[MD] Reading & Comprehension

[david buchanan]

Mary said:
Almost a week and no response.  I would like you, the thesis writer, to tell me what the difference is between the Intellectual Level and the Social. Save me from being 'victimized' by Bo.

Krimel replied:
The levels within the MoQ are a mess and in large measure that confusion does result from Pirsig's somewhat incoherent account of them.

dmb says:

Lucky me. I've returned from a family vacation to find that I get to play the hero who rescues the damsel in distress. And it looks like Mary could use some help too. 

Pirsig's "incoherent account" of the difference between the social and intellectual levels is simply a modified version of an ancient and well known distinction. Mythos and Logos, myth and logic, religion and science, tradition and philosophy. I like Pirsig's initial reaction to the question of what intellect is. Basically, he said, "you've read a book on philosophy and you don't know what intellect is?" C,mon, you guys. Look it up. The Standford encyclopedia will probably give you dozens of hits for mythos and logos and google will get you tens of thousands of hits. 

The political conflicts of the 20th century illustrate the distinction between social and intellectual values. There is an endless supply of material to supplement Pirsig's examples.

You could also get at the distinction by studying myths as such. Pirsig recommends Joseph Campbell's four volume set, "The Masks of God". That one work constitutes about 2000 pages of explanation as to the nature of the social level. Just about anything by Campbell would help.

C'mon, Krimel. Untie yourself and get up off of the railroad tracks. Your complaint is predicated on some kind of intellectual laziness. It amounts to a complaint that Pirsig didn't take the time to explain things that you should already know - or at least be able and willing to find out. That goes for you too, Mary. Pirsig did not invent this distinction. There are lots of different opinions about the relations between mythos and logos but if you look around I think you'll see how the two sides differ, how they conflict and where to draw the line between them.


 

 		 	   		  
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