[MD] Pirsig, James and Peirce

[Matt Kundert]

x,

I'm not sure I understand your reading of Pirsig/Peirce, but I think one 
thing that would help in our appreciation of James (and Rorty's 
appropriation) is reading the full line from which people attribute "truth 
is whatever works" to James, usually because Rorty I think did write such a 
shocking sentence as a gloss on pragmatism.

"The true is the name of whatever proves itself to be good in the way of 
belief, and good, too, for definite, assignable reasons."

If we suspend our disbelief at Rorty's audacity, I think it is readily 
apparent that Rorty is glossing, and accepting fully, James's version, which 
isn't as unseemly as it might at first appear.  The thing we need to see is 
that what "works" does so, not willy-nilly, but "for definite, assignable 
reasons."  That's where the argument occurs, that's where people have to 
fight and enter into the community of inquirers that marks the border 
between flighty opinion and rational knowledge.  Definite, assignable 
reasons.  Not _any_ reason will do, but reasons that convince people, 
reasons that have arguments, evidence, etc., etc.  An assertion that "works" 
is, therefore, not such an easy thing to get.  You have to really _work_ for 
it, like scientific theories: some live, some die--they are worked for to 
see if they are true.

>From little to no understanding of what Peirce, or you, exactly mean by 
"theory of meaning," I would probably agree that Pirsig's system yields just 
that--insofar as we agree with Donald Davidson that a theory of meaning is 
also a theory of truth which are two ways of saying a theory about the way 
the world works, which is to say whatever suggestions that _work_ about the 
way the world works--which is to say, whatever ways we find ourselves 
successfully making our way about the world counts as a theory of meaning.  
I think saying it's a "theory" sounds a little pretentious (and Platonic), 
but that's just me.

Matt

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