[MD] sq social - sq intellectual

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting craigerb at comcast.net:

> [Platt]
> > To me "social freedom" is an oxymoron.
 
> [Pirsig]
> > "Of all the contributions America has made to the history of the
>  > world, the idea of freedom from a social hierarchy has been the
>  > greatest."
 
> Platt,
> If Pirsig had said: "Of all the contributions America has made to the history of
> the world, the idea of social freedom has been the greatest", would you still
> think it was an oxymoron?

Not sure if you are asking 1) whether I agree with everything Pirsig says, or 
2) whether there is more than one meaning of "social freedom." A society that
protects the rights of individuals to speak freely, worship a God of their own
choosing or no God at all, and travel within the society without restrictions,
is better than a society that prevents individuals from doing those things. Such
a society might be termed as one that offers "social freedom." If that's the
context, no oxymoron. But in the MOQ, the social level is characterized as the
level of conformity where it's incumbent on an individual to toe the line
laid down by the social code. In that context, "social freedom" is an oxymoron.

Platt


       




-------------------------------------------------
This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/