RE: RE: MD MOQ human development and the levels

From: Paul Turner (pauljturner@yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Mon Jun 09 2003 - 10:46:33 BST

  • Next message: Paul Turner: "Re: MD Structuralism in Pirsig"

    Hi David

    > dmb says:
    > Even institutions founded on and dedicated to
    > intellectual values are static
    > social values? I don't understand people who are
    > unpersuaded by logic.

    You mean you don't understand people who are
    unpersuaded by you. You aren't doing anything with
    logic, you're just disagreeing. There's nothing wrong
    with that but don't claim logical high ground, or if
    you are going to, prove it.

    dmb says: Sigh.

    Do you know how patronising that is?

    > Paul, dude, your interpretation is illogical to the
    > max. If an organization
    > is all about intellectual values how can we rightly
    > call it social?

    I've already explained that. See below for supporting
    Pirsig quotes.

    Makes no
    > sense. Well, since demonstrating the illogic of your
    > postion seems to have
    > no effect, how about authority instead. Straight
    > from the horse's mouth....

    Saying that my position is illogical is not
    demonstrating it. All you have demonstrated is that
    you disagree with my definition of the levels.

    > From chapter 13 of LILA:
    > "Third, there were moral codes that established
    > intellectual order over the
    > social order - democracy, trial by jury, freedom of
    > speech, freedom of the
    > press."
    >
    > dmb continues:
    > Everyone of the examples sited here by Pirsig
    > involves a social institution
    > of some kind for it perperuation.

    Yes, they are all principles which establish the
    dominance of intellectual patterns of value over
    social patterns of value.

    The institutions do not become intellectual patterns
    of value.

    PIRSIG: 'The social patterns in the next box down
    include institutions such as family, church and
    government.' SODV

    'Intellectual patterns of truth and freedom often
    oppose social patterns of government." SODV

     Clearly, it is not
    > group activity or
    > collective purpose that defines the social level.

    No, but they are part of the definition.

    PIRSIG on social patterns of value:

    '..a group of human beings broadly distinguished from
    other groups by mutual interests, participation in
    characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and
    a common culture' Lila's Child

    'I think it is better to keep it as subjective customs
    of groups of people' Lila's Child

    'However, I think the MOQ will be better if the
    divisions between the levels are sharp rather than
    fuzzy. An analogy could be made to the law, which is a
    set of intellectual rules for social quality.' Lila's
    Child

    PIRSIG on intellectual patterns of value

    'For purposes of MOQ precision, let's say that the
    intellectual level is the same as mind. It is the
    collection and manipulation of symbols, created in the
    brain, that stand for patterns of experience.' Lila's
    Child

    '"Kenntnis" would be the more primitive recognition of
    a repetitive pattern, such as a baby first recognizing
    its mother's face...an immediate
    Dynamic-to-intellectual process. As the baby grows up
    its static intellectual patterns grow more complex and
    dominating...' Lila's Child

    '...actually "common sense" which is a set of ideas,
    has to come first. This "common sense" is arrived at
    through a web of socially approved evaluations of
    various alternatives." Lila's Child

    'In the MOQ, laws are a species of intellectual
    patterns that are associated with a lot of social
    authority and are slow to change.' Lila's Child

    'My statement that "Both the genius and the mentally
    retarded person are at the social level" is intended
    to refute the statement that "the genius appears to be
    on a higher evolutionary level." A person who holds an
    idea is a social entity, no matter what ideas he
    holds. The ideas he holds are an intellectual entity,
    no matter who holds them.' Lila's Child

    'Intellect is simply thinking' Lila's Child

    If
    > that were true Pirsig
    > wouldn't be able to site democracy or federal laws
    > as examples of
    > intellectual values.

    Democracy and federal laws are a set of intellectual
    rules for social quality.

    See? In fact, a large part of
    > what Pirsig does in
    > talking about politics and war is to point out the
    > we're in a transition
    > period where intellectual values are supposed to
    > take control of SOCEITY.

    Yes. But societies don't become intellectual patterns
    of value in the process.

    >
    > From chapter 22 of LILA:
    > "In the US the economic and social upheaval was not
    > so great as in Europe,
    > but FDR and the NEW DEAL, nevertheless, became the
    > center of a lesser storm
    > between social and intellectual forces. The New Deal
    > was many things, but at
    > the center of it all was the belief that
    > intellectual planing by the
    > government was necessary for society to regain its
    > health."

    Ok, how would you classify these?:

    - Democracy

    - The British government

    - A fascist government

    - science

    - scientists

    - The President of the U.S.

    - University

    - Physics

    - A physics professor

    - Law

    - Law Courts

    I've provided a definition of the social and
    intellectual levels and given lots of examples. What
    are your definitions, David?

    cheers

    Paul

    __________________________________________________
    Yahoo! Plus - For a better Internet experience
    http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/yplus/yoffer.html

    MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
    Mail Archives:
    Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
    Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html
    MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net

    To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
    http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Jun 09 2003 - 10:47:30 BST