Re: MD Structuralism in Pirsig

From: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Wed May 14 2003 - 19:42:13 BST

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    Steve,

    Platt would love for me to say that I have no use for hierarchies, because that would cinch my inability to rate things as being better or worse than others. But of course I won't say this because its simply not true.

    Structures aren't the same as hierarchies in the sense used by the French. Structuralism says that there are deep, inherent, essential, universal, ahistorical structures in humans (or anything else for that matter). Levi-Strauss and Lacan both claimed to have found a deep psychic structure for which all humans have. This puts them right into the Cartesian camp for Descartes also said that all humans have a psychic unity. I see Pirsig claiming the same thing at times, that he's found the deep structure for which everything falls. The key words are "at times," because I know the post-structuralist, pragmatic passages as well as anyone. Its the other ones I'm concerned that people are latching onto, saying essentialist things and then pleading "not guilty" by pointing to the post-structuralist passages. I see that as being inconsistent.

    So, no post-structuralists don't have to reject hierarchies. A good example is Rorty, who quite plainly prefers liberals to conservatives. And my problem with the MoQ is not that it erects an illegitimate hierarchy (though we could go around all day as to what would count as being "illegitimate"), its that I think Pirsig, at times, makes the MoQ seem like an hypostatized, ahistorical hierarchy, which would make it a deep structure. Pirsig's at his best when he's tearing down ahistorical hierarchies; he's at his worst when he's erecting his own. I wish Pirsig would just leave us with the historical hierarchies.

    Matt

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