[MD] Flying Spagetti Monsters

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Micah]
Humans exist independently of Dodo birds, or any extinct plant or animal, 
for that matter. We could kill all monkeys, and humans would still exist. 
We can remove anything, except humans, from reality, and reality still 
exists. But reality cannot be shown to exist without humans. Man is the 
measure of all things.

[Arlo]
You are wrong. You have confused your perspective with objective reality. 
 From a monkey's point of view, if you kill all monkeys reality would cease 
to exist. From a monkey's point of view, "he" is the measure of all things. 
Perhaps his measurement isn't a Great and Glorious as Wonderful Man's, but 
it is a measurement nonetheless.

[Micah]
Monkeys don't have points of view, humans do.

[Arlo]
So, if all of reality depends on man's existence, how did the dinosaurs 
come to be? Are there monkeys somewhere that are not under the observation 
of humans? Do they not exist? Suppose I WAS the last human, here in North 
America. Is that enough to allow monkeys to continue living in Africa?

[Micah]
People have died, and reality still exists. But when the last human dies, 
reality cannot be shown to exist.

[Arlo]
No. People have died and YOUR reality still exists. All that proves is that 
TO YOU "you are the measure of all things".

[Micah]
Reality, in fact, is human. This is elemental and is Pirsig's philosophical 
"jumping off point".

[Arlo]
Pirsig's "jumping off point" was that Quality precedes subjects and 
objects. Whatever anthropomorphizing you add is your own agenda.