[MD] Essentialism and the MOQ

[Ham Priday]

Hi Laramie --

> How could man discover good and bad in an amoral universe?

He not only can but does. "Amoral" simply means being neither moral nor
immoral, neither all-good nor all-bad.  The problem with Pirsig's Quality is
that it is assumed to be non-polar; that is, we tend to equate it with
Goodness.  Although we sometimes hear an MoQer speak of a "low-quality"
idea, it is uncommon and most likely offered in jest.  That's another reason
I prefer "Value": it is a measure of things, like the proverbial scales of
justice.

As I said to SA,
> If reality were perfectly moral, and you were part of
> it, then you would be perfectly moral, too.  In fact,
> you would know nothing of immorality.  How could
> we moralize -- distinguish goodness from badness
> -- if everything was already moral?  The whole point of
> experiencing life as a free individual is to realize the
> value of an amoral reality.

There's a reason that the Tree of Knowedge introduced to Eve by Satan bore
fruit of both Good and Evil: it acquainted man with the polarity of Value.

Could you value happiness if you had never experienced sadness?  Could you
appreciate justice if you never experienced injustice?  Do you really think
we could enjoy the goodness of this world without knowing what evil was?
There are no absolutes in this world; but there is no end of "relative"
values.  Each individual stands at the center of the value spectrum; and the
goodness he chooses becomes his value complement.  We humans are the "active
agents" in the process of making being aware of value.  Every self seeks the
value of being and intereprets it in his own unique way.  As a result,
reality is different for every individual.

Morality is a human concept, not an innate property of Nature.  It is man
who, by distinguishing what is good and worthy from what is mediocre and
unworthy, "is the measure of all things".  Indeed, it is his purpose and
role in the universe.

Does this answer your question, Laramie?

Essentially yours,
Ham