From: Matt the Enraged Endorphin (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Tue Apr 15 2003 - 01:47:44 BST
Platt, Johnny,
Platt said:
Richard Rorty, who asserts that "the distinction between morality and
prudence, and the term 'moral' itself, are no longer very useful."
Johnny said:
Do post modernists actually advocate that "moral" lose its meaning and
become the same as prudence, or are they merely explaining to us that it is
happening, because we aren't immersing ourselves in a cultural context anymore?
Matt:
I simply want to add the context to what the Rorty quote refers to. Rorty
advocates getting rid of the _metaphysical_ distinction of kind between
morality and prudence, like the one Kant used. In a Deweyan fashion, Rorty
reads morality and prudence as on a continuum. Prudence describes
"familiar and relatively uncontroversial ways in which individuals and
groups adjust to the stresses and strains of their non-human and human
environment." ("Ethics without Principles") Morality, on the other hand,
is invented "when we can no longer just do what comes naturally, when
routine is no longer good enough, or when habit and custom no longer
suffice." (ibid.) On Rorty and Dewey's account, the continuum between
morality and prudence is "the degree of need for conscious deliberation and
explicit formulation of precepts."
The funny thing I find about this whole thing is that I view Pirsig as
entering into this Deweyan pragmatist strain. The way I see it, when
Pirsig makes Quality his reality metaphor he obliterates the distinction of
kind between prudence and morality. He says everything's morality at one
point in Lila. On the other hand, I think Pirsig does make some
metaphysical (read: non-pragmatist) moves that compromise this initial
pragmatist formulation, for instance, the distinction in kind between
social and intellectual.
Matt
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