MD RE: MD Democracy in the MOQ

From: David Buchanan (DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org)
Date: Sun Dec 07 2003 - 18:17:05 GMT

  • Next message: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT: "Re: MD When is an interpretation not an interpretation?"

    All Davids and MOQers:
     
    David Morey wrote:

    Making a value based decision is not
    about applying a formula: this level is higher than that therefore do A not
    B.
    For example do we feed 20 poeple
    or feed one and let 19 starve and send that one to
    university? Option 2 has higher intellectual value.
    But whilst we might be aware of the level of intellect
    above social/biological we have to weigh 20 social goods against one
    intellectual good. We might think it good for 2 parents to
    miss a few dinners to send their child to school. But the levels
    may help to clarify your options. Would you agree?
     
    dmb replies:
    Right. The moral codes are not like formulas or laws, they're more like
    principles or governing ideas. I think film scripts make for a good analogy.
    There is a screen writing guru by the name of Robert McKee that I'm
    presently reading. In his "STORY" he explains that he is providing a form,
    not a formula, that he's describing principles and not laying down hard and
    fast rules. His students have been extremely successful, winning 19 Academy
    Awards and more than 85 nominations as well as 110 Emmys and 425
    nominations. (Think of the millions of dollars this must represent for the
    writers too!) Using his writing principles, his students have created
    stories as divergent as A BEAUTIFUL MIND, FINDING NEMO and NIXON. If he were
    only offering easy rules or prescriptions all these movies would be the same
    instead of radically different. It might even be hard to imagine that the
    same principles and the same form has been used for each of these stories,
    but its true. Having said that, however, I still think its very important
    for us to translate Pirsig's moral codes into the actual circumstances of
    real life. Otherwise, what good are they? Otherwise, the moral codes are
    only vague Plattitudes. As a practicle matter, we need to be able to
    recognize what values are in play in the particular conflicts of everyday
    life. Wouldn't you agree?
     
    Thanks,
    dmb

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