Re: Is MD a Black Hole?

From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Sep 10 2005 - 00:58:45 BST

  • Next message: khaled Alkotob: "Re: MD Individuals and Collectives"

    Peter:

    > Platt, you keep using words such as 'perception', 'understanding' and
    > 'knowing' to describe what happens when an event is evaluated.
    >
    > When I take a hammer and hit a stone hard enough the stone will crumble -
    > would you say the stone understands or knows how to react to the hammer
    > blow? I think not.

    OK.
     
    >My point is that perception, understanding and knowing
    > can only occur when a brain is part of the chain of events (please don't
    > give counter examples of some tiny creatures that may not have brains).

    I disagree, but let it pass.

    >The
    > skin of my finger does not know how to burn when I touch a hot stove; sure
    > it burns, but we have to find a different word than saying the skin knows
    > how to burn.

    OK.

    > Knowing my finger has burnt occurs after the event, when my
    > brain sorts out the impulses and makes me retract my hand.

    As Pirsig says, knowing the low quality comes first. "But that the quality
    is low is absolutely certain. It is the primary empirical reality from
    which such things as stoves and heat and oaths and self are LATER
    intellectually constructed." (Lila, 5) The brain (you) perceives quality
    before it perceives fingers, hands, stoves and other intellectual symbolic
    stuff. In fact, your pure awareness prior to thought equals Quality equals
    reality equals morality according to Pirsig.

    > You also said that "the Divine to me represents that which we experience
    > but cannot speak". Which experience was that? Or are you not allowed to
    > say? ;-)

    The experience of beauty which I cannot describe, any more than I can
    describe the scent of a rose.

    Platt

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