[MD] Food for Thought

[Heather Perella]

> [Arlo]
> The point I was making was that if we place ALL
> symbolic manipulations on the
> intellectual level we have to include ANY activity
> that involves an exchange of
> symbols, or relies on some form of symbolic
> rendering for it to occur. "Hand
> shaking" is a highly symbolic activity, that is
> certainly used to convey some
> abstracted meaning, typically "hello" and a host of
> social positioning symbols.

     I hope you continue to help me understand, and I
still think Pirsig left this open for us to clarify. 
The MoQ is creative for a reason.  
     Yes, hand shaking is symbolic, but this idea is
understood in the mind (another term Pirsig used to
describe intellect).  A peace sign in this country is
just that, a peace sign.  In the southern hemisphere
americas, this social interaction is derogatory.  The
idea of this social interaction, this sharing of
thoughts, is regulated and understood in the mind. 
Language is a medium of social interaction, but
without the mind, language is just sounds trying to
relate, socially.  We might still pick up on the
emotional aspect of language (meaning) during a
foreign language conversation though.  


     [Arlo] 
> I think it was DMB who suggested that maybe the
> symbolic manipulations on the
> intellectual level are more decultural or
> decontextual, even if they can never
> reach pure states of deculturation or
> decontextuality. And maybe, as Case
> suggests, writing had something to do with this. To
> be sure, "writing" was a
> huge step towards more decontextuality (or
> "abstraction" or even "disembodiment
> of language").

     This decontextualization though, seems to fly in
the face with contrast, to grounding thought.  Thought
and feelings only occur with context.  Thoughts are
occurring by so many outside the mind activities, to
decontextualize thought, would be... as you pointed
out very SOM.  Case discusses writing, as you pointed
out, but it seems all that is going on is a judgment
as to what is the highest form of thought.  Writing
can be terrible and not say anything very thoughtful. 
As we may know, first writing in Sumer was counting
sheep, cows, wheat, etc...


     [Arlo]
> ...Bodvar, has suggest as much (if I understand
> correctly) with is SOLAQI 
> (Subject/object Logic as Quality’s Intellect).
> Pirsig hints at this so much
> in not only placing "intellect" at the feet of the
> Greeks, but also in directly
> placing the logos as the intellectual level. 
> Anyways, that's enough for tonight.

     And logic, oh my, that's just uncreativity.  Sure
math can be elegant, beautify, and creative in its'
ends, but if logic defines intellect, then painters
are on the fringe, again.

coffee, sirus new age music, baby sleepin',
SA

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com