[MD] Static latching & faith

[Ant McWatt]

Platt stated April 19th:

>It warmed my heart to read someone of the intellectual stature of Northrop
>emphasize the aesthetic nature of reality. To savor “flavors and
>fragrances and sensuous images in their ineffable immediacy” seems to
>me to be about as good a way to live as one can ask for. His words also
>reminded me of this:
>
>“To experience prime reality intensely is beauty's role. In the
>presence of a great painting or a stunning jazz riff the normally
>separation of self and other suddenly vanishes. We are seized by
>egoless delight.”


Platt,

I was glad to hear that you appreciated the Northrop quote about “pure fact” 
and its relationship to the “continuum of ineffable aesthetic qualities”.

It was also helpful to be reminded of Pirsig’s comments about this matter 
from his SODV paper where he discusses the connection between the “literal” 
sciences (concerned with static patterns) and the “metaphorical” arts 
(concerned with the Dynamic from which the static patterns arise from).

Anyway, all the recent posts about this connection has made me aware of why 
people enjoy playing and listening to jazz music (even if its not my usual 
cup of tea) so I would be interested to know where your quote (pasted above) 
about beauty and jazz riffs is derived from.

Best wishes,

Anthony


“This aesthetic nature of the Conceptually Unknown is a point of
connection between the sciences and the arts. What relates science to
the arts is that science explores the Conceptually Unknown in order to
develop a theory that will cover measurable patterns emerging from the
unknown. The arts explore the Conceptually Unknown in other ways to
create patterns such as music, literature, painting, that reveal the
Dynamic Quality that produced them. This description, I think, is the
rational connection between science and the arts.” (Pirsig, SODV, 1995)



.

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