From: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Sat Oct 04 2003 - 18:57:40 BST
Rich,
Rich said:
There are really only 2 philosophies, materialism and idealism, dressed up in many different variations, and it is impossible to fall outside either of their traps. The sooner you realize this the faster you will grow up.
Matt:
David nor I believe this. As pragmatists (David's Heideggerian form or my Rortyan form), we see the trap between materialism and idealism as being the trap of Platonism or the metaphysics of presence (to use two of Heidegger's monikers) or representationalism (to use a Rortyan moniker) or SOM (to use Pirsig's). Pragmatists like Heidegger, Rorty, and Pirsig (when he's being a good boy) want to move beyond this dichotomy. To grow up, for these people, is to see that it isn't a trap, that it isn't impossible to not fall into either materialism or idealism. This is the rhetorical move that Pirsig identified as "not entering the arena". This move circumvents the traps. It also begs the question in our favor, just as continuing to assert that we fall into materialism or idealism whether we want to or not begs the question in your favor.
Matt
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