Subject: Pirsig's present.
Date: Monday, May 24, 1999 5:42 PM
Jonathan and squad,
I think the problelm we are having is in our different points of view. As
I said, my concern with the MoQ is that it be consistent throughout. To
this end I regard the universe as the primary living entity that has been
constructed through Dynamic and static quality. If no human sentience
existed in the universe it would still be here in much the same form as it
exists today. I regard the human race
as a product of the living universe, probably temporary.
I agree with your statement that the universe would not exist "AS WE KNOW
IT " without humanity but that is a different statement. the term "AS WE
KNOW IT" demands the presence of humanity but there are probably many
facets of the universe of which we are unaware or have no explanation for
but which still exist. I contend that the universe existed before sentience
and would have existed had sentience never appeared. The "AS WE KNOW IT" is
the reason that I feel it necessary to distinguish universal Quality from
human Quality.
If you have had the opportunity to observe a human baby from the moment
of birth then you would see that the infant starts off with no visual
input, and probably no input of any other kind either. If you observe the
eyes of a newborn it is obvious that the eyes are not functioning as
information gatherers. Give the baby a month or two or three and you can
then watch its eyes and see that it is gathering information from them. The
eyes will reflect a continual questioning look, yet the universe exists for
the newborn infant just as surely as for us. projecting that particular to
the whole race, there must have been a time when our precursors existed
before sentience and surely the universe existed during that time. If you
wish to say that "FOR US" the universe did not exist before sentience then
you are surely correct, just as the universe did not exist for the newborn
infant. Again, that is why I divide Quality into pre-sentient and post
sentient.
If Quality is conferred on us by virtue of the energy and organization of
the universe, as I believe, then Quality not only existed before sentience
but actually produced sentience.
I can envision a time when sentience may not again exist in the universe
just as I can envision universal Quality again producing sentience, perhaps
mulltiple times during the lifetime of the universe. Ken
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