[MD] Platt's Individual Level

[Steve Peterson]

Hi Craig,

craigerb at comcast.net wrote: [Steve] 
> For Pirsig, "freedom" just means that something is bad: 
[RMP] 
> "The hippies had in mind something that they wanted, and were calling it 
> ``freedom,'' but in the final analysis ``freedom'' is a purely negative goal. It 
> just says something is bad." 
[RMP] 
> "The experience of freedom and the experience of Dynamic Quality are similar 
> although it�s important not to carry that analogy too far. Freedom always occurs 
> as a negation of some static pattern. Dynamic Quality is affirmative." 

Craig:
Note that Pirsig is not saying that freedom itself is something bad.  Rather he is saying that freedom is the negation of something bad:  freedom of speech is the negation of contraints on speech; freedom of assembly the negation of restaints on assembly; freedom of travel the negation of contraints on travel; etc.  Freedom as a GOAL [= END] has only this negating aspect (this is the sense intended by the word 'negative' in the first RMP quote above.)  The importance of freedom is as a MEANS to the affirmative END of Dynamic Quality (see second Steve:
I understand your point about freedom having conotations of DQ, which explains why it is America's favorite slogan. I don't think that Platt's individual level is the DQ level even in his mind since DQ is not a level.

When Platt says collective level = conformity and individual level = freedom in the way that Platt's philosphy is about the conflict between the two, "freedom" ammounts to "nonconformity" which is like the hippie notion of freedom. The difference between Platt and the hippie is which social patterns he wants to be free of. Platt wants to be free of whatever social patterns he sees as having to do with liberals and keep whatever social patterns he sees as having to do with conservatives. Platt's philosophy of the individual is a political tool, and as such, freedom in this context is just a slogan.

Regards,
Steve





 			
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