Re: MD Intellect as highest value

From: Ian Glendinning (ian@psybertron.org)
Date: Mon Nov 22 2004 - 18:24:09 GMT

  • Next message: David Morey: "Re: MD Empiricism"

    Arlo,

    Interestingly I've been reading Dr James Austin's mighty tome "Zen And The
    Brain" recently, and find he plays strongly on the pre-linguistic /
    pre-cognitive consciousness. He finds neuroscience evidence to support the
    idea that half of the brain can and does process data this way, in ways that
    appear also to arise both in Zen meditation, and in opiate induced states.
    (Archetypically "left-brain" behaviour, but in fact it's not clear-cut that
    it is always on the left side. Love the idea that this explains
    "experiencing" pain, but not hurting - amongst other "paranormal" phenomena.
    Not that mysterious after all?)

    Actually this is an amazing book all round - provided you're looking for
    common sense credible "evidence", not metaphysics, axioms and proofs. (He
    doesn't mention Pirsig or DQ anywhere - Suzuki, Jung and James are
    obligatory of course. He does refer to Greeley however - the Catholic
    philospher who branded Pirsig a bigot in 1975.)

    Ian

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Arlo J. Bensinger" <ajb102@psu.edu>
    To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
    Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 3:49 PM
    Subject: Re: MD Intellect as highest value

    > Platt wrote:
    > > I put Dynamic Morality, the Code of Art, above the intellectual level.
    You
    > > can rationalize anything, but you really haven't got it until you reveal
    > > its harmony, its beauty.
    >
    > Arlo says:
    > I agree with Platt here. I've taken from Pirsig the understanding that the
    only
    > way to "experience" DQ is from a pre-linguistic, pre-verbal, pre-semiotic,
    > indeed pre-thought "awareness". The minute you put DQ into any language
    system,
    > you are "sorting the sand into piles" (from ZMM), and having done so have
    > separated yourself from "the endless landscape". One point of contact
    between
    > Buddhism and the MOQ is in its pointing towards freeing ourselves from our
    > structured thoughts to experience Quality (DQ). One of the powers of music
    and
    > art is precisely in its ability to push us out of these our structured
    thought
    > patterns. Meditative processes can do this too. The Koans were used
    > specifically for this purpose. The peyote ritual described in LILA,
    another
    > one. But for most of us in the West, Art and Music are the two most often
    > practices used to "break free" of static thought and "experience" DQ.
    >
    > Arlo
    > Arlo Bensinger
    >
    > Project Associate, Coordinator of Technology
    > Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education & Research (CALPER)
    > 5A Sparks Building
    > University Park PA 16802
    >
    > Office: 863-7041
    > Cell: 883-0435
    > email: ajb102@psu.edu
    > AOL IM: morosophos
    >
    > Webpage: http://www.personal.psu.edu/ajb102
    >
    > "Was aber gut ist, Phaidros,
    > und was nicht-
    > muessen wir danach erst andere fragen?"
    >
    >
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