[MD] From each... to each

[Platt Holden]

Arlo, DMB, Ham, All:

[Arlo]
> Second point, what DMB is saying, and I agree with is that the REAL
> problem here is the SOM foundations upon which western culture has been
> built. The complaints he and I make are based on this one, large schism,
> demonstrated in the one quote "part of the world not an enemy of it".
> The two schism of Pirsig, the classic-romantic and the Indian-Victorian,
> are both demonstrative of the effects of SOM in western culture,
> traceable back to Ancient Greece, but manifest in the problems of modern
> life, which includes how modern political discourse has come to work.

Has it occurred to anyone besides me that the reason SOM holds such 
high value in Western Culture and why the MOQ will have a hard time 
gaining a foothold is precisely because SOM is amoral? I mean we all 
pay lip service to morality and try to do the right thing and all that. 
But, mostly we chafe against the obligations, duties and sacrifices 
that morality imposes. Given our druthers we would prefer not to worry 
about whether our behavior is "proper" of not. Say what you will about 
the Hippies, they expressed what I'm talking about -- an effort to 
throw off the yoke of the approved right way to think and act, and to 
create a new world free from smothering guilt trips. Then here comes 
Pirsig with his "the world is a moral order." How appealing is that? 
Not very. 

Now of course Pirsig tries to overcome this by suggesting that morality 
simply means choosing the better of alternatives which is something 
even the lowliest worm does. But Ham's not buying it, and not many 
people I've talked to about the MOQ buy it either. Morality to most has 
to do with human behavior, and most would rather not be reminded of 1) 
the authorities who enforce moral codes, and 2) their own guilt when 
they violate the codes. So what chance does a metaphysics that 
emphasizes morality really have?

The odds then of changing the subject-object schism to a static-Dynamic 
Quality schism as the going paradigm appear astronomical even if we all 
agree it ought to be done. Maybe we need a good PR firm who will rename 
the MOQ the "The Philosophy of a Patriot" or "The American Idol's 
Metaphysics" or some such. :-) Just kidding of course, but we're not 
getting very far as it stands.

Best,
Platt