Re: MD Rhetoric

From: skutvik@online.no
Date: Thu Sep 01 2005 - 09:23:21 BST

  • Next message: Sam Norton: "Re: MD Rhetoric"

    Ian and Sam if he listens.

    31 Aug. Ian wrote:

    > Bo, Sam, et al,
     
    > Bo said
    > > Because we are supposed to discuss the MOQ from its own
    > > premises not from the intellect's - where it as said has the
    > > proverbial snowball's chance.
     
    > I agree with this.
    > (Once we're sure what we mean by intellect, or the itellectual SPV, of
    > course.)

    "Once we're sure what we mean by intellect". Yes, it's been the
    headache for years, and just as long has it been my conviction
    that Phaedrus of ZMM was on the right track when he said that
    intellect is the Subject/Object "generator". (See diagram in ZMM
    of the preliminary MOQ). I regret to criticise Pirsig, but he omitted
    the one single most important point of his original insight when he
    wrote the final MOQ ...and by doing so created an impossible
    intellectual level, even an impossible MOQ.

    > I've been saying all along that if the lowest form of intellect, the
    > kind of "SOMist" rationality that pre-dates the MoQ, is all we're
    > going to argue with, we may as well give up. Bo's snowball in hell is
    > my chocolate fireguard.

    "The lowest form of intellect"? In my opinion the static intellectual
    level is SOM. All of it, every last bit! If we retain a somish "mind"
    as the true intellect - one that once was invaded by SOM and
    now is supposed to be topped up with the MOQ - we are back in
    the quagmire.

    > In my discussions with Sam about re-defining intellect he pointed out
    > that Bo's "SOLAQI" stuff was addressing the same issue. I need to dig
    > into that.

    Yes, Sam and I was once in touch about our respective efforts to
    "repair" the intellectual level and his Eudaimonic idea and my
    SOL may correspond well. Of late I have come to see that. The
    subject - the free independent subject - is of course a result of the
    SOM.
     
    > It's also part of my catch-22 / recursive / meta-argument - we need to
    > be comfortable debating the MoQ from the MoQ perspective (as Pirsig
    > clearly wasn't in Lila, IMHO

    In my opinion too Ian! And I have always wondered why. I have
    assigned it to what I wrote about the lone sailor not being sure if
    anyone would understand, needing an "objective" approach. But
    a greater mystery is why - after getting himself a group discussing
    his ideas - still kept up this somish intellect.

    The ironic thing is that he refers to intellect as self-evident and
    yet don't heed what dictionaries define it as, namely the ability to
    distinguish what is objective from what's subjective (Reason from
    emotions and instincts)

    In the Paul letter, he dropped the "thinking" definition, but
    seemed unable to take the full step to the SOL and ended up with
    the equally impossible "manipulation of symbols" definition

    > and I wasn't party to the whole Lila
    > squad annotations process.)
     
    The Lila Child is OK. 99% of the annotations are good, but there
    are some horrible things, particularly regarding intellect and about
    the MOQ having an "idealist" slant

    > The top level of the MoQ IS the MoQ.
    > Get used to it.

    You made my day Ian!

    Bo

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