Re: MD A bet with David Harding

From: David Harding (davidharding@optusnet.com.au)
Date: Sun Jul 18 2004 - 07:30:48 BST

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    Hi Anthony,

    Firstly, I think it’s important to highlight the change the term bias
    undergoes as it leaves SOM.

    Within SOM you are supposed to be objective and unbiased and report
    things only as they are. If one is biased then you are letting your
    emotions get the better of you which is not that dissimilar to what an
    animal from the jungle might do. So it clearly has low quality
    biological connotations. Moreover, there seems to be a static
    come-hell-or-high-water aspect to bias.

    I think that within the MOQ, inclinations towards Biological and
    Intellectual Patterns which are in conflict with present Social
    patterns, could be called by that Society to be biased. However, it
    should be noted that some of these inclinations are moral some are not,
    as Pirsig points out…

    “Intellect can support static patterns of society without fear of
    domination by carefully distinguishing those moral issues that are
    social-biological from those that are intellectual-social and making
    sure there is not encroachment either way.”

    so..

    Anthony McWatt said:
    “As the attempt to achieve an unbiased account of a state of affairs
    generally leads to higher quality intellectual statements.”

    I think this sentence would make more sense if it read..

    “As the attempt to achieve an unbiased account of a state of affairs
    generally leads to higher quality social statements.”

    Anthony McWatt goes on to say:
    “(e.g. a diplomatic mission is more likely to succeed if it relies on
    minimally unbiased accounts of a foreign culture) then it is apparent
    that the MOQ does indeed support intellectual attitudes that are as
    unbiased as possible.”

    Again, if intellectual is replaced with social then I think the above
    makes more sense to recognise the difference between bias being a high
    quality intellectual term to a low quality social one - a difference I
    had not fully realised until just now.

    Regards,

    David H

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