sciences & the Humanities, Ox Bow
Press, Woodbridge, Connecticut (for why the MOQ isn’t some sort of arcane
metaphysics. More "academic" than Pirsig but still fairly readable; for the
reader interested in how traditional Western philosophy relates to the
Eastern traditions.)
Herrigel, E. (1938). Zen in the Art of Archery, Arkana Books, New York
(Recommended by Pirsig for it's good illustration of Dynamic Quality).
I recommend these other texts for background reading:
Barrett, William (1986). Death of the Soul: Philosophical Thought from
Descartes to the Computer, Oxford University Press, London (for why SOM is
real and more insidious and widespread than most people realise).
Barzun, Jacques (1983). A Stroll with William James, Harper & Row, New
York. (A readable book and probably the best place to start for a beginner
of James).
Bohm, David (1980). Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Routledge & Kegan
Paul, London. (Again a readable book and probably contains the best
explanation there is of the alienation brought about by SOM).
Hagen, Steve (1997). Buddhism: Plain & Simple, Tuttle, Boston. (Pirsig
thinks this book on Buddhism is the closest one to the MOQ).
Lao Tzu a.k.a. "the Aged Master" (c.500 B.C.) Tao Te Ching, translated by
Stephen Mitchell 1998, Frances Lincoln, London. (Another insight into
Dynamic Quality. A colleague of mine says this particular translation is
one of the best there is).
Plato’s Theaetetus, (1928 translation by M.J. Levett) 1990 Paperback
Edition, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis & Cambridge. (Very
interesting if read from an MOQ perspective. It shows that Protagoras and
the other Sophists were almost certainly not relativists).
Rahula, Walpola (1959). What the Buddha Taught, 1978 Paperback Edition, The
Gordon Fraser Gallery, London & Bedford. (Hits the bullseye as far as the
fundamental teachings of the Buddha is concerned. Dr Rahula was a Buddhist
monk as well as one of the leading academics in Sri Lanka).
Warnock, Mary (1992) The Uses of Philosophy, Blackwell, Oxford. (Not much
MOQ but a readable book which shows the more practical applications of
philosophy).
There are others with an MOQ flavour but I don't think they'd be the best
ones for a beginner. Anyway, I think the above is enough to be going on with!
Best wishes,
Anthony.
_______________________________________________________________________
Never pay another Internet phone bill!
Freeserve AnyTime, for all the Internet access you want, day and night, only £12.99 per month.
Sign-up at http://www.freeserve.com/time/anytime
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat Aug 17 2002 - 16:01:42 BST