From: Matt the Enraged Endorphin (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Tue Apr 08 2003 - 02:22:22 BST
Wim,
Wim's note:
For Matt: even though I use the word 'metaphysics' (in MoQ), I agree that it
should not be understood as a 'meta-narrative' that 'sits behind all other
narratives and vocabularies', but as a 'local narrative'. In other words: I
recognize (like Pirsig) that it is not the only metaphysics possible. What
about seeing it as a 'frame story', an attempt to create a context in which
as many other stories as possible get a meaning (but never all)?
Matt:
As a local narrative, I certainly have no problem. The notion of a "frame
story" strongly resembles Wilfrid Sellars' definition of philosophy (which
Rorty co-opts): "the attempt to see how things, in the broadest possible
sense, hang together, in the broadest possible sense." The only thing I
hesitate in is saying "an attempt to create a context in which as many
other stories as possible get a meaning." It borders closely on making a
transcendental context (a context for all possible stories). Your caveat,
"but never all," I think covers you from making a transcendental argument,
but I don't like it if it is construed as saying, "we can't create a
transcendental context, but we can create a historical context that
contains everything so far, and just keep expanding that context to take in
more and more as it comes along." The reason I hesitate is because I don't
think it is in our best interests to take in all contexts. For instance, I
think Pirsig (or others, like Bo, I'm not positive Pirsig makes this
argument) was conceding too much when he claimed that SOM is subsumed under
the MoQ, that the MoQ contains SOM and includes even more. I think we
should ditch SOM wholesale, its a set of intuitions that I think we would
be better off not having. If you don't construe a "frame story"
quasi-transcendentally, then I'd be behind it.
Matt
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