[MD] Mountain View

[skutvik at online.no]

Hi Platt

On 11 Feb. you wrote:

> I agree with the first part of the first sentence, but not the second
> part. After all, we have seen vast improvement in the social static
> level over thousands of years, from feudal societies to democratic
> republics. 

This will be more or less a repetition of what I wrote to Marsha. 
An important MOQ tenet is that a static level can't be improved, 
it's the next level that "improves" the overall Quality evolution by 
subduing the former level's value. The Western democracies 
aren't good "social value", but good because intellect has 
subdued the values that look harsh and cruel. To see more naked 
social value look to the Taleban regime in Afghanistan.   

> To take the MOQ out of the realm of intellect puts in
> squarely in the hands of witch doctors who, as the suffering of
> humanity attests, have wrought great harm. 

This interesting, first because it affirms my assertion that intellect 
is REASON, but you put things upside-down. LILA says that 
intellect join(ed) forces with biology to thwart society, thereby 
creating social social havoc (this is about USA in the sixties, but it 
applies to the West in general. Ref. your excellent point about 
New York city before tough mayor. This is what fetched LILA so 
much bad reception from intellectuals who saw Pirsig a get-
tough-on-crime advocate.  So you see. Platt, it's INTELLECT that 
exposes us for "the dreadful nights" by subduing social value too 
much. It's only by "taking the MOQ out of intellect" that Pirsig was 
able to see the this context..   

> We have not progressed from
> huddling around fires in caves to modeling weather patterns on
> computers only to have it all revert to dancing around in circles
> imploring a sun god to stop global warming.

I agree with you about global warming - at least the man-made 
part, but isn't it the intellectuals who are in forefront here?  

> Rather I see the MOQ as
> occupy the top rung of the intellectual level,

A static level can't have "rung" that reduces it's own value 
(reduces intellect to a mere static level) It can only evolve its 
basic value to ever greater complexity, and from intellectual 
complexity the MOQ emerged.   

> reaching out to bridge
> the gap between intellect and art, much as Pirsig describes at the end
> of his SODV. 

Well, all postulates about what is beyond are MOQ postulates 
thus what's beyond intellect is the MOQ. But here I'm at the end 
of my wits.   

IMO

Bo