As a way of introducing myself, let me repost my intro to another MoQ
list, to which some of you might belong (Quantonics).
For the intellectually oriented, philosophy is the highest art form.
Metaphysics is the stepping stone between the empirical world and the
mystical, spiritual world, and , as such, is the epitome of reasoning.
The tragedy of modern western philosophy is that metaphysics has been
cast aside. Philosophy has become a language analytical tool, a content
of the context of science. In antiquity it was the other way around,
philosophy was the context and one of the contents was empirical
experience. The East never lost this orientation. Vedanta, Taoism, and
Buddhism all have metaphysical and mystical components. One thing
Pirsig has done is start to refocus the West on metaphysics.
This was not an academic exercise. This transformed Pirsig’s life in a
sobering and dramatic way. It was an honest transformation. Pirsig did
not abandon reason, but pursued it to its limit. I respect someone who
has done the work themselves and used it to transform their life.
Pirsig has demonstrated in modern times what the true purpose of
philosophy is: personal growth, not clinical knowledge.
I am an aerospace engineer, so you might suspect I’m pretty much left
brained (classic thinking) oriented. My Briggs-Meyers personality type
bears this out. In the thinking-feeling category my thinking is
pegged. However, in the sensory-intuitve category I’m right in the
middle. I have one foot in the concrete and one in the abstract, which
indicates why I can have such disparate interests as engineering and
philosophy. One of Pirsig’s themes is the balance between the classic
and romantic, which I think is necessary for a self actualized, whole,
integrated person.
There has been a slight rekindling of interest in Stoicism lately.
Although I don’t prefer labels, you will find me in the Stoic Registry
(on the net) and an acting council member. The Stoa, like all Greek
Rational Tradition, promotes Virtue ethics. This is quite a bit more
integrated that any value system I’ve seen offered by Humanism and the
like. Furthermore, the classical Stoics were empirical, vitalists,
physicalists, and particularists. A perfect match, so it would seem,
for the modern scientific empirical view. Doesn’t sound like Pirsig at
all you say. Well, Stoic empiricism is only one level of the system.
What some folks like to forget about is Stoic metaphysics based on
Heraclitus and his “Dynamic Continuum”. The Dynamic Continuum sounds
very much like the Tao and Pirsig’s Quality. One of the reasons I
accepted the council position was to ensure that the metaphysical aspect
of Stoicism was not neglected in the tenets we are developing, or we
will end end up with yet another modern western philosophy that has lost
all of its spiritual value. The Dynamic Continuum of Stoic metaphysics
and the particular physical bodies of Stoic empiricism seem
contradictory until you realize that one is a context for the other:
the Dynamic Continuum (or Nature) is how reality actually is, and the
physical bodies (the ten
thousand things of Taoism) of empiricism is how we perceive nature with
our senses, that’s all. The Stoics were pretty clever in providing a
multi-tiered system that has value for different folks depending on
where they are at.
Virtue ethics appeals directly to Nature (ie, Quality) for its
authority. The Stoic sage “lives in accordance with Nature” on a
moment-to-moment on going basis. Sense articulate thought, ie,
reasoning, requires some time, however small, to determine cause and
effect relationship and provide the best option for acting, no thinking
person, however astute, can live in accordance with Nature. He / she
will always be a step behind. The only way this can work is that the
Stoic sage lives by pure intuition, right at the cow catcher of Pirsig’s
train, just like a Taoist sage. The intuitive perspective is a bit
uncomfortable for some in the Stoic circle, because they think this
threatens the apparent reliance on critical thinking the Stoics are
famous for. Critical thinking is part of it, but a more accurate
description might be to see things clearly just as they are. Classical
Greek rationality is more than reasoning, it refers to an integrated
person functioning at optimum efficiency. It is the modern definition
of rationality that has become restricted to thinking only.
I hope I haven't already bored everyone to death. This gives an idea of
where I'm coming from.
Steve
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