RE: MD Making sense of it (levels)

From: Matt the Enraged Endorphin (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Tue Feb 04 2003 - 17:48:31 GMT

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    Platt,

    Platt said:
    So I take it that "practicality" is not the standard by which you judge
    "betterness" since you ignored my follow up question, "If 'practicality' is
    the answer who decides that ladder 1 is more practical than ladder 2
    and how many must agree?" Did you not answer the question for
    another reason?

    Matt:
    I've never really been fond of using the word "practicality." I kinda'
    agree with Pirsig on that point. However, I don't see anything wrong with
    using that word either. In pragmatist usage, the word gets stretched out a
    bit, just as in Pirsigian usage the words "Quality" and "morality" get
    stretched out a bit.

    Platt said:
    I'm puzzled by your phrase, "a better way to do things." Can you give us
    some examples of how Rorty's philosophy has provided you with a
    better way to do things?

    Matt:
    I'm kinda' puzzled by your puzzlement. It seems to me that you're trying
    to again gain a dialectical hold over my position, but I keep resisting by
    not letting you gain any purchase. Shouldn't the meaning of "a better way
    of doing things" be pretty obvious for a Pirsigian? If you want examples
    of how Rorty's philosophy has provided me with a better way to do things,
    look at all of my post-"Confessions" writings. If you are looking for a
    particular reference to the break with my past, I would look at the
    beginning of Part 3 of the newly posted "Confessions" essay, specifically
    footnote 42. (I think you'll recognize the quote for footnote 42, Platt.
    If I remember correctly, you called the post it was pulled from "an
    accurate and succinct summary of the MOQ. In fact, I don't recall ever
    reading a better synopsis of Pirisig's [sic] revolutionary metaphysics. It
    bears repeating, so I have. Congrats and thanks." [from "Summary of the
    MOQ" Thu May 31 2001 - 13:19:13 BST] That was way back when you liked me ;-)

    Matt

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