From: hampday@earthlink.net
Date: Wed Nov 10 2004 - 05:26:15 GMT
Ham Priday to Scott Roberts
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 12:25 PM
Subject: RE: MD On Transcendence
> [Scott:] Pirsig says (Lila, Ch. 5):
> "What the Metaphysics of Quality would do is take this separate category,
> Quality, and show how it contains subjects and objects. The Metaphysics of
> Quality would show how things become enormously more coherent --
> *fabulously* more coherent -- when you start with an assumption that
> Quality is the primary empirical reality of the world."
>
> So, strictly speaking, there could be some non-empirical Who-Knows-What
> prior to Quality, but since Pirsig wishes to stick to an empirical
> metaphysics, his position is that Quality is as deep as one can go. To ask
> if it is "pre-conditional, transcendent, and uncreated" is to add a bunch
> of empirically unanswerable, and unnecessary, questions. (I am trying to
> stick to Pirsig's view. Mine is somewhat different, but that is neither
> here nor there.)
>
> So if you say that a metaphysics must determine that which is
> pre-conditional, transcendental, uncreated, etc., I imagine that Pirsig
> would reply that that is a metaphysical criterion that he doesn't share.
> That is, yours and his are different metaphysics, that to claim that his
is
> not metaphysics comes about by your defining metaphysics the way you do.
>
Scott, thank you for a very lucid and complete answer to my question. It is
consistent with what I have read of Pirsig, and it describes an
intellectually fascinating philosophy that is unique in its interpretation
of evolutionary process.
That said, I stand by my belief that the MOQ, at least insofar as it has
been developed in Pirsig's books, is deficient as a moral guide for mankind
and inadequate as a metaphysical thesis. This is not to say that you guys
aren't capable of correcting the deficiencies, perhaps even expanding the
author's theory into a philosophy that will be as meaningful for those
outside of this discussion group. I hope I live long enough to see the the
fruit of your labors.
Regards,
Ham
>
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