Re: MD When is a metaphysics not a metaphysics?

From: Wim Nusselder (wim.nusselder@antenna.nl)
Date: Tue Nov 18 2003 - 07:11:32 GMT

  • Next message: Platt Holden: "Re: MD matt said scott said"

    Dear Matt,

    I'm not going to follow the whole of your discussion with Paul, but just
    where you refer to your earlier discussion with me. You wrote 17 Nov 2003
    21:00:53 -0600:
    'Wim ... wants to rehabilitate the word "metaphysics" by basically
    redefining it as "a systematic arrangement of your beliefs." ...
    I have no use for it because I already have a term that refers to the same
    thing: vocabulary.
    ...
    by substitution: Metaphysics of Quality is Organization of Experience.
    ...
    What causes me to pause is Pirsig's assertion that the Metaphysics of
    Quality is a contradiction in terms, that the other substituted title of the
    MoQ is Definition of Undefined.'

    For me "metaphysics" is not any systematic arrangement of one's beliefs, but
    a very specific one, guided by specific questions (which were incidentally
    inspired by your questions in an earlier life, when you defined in one of
    your first contributions to this list "metaphysics" for us). In my view
    "metaphysics" therefore cannot be substituted by "vocabulary" and "MoQ" is a
    very specific way of organizing beliefs, by answering these "metaphysical"
    questions in a way which gives "experience" a central role.
    Are you sure that this couldn't be a useful redefinition of metaphysics (and
    one that is quite close to Pirsig's way of using the word, even though that
    is less relevant to me)?

    I always had the impression that Quality according to Pirsig consists of two
    parts of which one (DQ) is undefined and the other (sq) IS defined. (I even
    remember reading some quote where he said that explicitly. Was it in 'Lila's
    Child' or in his correspondence with Anthony as quoted in his textbook?)
    Where did you find Pirsig's assertion that a MoQ is a contradiction in
    terms? I guess it is in a (more rhetorical) context that doesn't really
    allow for your use of the statement.

    With friendly greetings,

    Wim

    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 : Tue Nov 18 2003 - 07:28:23 GMT