Squonk,
Yeah, you caught me. 6 needed to be there, but I didn't have the heart to
pull out the "Finally, and most importantly" ;-P
As a little biography, I took a class on ancient Chinese intellectual
thinking and it was amazing in its similarity to Pirsig (as you would think
it would be considering Pirsig was attempting to combine East and West).
So, when you say:
>Having a duty towards oneself in Pirsigian terms may have more to do with
>Ancient Chinese modes of thinking which has an inherent social base.
>I know that may sound contradictory, but a good society is built upon good
>people.
I agree, Pirsig was certainly thinking of this. And I can only agree that
a good society is built upon good people. However, if we look back at
Chinese society we might be inclined to believe that they didn't practice
what they preached. They were extremely class based and oppressive, as
much so as almost every other advanced Ancient civilization. The moral of
the story that someone like Rorty would pull out is that we need to be
careful when we say "duty towards oneself will make us good people, which
will make us a good society." "Good people" as in "good people who make up
a good society" are those who pay attention to the "duty towards others,"
in addition to the "duty towards oneself."
And, yes, I really am into Rorty. I am as attacked by obsession (which we
can define as the adopting of another's vocabulary) with Rorty, for better
or for worse, as I was with Pirsig four years ago.
Matt
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