Struan, rich, & other definitions of quality,
Mystical, Rational, and Risky Roger in the current LS thread urges "it was
essential that everybody define their terms"
With regards to Pirsig here's mine. For Lila I use 1988 version of Webster's
New World Dictionary of American English-Third College Edition which was first
published in 1970 and revised every two years after that. For Zen I use my
threadbare 1962 2nd edition of the same. The thinking behind this is straightforward.
1 These were the most commonly used high school & college desktop references
for American English during the periods he was writing.
2. Given that his quality quest started while teaching introductory
undergraduate English writing classes I feel both his books are an
continuation of that experience. And as such the terms used in each should be
within the grasp of an American freshman in college during those
times.(irreguardless of their lowly status in the global educational pool)
Five of the six definitions of "faith" in the 88 version are in
"unquestioning" mode but we all seem to lean towards the fourth definition:
"anything believed" or if not that then turn definition of faith on it's head
as "questioned belief"
Robert Cole in "The Secular Mind" in talking about faith refers to a central
point of "Fear and Trembling" by Kierkegaard thus:
"In Fear and Trembling, for instance, we are ask to consider Abraham's walk up
a mountain..with his beloved son Isacc. There God has sought him out in an
apparently merciless (and inscrutable) way: The demand that the father kill
his son as evidence of a compliant faith.[unquestion belief] Here are the
words of high drama, of staggering anxiety: "Take now thy son, thine only son
Isaac, whom thou lovest..and offer him .. for a burnt offering upon one of the
mountains which I wil tell thee of..." Later an angel stops Abraham and
everybody lives happily ever after. It's interesting to speculate what would
have happened to Christianity had that not happened.
Now it is my understanding that what was going on between God and Abraham is a
classic Christian mystical experience the very ground stuff of the whole
religion. It appears to comply with four of Struan's eight characteristics of mysticism.
1) A belief in a world of reality different to that which manifests itself to
the natural senses.
5) A belief in the value of intuition over reason.
1) To express belief in God (Jon. 3: 5)
3) To express adherence to an idea or set of principles (Psalm 119)
It is beyond comprehension that Abraham would have had no doubt, or was
unquestioning, yet we are told that he was proceeding and would have executed
his son if not stopped at the last moment. So after that doubt and questioning
his "unquestioning belief" in his mystical experience decided his action. He
"valued his intuition over reason". He belived "in a world of reality
different to that which manifests itself to the natural senses" Thus IMHO the
uneasiness of the rational mind with faith, and by extension mysticism.
Dave Thomas
MOQ Online Homepage - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
Unsubscribe - http://www.moq.org/md/index.html
MD Queries - horse@wasted.demon.nl
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat Aug 17 2002 - 16:02:58 BST