[MD] The Greeks?

[Matt Kundert]

Mary said:
So, I'm reading along in your post, and begin to feel a 
vague sense of unease.  This as yet has no name, other 
than a silent alarm that you somehow seem to believe me 
to be a spiritual person, when in fact I've spent my life 
being decidedly non-spiritual.

Matt:
Yeah, but that's why I said "however one defines 
'spirit'"--I'd like to think I'm as naturalist as they come, but 
Wallace Stevens and E. M. Forster are my spiritual advisors 
(among others, like Harold Bloom and Santayana).

Mary said:
To answer your question, no, I do not object to reading 
other philosophers, but I do find the focus some have had 
here on holding Pirsig's work against James a red-herring.  If 
the goal is (and as a goal this is legitimately debatable) to 
inspire the average pragmatic, hard-headed Westerner to 
consider even for a moment that there might be some 
meaning to life other than the next trip to the shopping 
mall, then I don't think James is the ticket.

Matt:
I guess I'd think holding Pirsig against James a red herring 
if Pirsig didn't do it himself.  But biographically, it would 
seem a thing to do at least a little bit.  But, too much 
focus on one area probably gets boring after a while, and 
there's more to philosophy than biography.

And as far inspiring the "average pragmatic, hard-headed 
Westerner," I have to admit, my money's on James over 
Pirsig, but I'd also admit, that kind of comparative question 
isn't very interesting (and I'm not sure anybody was really 
asking it, were they?).

The overall vibe I got from your response, though, was 
that we are largely talking past each other.

Matt
 		 	   		  
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