Hello everyone
Jonathan wrote:
>Kevin, Glove, everyone,
>
>Glove wrote
>>: "...mankind will never be perfect, or even approach perfection, for
>>: perfection is in the individual and not to be found in society... man
>and
>>: woman may approach perfection in spirit and in action... indeed even
>>become
>>: perfection in spirit and action... but that perfection is something
>>Dynamic
>>: and unseen.
>
>The whole idea of reaching a state of perfection is to then be
>impervious to further change. This sounds like the route to stagnation,
>and definitely anti-Pirsigian.
Glove:
Hi Jonathan,
Yes, the idea of a state of perfection will lead to stagnation, but this is
precisely what Pirsig is warning about... so I do not believe that this is
anti-Pirsigian at all. This is a social level stagnation, and not a
biological stagnation, though the social level directly affects biological
processes. The idea of reaching a state of perfection is uniquely individual
and not a group, or social level idea. This is why the archery master in Zen
in the Art of Archery couldn't teach Hennigal about "it" directly, but
rather had to weave a complex pattern of experiences on all levels of his
being in order for him to get "it".
Biological perfection will never be achieved without creating a stasis,
containing the seeds of its own destruction... this too is applicable to the
social level processes as well. Some people say that we can conceive of
perfection intellectually... but I tend to disagree with that, as I think
the author Eugen Hennigal would also. So in a sense, the idea of a state of
perfection is an idealistic notion held by those who no longer believe in a
higher power... the philosopher Ayn Rand comes immediately to my mind... and
is objectivistic.
Best wishes,
glove
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