Hi David B., David L., Jonathan, Jon, Horse and Group:
You’re right, David B. I did use the word “caring” as a strictly social level
thing and agree that in a broader “context” it can be synonymous with “value.”
“Caring” can also mean “paying strict attention to” as Jonathan patiently and
persuasively explained.
I also used “caring” to mean “blind devotion to a cause” in the examples of
Nazi Germany and the Inquisition.
David L. asked for my take on love and the MoQ and all I can do is point to
the ways Pirsig uses love in Lila -- love of sex, love of country, love of
celebrity, love of simplicity, love of Indians (Dusenberry), love of his book, etc.
“Caring,” love” and “value” have so many meanings that their use can often
lead to misunderstandings.
All of which goes to prove the wisdom of Horse’s observation:
HORSE:
The main barrier to understanding on this list is the terminology we use when
expressing our ideas. I take my share of blame for this.
PLATT:
So do I.
What really prompted my anti-caring post was an abiding fear of persons of
any persuasion who justify their moral pronouncements as being “for the
good of humanity.” As historian Robert Conquest says in his new book,
“Reflections on the Ravaged Century:”
“The revolutionary believed it to be in the nature of things that dictatorship
and terror are needed if the good of humanity is to be served, just as the
Aztec priests believed themselves to be entirely justified in ripping the hearts
out of thousands of victims, since had they not done so, the sun would have
gone out, a far worse catastrophe for mankind. In either case, the means are
acceptable, being inevitable that is, if the theory is correct.”
A similar if not so bloody warning is voiced by Pirsig:
“There are so many kinds of problem people like Rigel around, he thought,
but the ones who go posing as moralists are the worst. Cost-free morals.
Full of great ways for others to improve without any expense to themselves.
There's an ego thing in there, too. They use the morals to make someone
else look inferior and that way look better themselves. It doesn't matter what
the moral code is — religious morals, political morals, racist morals,
capitalist morals, feminist morals, hippie morals — they're all the same. The
moral codes change but the meanness and the egotism stay the same.”
(Lila, Chap.7)
That pretty much sums up my reaction when I read some of the Christmas
posts. I detected what I considered to be “moralists” in the negative,
“Rigelistic” sense. It’s my fault for not coming right out and plainly explaining
my fear of utopian ideologues, and I now admit to a degree of paranoia of any
absolutist approach to solving the world’s problems whether it be evangelical
Christians, environmentalists, Randian capitalists, or lovers.
Furthermore, I think Jonathan made a good point when he wrote:
JONATHAN:
The fact that a value is evident 2000 years, or even 50,000 years ago says to
me it is a “natural” part of humanity. I’m much more wary of new fangled
“values” that cropped up in our own lifetime.”
Right on. “Political correctness” is one new fangled value that has cropped
up in our lifetime that I’m especially wary of. The old value of "do unto others"
has much more to commend it.
To switch to another subject, David B. pointed out the fallacy in my Einstein-
Mother Theresa comparison by citing the fact that there was a lack of
conflict between levels in that example. He wrote:
DAVID B:
We dismiss the lower level in favor of a higher level ONLY IN CASES
WHERE THERE IS A CONFLICT.
Quite right, David. That’s an extremely important aspect of the MoQ and I’m
glad you brought it out emphatically.
Finally, to everyone who responded to my negative “caring” post I want to
say how pleasantly surprised I was by the lack of “flaming” even under rather
extreme provocation. It seemed that those who could find areas of agreement
took pains to do so. I appreciate it and resolve in the future to try to be less
“absolutist” myself.
Platt
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