[MD] subject / object logic

[Ham Priday]

Platt [Ron] --



[Platt, to Ham]:
> Apparently you are unfamiliar with Pirsig's rationale for
> extending the meaning of morality. ...
>
> "The idea that the world is composed of nothing but moral
> value sounds impossible at first. Only objects are supposed
> to be real. 'Quality' is supposed to be just a vague fringe
> word that tells what we think about objects."
>
> He then proceeds to explain why morality better explains
> the concepts of  "substance" and "cause" --  foundations of
> the subject/object worldview.

What I see as Pirsig's "rationale" is to re-arrange the attributes of 
existence to invent a new perspective.  Like the cartographer who, feeling a 
bit tipsy one day, looks at a relief map of the world and decides to draw 
his own boundaries, Pirsig looks at common experience and divides it up in 
an uncommon way, making Quality the "moral superpower" and classifying 
subjective and objective elements as its subordinate levels.  Having 
redefined everything to suit his moralistic  rationale, he sits back and 
says, "See--this is what reality really is.  Isn't morality wonderful?"  How 
stupid of us ignoramuses not to see that we were looking at morality all the 
time!

That's poetic license for a writer, of couse.  But PHILOSOPHY??

> He may have had you in mind, Ham, when he wrote those words. :-)
>
> So Pirsig's extension of morality beyond human behavior is no
> "sleight-of-hand." Its reasoned justification is fully expounded in
> Chapter 8.

Unfortunately I'm only one of those "subjective patterns" that he has 
subordinated to Morality.  I remain unimpressed with its "reasoned 
justification".

Thanks for the primer anyway, Platt.

Regards,
Ham