[MD] Re Proposed solution to SOL/Intellectual level

[Mary]

Hello Andre,

> Pirsig's definition [of the Intellectual Level] in the letter to Paul
Turner.
> ...manipulation of symbols (and words are not symbols!!)
> That is the intellectual level proper. Pure symbol manipulation 
> without social pattern words.

I am hung up now on trying to understand what Pirsig means by "Symbol
Manipulation".  I've stumbled across some gems I think.  These seem all of a
piece if you use the World War I context as a starting point.  

The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words.
- Philip K. Dick (1928-1982)
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http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Symbol+manipulation+and+boomerang+spin.(CALLIN
G+OUT+THE+SYMBOL+RULERS)-a0138483284

First, Rove has become a master at putting out images that first strike the
viewer or reader at the lower level of abstracting, nearer the sensory
level, and then encourage a big semantic leap to a higher level, of
political theory, social values, or cultural bias. 

He has done that with rhetoric and other symbol manipulation. He created
sound bites and visual images of George W. Bush that convinced millions of
Americans he shared their values and was better for the country than Kerry.
Bush came across as the plain-spoken, Christian-values candidate. Rove did
that again in his speech about 9/11, using language that invoked emotional,
sensory reactions and then sent you soaring to those higher-order biased
abstractions. 

Rove expertly takes a slice of rhetoric, or part of what sounds like a
factual statement, and uses it out of context. To use general semantics
terms, he knows how to create elementalism--symbols and images that seem to
take on a truth of their own even though they are not in their original
context.
-----

This guy is an extraordinary writer.  An Indian economist.  Here are some of
his salient points.  Beautiful.
http://www.deeshaa.org/2005/07/10/of-symbols-and-their-manipulation/

We are part of that larger creation we call the Universe. We are also that
part of the Universe which seeks to comprehend the Universe. So through us
the Universe comprehends itself. Isn't that the most astoundingly
astonishing thing about creation? Through us, the Universe is self-aware. We
make the Universe self-reflective. Our thinking about our ability to do
symbol manipulation involves symbol manipulation and this is what makes the
process recursive and ultimately makes it a recursive Universe. All
recursive processes have a terminating condition. We are that terminating
condition for the recursive Universe. We, through our ability to comprehend
the Universe, bring the Universe into existence. 

... "The Anthropic Principle" which basically states that the Universe
exists because sentient beings exist within it which are aware of the
existence of the Universe. 
 
 Another word for "abstractions represented within the brain" is "word."
 
 The word is primary. And all that the thinker does is to manipulate symbols
- words. We are symbol manipulating entities. 
 
 Without the words we will continue to sense the universe but we will not be
able to do the symbolic manipulation which is thinking.

Here is my claim: that unless you know the word, you cannot think.
Conversely, to think effectively, you have to have a very large collection
of words. The collection of words that you "own" is your vocabulary. 

  Words exist in an hierarchical structure and that is what gives them
power.
  
Words, as we keep saying, are abstractions. They represent something but
they themselves are not the thing. 

Distinguishing the symbol and the thing is very important. When people fail
to make that distinction, they confuse the symbol for the thing, and work
themselves up into a rage and all sorts of nasty things happen. 

 ...the abstraction "collection of cows" as "cattle." The word "cow" is an
atomic word, and the word "cattle" is a compound word by my definition.  the
higher level word is more economical, or compact. The magical thing about
words is that we can build higher and higher level words based on how we
manipulate the words at the next lower level.

 ...the compound words that we can form is unlimited. 
 
 To learn how to think, you have to learn vocabulary
  
Learning vocabulary means to understand what the word means, not just its
dictionary definition. When you understand a word, it means you know the
connection between the word and what it represents and all that it implies
and how it is connected with other words at the lower levels. All education
is ultimately an attempt to acquire a vocabulary and the skill to manipulate
the vocabulary to build higher level words. 

 Blaise Pascal recorded: "Working hard to think clearly is the beginning of
moral conduct."
 
All evil in the world arises from faulty thinking. To become a truly moral
person, we have to learn how to think correctly. 

 One of my pet peeves (which stimulated this comment) is the conflating of
'information' and 'knowledge'. They are cats of two distinct breeds and are
not interchangeable. The first does not require a brain whereas the latter
cannot exist outside a brain. A telephone directory does not have knowledge
of my phone number; it merely represents that data as information. 

Information is what economists call a public good (non-rival, mainly) while
knowledge is a private good because it is associated with a brain.

Finally, let's keep in mind the following: Data is not information,
information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding
is not wisdom, and finally wisdom is not enlightenment.

Mary

- The most important thing you will ever make is a realization.