From: Scott Roberts (jse885@localnet.com)
Date: Sat Feb 26 2005 - 05:09:55 GMT
Ant,
Ant said:
I don't think it was necessary for Pirsig to elucidate the doctrine of the
Buddhist dialectic of negation in LILA as a full and excellent account of it
is already given in Northrop's "The Meeting of East & West" (Chapter IX,
"Buddhism" sub-heading). As the latter text of Northrop's is emphasised in
ZMM, any scholar seriously interested in Pirsig's work would soon realise
that the static patterns correspond to forms while Dynamic Quality
corresponds to formlessness. Why do you think I keep recommending
Northrop's work?
Scott:
You are missing my point. My concern is with the quality of the metaphysics
as given in ZAMM and Lila. My conclusion is that it is low, for various
reasons, and I trace that to the presentation of mysticism that Pirsig gives
in those books. That presentation is one that corresponds to Nishitani's
field of nihility. Now if Pirsig was cognizant of the second movement to the
field of emptiness, as he seems to have been, then the *charitable*
conclusion to make is that he didn't grasp what that second movement is all
about. This is because that second movement *negates* the field of nihility.
Hence, if he was aware of it, he knowingly based his metaphysics on
something which is to be negated. That's not how metaphysics is supposed to
work.
Scott said:
>But I think it is more likely that he just hasn't quite
>grasped the full import of the doctrine. He says (NOT in Lila or ZAMM,
>note)
>"In Buddhism, form and formlessness, freedom and order, co-exist."
>Co-existence is a long way from identity of contradictories.
Ant McWatt comments:
I think you are underestimating Pirsig's understanding of Buddhist
philosophy here. He has certainly stated that freedom and order are
contradictory properties even though both are necessary in the ongoing
creative dance of the Tao. In the context of form and formlessness, I
therefore don't think Pirsig's "co-existence is a long way from identity of
contradictories". Only a contrary (and misleading) reading of Pirsig's work
would lead one to this conclusion.
Scott:
But the move to the field of emptiness is not about contradictory
properties, but contradictory identities. "The self exists by negating
itself". That is a negation of the MOQ's "the self is a set of static
patterns of value".
- Scott
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