[MD] Intellectual activity

[Arlo Bensinger]

Salute SA,

[SA}
Yes, and the keystone species is difficult.  I as well give equal credit to 
society (which I have traditionally been lead to believe means two or more 
people) and the individual in the society on all levels.  What is so 
difficult about keystone species is that the fine line between the 
individual and this term you apply closes into a gray area that I agree 
with Platt and then I read what your saying and begin to think your saying 
the same thing, until, you state you disagree.

[Arlo]
I don't think we are polar disagreement at all, SA. My disagreement is in 
the valuation of the "individual" over the valuation of "collective 
activity". Don't be fooled by those who would warp this into a 
"devaluation" of the individual, as if valuing the collective AT ALL 
implies meaninglessness for the individual. I fully recognize the role of 
the Brujo "as an individual", but see, to me, the Brujo does not just 
"poof" into existence. He is a voice in the song of his culture, a voice 
that exists because of the song of his culture, and that he has added 
novelty is not in dispute, but that his ability to add this novelty (to 
symbolically represent his "unique proprietary experience") derives from 
the collective, not just the "collective" at the moment he exists, but the 
historical collective that extends into the past and future.

Like I said, I consider Pirsig to be the "keystone species" in what became 
the MOQ. And this implies no devaluation of his agency in formulating what 
he formulated. But the "potentiality" of the MOQ derives from the 
collective, historical cultural dialogue, which Pirsig enters and, 
using/building/extending voices of the pasts, adds a new utterance (Bahktin 
calls this "ventriloquation")... unique proprietary experience codified via 
the assimilation of a cultural dialogue... that immediately becomes part of 
this dialogue and is extended into the future by the collective, historical 
cultural dialogue. Pirsig born onto a deserted island and left isolated all 
his life would have no ability or potential to formulate a metaphysics.

[SA]
We probably are approaching this from different angles, and I don't know if 
we ever need to even get past these different angles of ours.  I am feeling 
sick, so it could be the sickness, maybe not, but I am feeling that to come 
to some clarity as to whether Pirsig is an individual on the intellectual 
level or not might stir us away from the actual path we should be walking 
which is to move past the dichotomy into the real quality existing beyond 
this.  What would that be?  Well, it would be this.

[Arlo]
We agree here, SA. Although I do hope you are feeling better. :-)

Since Platt and I have had this dialogue before, I am going to "bow out". 
Mostly this is because I am leaving for two weeks (San Francisco and then 
Honolulu), and although I will have intermittent email access, I won't have 
the time for lengthy engagement (I think).

Arlo