From: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Thu Aug 21 2003 - 21:32:02 BST
Paul,
Matt said:
I don't think we can get any mileage out of a pre-intellectual, intuitive sense of quality. I do think, however, that we get plenty of mileage of an undefined sense of betterness that only can be defined satisfactorily later on.
Paul said:
They both refer to an assertion of a preference, and the preference, as it is not defined intellectually, must be made on an "attraction" to one theory over all others, it does not seem to me to be a huge leap to see that the attraction can be understood as a form of aesthetic. I think the real MOQ step is accepting that the aesthetic evaluation is not "just subjective" or capricious but primary and fundamental. Due to your pragmatic approach, you do not seem to be willing to make that assumption, and it is something nobody can convince you of theoretically, it has to be accepted through experience.
Matt:
I think you are misinterpreting me. I don't think its a big step to see "that the attraction can be understood as a form of aesthetic," either. What I object to in the phrase "pre-intellectual sense of quality" is the "pre-". I think that leads to an appearance/reality distinction. I think our "intuitive," aesthetic sense of the quality of propositions is gained over and against the intellectual patterns we've already formed. If you don't have any, you won't have an intellectual sense of quality. So, I do think we have an intellectual sense of quality, just not a pre-intellectual one that applies to intellectual patterns.
On Poincare, I don't have ZMM with me, so I can't take direct issue with any passages, but maybe in a couple of weeks, when I have an internet hookup at home, I'll send in a post on pragmatism's relationship to Poincare.
Matt
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