From: Scott R (jse885@spinn.net)
Date: Fri Oct 03 2003 - 17:49:01 BST
Paul,
You quote Pirsig:
> "The MOQ says that Quality comes first, which produces ideas, which
> produce what we know as matter.
How can Quality produce ideas if it is not Intellect?
So at the end of this post you say:
> Whilst many different metaphysics may be built around an "ineffable
> source", as I understand it, without "Quality" or "value" as a central
> term, Pirsig's particular metaphysics makes no sense. I don't think you
> can replace the term "Quality" with "language" or "intelligence" or
> "consciousness" without destroying the whole thesis. To repeat a quote
> from above, Pirsig starts from the assumption that..
>
> "It is this harmony, this quality if you will, that is the sole basis
> for the only reality we can ever know."
This shows Pirsig's error. He says he starts with the observation of value.
This is not true. He starts with thinking about the observation of value. So
if he were truly empirical, his first principle should not be Quality as
phenomena but Quality that shows itself in phenomena and Intellect that
shows itself in thinking about phenomena. Thus the task of metaphysics
should be to work out how the one is identical to the other without
sacrificing one to the other.
- Scott
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