[MD] Objectivism and the MOQ

[LARAMIE LOEWEN]

(Ham previously)
I'm disheartened, as your philosophical mentor Rand would be, to see that
you've bought into the Pirsigian idea of a "field" (i.e., collective level)
of Consciousness that one "awakens to".  What is "tacit" about consciousness
is that it's our awareness -- what we are, inherently, at ANY moment of
wakefulness.  Mind or Consciousness is not a space or field, in the interior
or the exterior; it is our subjective identity as a human being.

I'm not clear as to Rand's position on proprietary awareness, per se,
because all I've seen thus far are interpretations by Branden, Peikoff, et
al.  If you can find a quotation that proves she is on the "collective" side
of this issue, I'll be very surprised.  However, for the moment, I think you
may be confusing the universal description of Intellect ("common knowledge")
with individual awareness.  Indeed, your statement that Quality is
"...individual only in the sense that it's the individual who may realize
it" belies the claim that conscious awareness can be anything other that
proprietary to the individual.  The realization IS the awareness.  Anything
else is objective data as found in books, histories, scientific reports, or
collectively held principles.

--

Please rest assured that we agree on the importance of "proprietary awareness", 
regardless of what Rand might have to say on the subject.  But if PA is simply "our 
subjective identity as a human being" how do you account for the fact that so few 
share our point of view?  It seems that lower order value systems or perspectives 
must be getting in the way, and that's why I suggest that PA is a product of development.
I'm NOT trying to complicate things, nor am I pushing for "snob appeal" or "elitism".

Sincerely,
Laramie