Re: MD Theism, Non-Theism, Anti-Theism, Nihilism

From: Arlo J. Bensinger (ajb102@psu.edu)
Date: Fri Jul 15 2005 - 07:32:18 BST

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    Hi Erin,

    Thanks for your thoughts...

    [Arlo had suggested]
    > Above the doors to every church, every synagogue, every mosque, every
    > university, every museum, should hang these words: "All this is just an
    > analogy". If THAT were understood, we'd be well on our way to true
    > MOQ-progress.

    [Erin replied]
    > I am having trouble reconciling this side of Pirsig (which I like) with his
    accusation of "willingness to believe in falsehoods." What does willingness to
    believe in falsehoods mean exactly if "All this is just an analogy".

    [Arlo responds]
    My take is, because one HAS to have analogies to function. This is my take on
    his statement "The mythos is a building of analogues upon analogues upon
    analogues. These fill the collective consciousness of all communicating
    mankind. Every last bit of it."

    I think Pirsig would say that the Intellect is built upon these analogues. There
    is no way around that. But, I think the key is, to not think we can simply
    "dismiss the analogies", but to always remember that that is what they are.
    We've created them, and now they, in turn, create us (this is what he means
    when he talks about the "collective consciousness of all communicating
    mankind").

    These analogies are dialectically related to us. THIS is a good way to think
    about how our cognition is shaped by the analogies we internalize (through
    experience in a culture). Indeed, a "culture" could be defined as a "accepted
    set of analogies".

    The trouble starts when we somehow start believing that these analogies are
    "truth". Then we get into static social battles; with religion, for example,
    the Hindi Gods or the Christian God, the Jewish God or the Sioux Gods. Endless
    social static bickering because we forget that these are analogies.

    [Erin continued]
    > P.S. I would take out the pejorative word "just" (for reasons Pirsig talks
    about what adding just does).

    [Arlo adds]
    I concur. "All this is an analogy" is fine by me.

    [Erin ends]
    > P.P.S and let's add science laboratory to where the sign would hang ;- P

    [Arlo agrees]
    Fine by me, I'm sorry I didn't include it in the first place.

    "All this is an analogy". Let that ring from the hilltops!

    Arlo

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