[MD] Reading & Incomprehension

[John Carl]

Ham,

I am also enjoying this dialogue.  I would just like to put one query to
you:

On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 1:08 PM, Ham Priday <hampday1 at verizon.net> wrote:
>
>
> Excellent!  Pirsig's Quality is like the God of religion, since neither is
> regarded as intrinsic to the subjective Knower.
>
>
My query is, "what do you think 'intrinsic' means?"

My dictionary goes like this:


belonging naturally; essential : access to the arts is intrinsic to a high
quality of life. See note at inherent .• (of a muscle) contained wholly
within the organ on which it acts.

DERIVATIVES intrinsically |-ik(ə)lē| adverb ORIGIN late 15th cent.(in the
general sense [interior, inner] ): from French intrinsèque, from late
Latin intrinsecus, from the earlier adverb intrinsecus ‘inwardly, inward.’


See, by that definition I disagree with your denigration of both Quality and
the god of religion. Tho I throw a bow in the direction of your "essential".



For Quality, it is simply true that the same pull toward complexity that
runs counter to the randomizing, entropy of the cosmso, that created
everything is also the force I sense in myself that recognizes this
pattern-making harmonizer. Thus the man within is microcosmic of the reality
without, bound by this undefinable that we spend our lives defining that
Pirsig terms "Quality" and I think he does a very good job of it.

For Religion, I say much the same. As scripture testifies of God as the one
"In whom we move and breathe and have our being".

Which sounds about as intrinsic as you can get.

If you ask me.

Which you didn't, but hey...  you know me, Ham.  I'll jump in wherever I'm
intrigued; with very little apology but  great affection,

John