From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Mon May 26 2003 - 15:14:32 BST
Hi Steve,
> I don't think that what is best is to be dominated by intellect. Pirsig
> says what is best is to be free of all static patterns which is often
> interpreted to mean some sort of enlightenment. I think it may also be
> read to mean having everything in balance.
Don't you think it would be better to be dominated by intellect than by
society, the Giant? Also, could you explain a bit more what you mean by
"balance?" Do you mean an even split among the levels, 25 percent
inorganic, 25 percent biological, etc. Personally, I'd rather be weighted
toward the intellectual level. There's more freedom in the land of
abstraction.
> In Lila, Phaedrus represents intellectual quality (Rigel represents social
> quality, Lila represents biological quality, the boat represents inorganic
> quality). Most of us probably identified most with Phaedrus and assumed
> that what is best is to be like him. None of us wanted to be like Lila or
> Rigel (or the boat).
I guess that answers my question.
> But Phaedrus himself is a bit of a Spock, isn't he?
>
> He is intellectually dominated to the point that he can't really have a
> conversation with someone because his mind starts drifting away. Look at
> how the Narrator in ZAMM deals with his troubled son as well.
>
> Sam, perhaps intellect as "manipulation of symbols that stand for patterns
> of experience latched as copied rationales" works fine, it's just that it's
> NOT best for experience to be dominated by symbols any more that it should
> be dominated by social roles or emotions and biological urges, but rather
> to have all these aspects of being human in balance. Perhaps that is a
> good description of Eudaimonia.
Back to "balance" again. Given my druthers, I'd rather be balanced like
Pirsig than Rigel or Lila. If I'm equally balanced in all four levels, I
doubt if I could act at all for fear of "offending" a higher or lower
level.
Anyway, the battles for dominance within the Quality that has each of us
goes on daily. Around noon, I get hungry. Later in the evening I join
society in watching "Everybody Loves Raymond." From time to time I delve
deep into my symbolic world (shallow as it may be) to respond to a MD
post. And so I agree with the wise man who wrote . . .
"Lila's battle is everybody's battle, you know?"
Platt
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