From: David Buchanan (DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org)
Date: Sat Apr 23 2005 - 18:00:50 BST
Matt, Ant and all:
from ZMM (Chapter 12) reads:
"But one day in the classroom the professor of philosophy was blithely
expounding on the illusory nature of the world for what seemed the fiftieth
time and Phædrus raised his hand and asked coldly if it was believed that
the atomic bombs that had dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were illusory.
The professor smiled and said yes. That was the end of the exchange."
"Within the traditions of Indian philosophy that answer may have been
correct, but for Phædrus and for anyone else who reads newspapers regularly
and is concerned with such things as mass destruction of human beings that
answer was hopelessly inadequate. He left the classroom, left India and gave
up."
Matt asked Anthony:
So what did I get wrong? Why couldn't I sum up the encounter with what I
said instead of the above expanded close reading of the section, neither of
which, as far as I can see, contradict each other, your reading, or Pirsig's
text?
dmb says:
It seems to me that Pirsig is not attacking the professor's professionalism
or anything like that. He leaves because, from a certain perspective, the
professor's answer is morally outrageous. From a static point of view, if
you will, the professor's answer is downright freakin' evil. He left in
disgust over the professor's apparent lack of concern for all that death and
destruction. And personally, I felt the same way. A wave a disgust washed
over me when I read that passage.
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