Re: MD James, Pirsig, Mysticism

From: Sam Norton (elizaphanian@kohath.wanadoo.co.uk)
Date: Mon Nov 29 2004 - 12:05:33 GMT

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    Hi DMB,

    A brief interruption from my labours on a long post to you. This was astonishing:

    > But having said all that, I still find it a bit odd that you'd take me to be
    > saying that mysticism is about the experience "as such". I'm not sure what
    > that means. Like I sarcastically asked, did you think I was talking about a
    > warm fuzzy feeling, or what? I don't wish to beat a dead horse, but imagine
    > an analogy. What if you had asked me to describe the emotional states of
    > Hamlet and in response I repeatedly told you to read the play. What if I
    > told you over and over that the only way to understand this character's
    > feelings and motives, you have to read the play or see a preformance of it.
    > Would you then presume that Hamlet's interior is to be discovered in the act
    > of scanning pages with the eye or by sitting in an auditorium? Would you
    > conclude that the experience of reading and going to the theater "as such"
    > was the point of my repeated recommendations? This is only an analogy of
    > course, but I want you to understand how absurd it seems.

    That's *exactly* why I thought your position was absurd, at least we now have conceptual agreement
    on that point (although I really don't think your appreciate what you've conceded here... For if
    studying the play etc is essential to understanding Hamlet, why do you insist that "studying the
    play" is irrelevant to Christian mysticism (ie learning the liturgy, studying Scripture, following
    the practices of the mystics etc)?) I will return to this anon.

    Sam

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