Re: MD levels (Down with Types of Patterns, Up with Types of Value)

From: Steve Peterson (speterson@fast.net)
Date: Fri Nov 08 2002 - 01:56:27 GMT

  • Next message: Elizaphanian: "Re: MD levels (Down with Types of Patterns, Up with Types ofValue)"

    I've heard from Magnus, but I haven't gotten any other feedback. Are people
    in agreement, disagreement, or am I just being boring?

    I guess I'll just keep trying to sell this idea.

    Basically I'm arguing that we should stop talking about types of patterns
    because they can't be categorized. Instead we should talk about ways of
    valuing or types of awareness of patterns.

    What are moral conflicts in light of this interpretation of the levels and
    how are they resolved?

    When all types of experience of Quality with regard to a particular pattern
    of value are all in agreement, there is no moral conflict. For example,
    sex within marriage has high biological and social value. No problem. There
    may be no purely rational basis for restricting sex to within marriage, but
    the intellect does not protest.

    Moral conflicts result when different levels of awareness of the same
    pattern of value involve conflicting experiences of Quality. For example,
    experience of a Maplethorpe photograph may be one of high biological value
    (it turns me on), low social value (it promotes promiscuity?), and high
    intellectual value (????). How do we resolve the conflict?

    The biological-social moral code says that the societal value must take
    precedence over the biological value in such a case. The
    social-intellectual code says that the high intellectual value of this
    pattern of value (or the low intellectual value of censorship) must take
    precedence over its low social value, and so such art should not be
    censored.

    Doesn't such an analysis make more sense than trying to figure out if the
    photograph itself or the particular sex act itself is a particular type of
    pattern?

    Steve

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