[MD] Food for Thought

[Case]

[dmb]
The view you are defending here, like I said, is sane and reasonable 
and is common sensical. But this is what the MOQ attacks. 

[Case]
I will take the complement but are you seriously suggesting that the MoQ
attacks sanity, reason and common sense?

[dmb]
You're also defending the flaw in our rationality, the one that has
unleashed so much strife over the last century. This the where the
neo-Victorian reaction comes from, its what caused the hippies to fail and
degenerate, its what angers the Islamic world, it behind the rise of
fundamentalism and fascism and nihilism and relativism. It has created a
huge mess!

[Case]
I am not defending this flaw. I went over this with you months ago. There is
a point in any discussion of this kind where no system of thinking can claim
dominance. Pirsig labels this Quality, Lao Tsu called it Tao, Kant called it
TITs. QM and Gödel named it Uncertainty. We all have to start somewhere and
where we each elect to start is primarily a matter of personal faith. Pirsig
does not claim to have made SoM go away he just offers up a different
metaphysical account of it. MoQ subsumes SoM it does not eliminate it.

But beyond that I see no justification for labeling all science as SOM with
a dismissive smirk. I would suggest to you that if the MoQ is all that
pragmatic and special, you will see it manifested in the real world. James
and Dewey would demand this of philosophy as well as science.

[dmb]
Its like you're trying to bring me up to speed with respect to the standard 
scientific world view and I'm telling you that this is no mystery to me. I'm

telling you that this view is the problem. I mean, my failure to embrace 
your biological assertions is not due to the fact that I'm defending 
creationism or attacking the scientific method. This is the MOQ's attack on 
SOM, most especially with respect the role of social level values in 
suppressing biological quality.

[Case]
Right, the fact that you would make a statement like "...with respect the
role of social level values in suppressing biological quality." suggests the
need for a refresher course or something to get you up to speed. Social
systems enhance biological quality they do not suppress it. It is this
principle of opposition you keep touting that is flawed.