Dear John B.,
A reply to your 20/8 21:56 +1000 post:
Pirsig's resolution of the problem under SOM, whether human beings are
determined or have free will, indeed fails when we pay too much attention to
the SOM-tainted language in which we describe it. If you realize that the
MoQ acknowledges (at its highest level of abstraction, before sq is split in
4 levels) only the existence of static patterns of values and unpatterned
Dynamic Quality, the problem doesn't exist however.
The only 'things' we can identify ourselves (the ones being determined or
free) with are static patterns of values. These patterns are recognizably
there because of some stabilizing (latching) mechanism AND they are 'only'
patterns that are still recognizable as such when there is some dynamic.
We can therefore say (translating into SOMish) that human beings are BOTH
determined AND free (if we translate stabilizing/latching as determination
and dynamic/exeptions from the patterns as freedom) OR we can say that
they/we are NEITHER (if don't want to make this translation).
Static patterns of values neither 'follow' nor 'choose'. They're just more
or less rigid.
With friendly greetings,
Wim
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