From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Apr 26 2004 - 16:01:54 BST
Hi Steve, DMB, All:
> Steve:
> I am objecting to Platt's idea of renaming of the fourth level. What do
> you think about that?
>
> dmb says:
> I think "renaming" parts of the MOQ is, in general, a very bad idea. And
> this specific proposal is particularly objectionable. Insofar as the MOQ
> seeks to be a remedy for the modern isolated ego, renaming the highest
> level of morality after this nightmare only mocks Pirsig's efforts. It
> re-inforces the problem Pirsig is trying to solve, props up that fictional
> man behind the eyeballs. And it puts Platt's ego at the center of the
> universe.
It was the isolated ego of the brujo that saved the Zuni society, an
evolutionary process that Pirsig summed up by saying, "A tribe can change
its values only person by person and someone has to be first." And in
describing the dominance of the intellect over society that arose in the
twenties, Pirsig observed, "Literature emphasized the struggle of the
noble, free-thinking individual against the crushing oppression of evil
social conformity."
Unfortunately, DMB, following Wilber's lead, would like to make the ego
something evil. It can be, as Rigel illustrates. But, it also can be the
catalyst for evolutionary progress, as the Zuni story shows.
Renaming the Intellectual Level the Individual Level reflects the conflict
between free-thinking individuals vs. social conformity. No question in my
mind which is more moral. The best example? Pirsig himself.
Platt
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 : Mon Apr 26 2004 - 16:02:58 BST