[MD] Social Darwinism

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting ARLO J BENSINGER JR <ajb102 at psu.edu>:

> Marsha, Krimel,
> 
> "Throwing quotes"?? Let me ask this, if "morality" (here also read as
> "betterness", since that was Krimel's claimed only manifested as human value
> judgement), what truly new does the MOQ bring? Seems to me it does nothing new,
> as camps from idealism to humanism have claimed "man against an amoral world".
> This is, of course, the underlying premise to S/O metaphysics that Pirsig
> railed against. In other words, if "betterness" (as Pirsig suggests) is not the
> fundamental "Quality" of all levels, what is the draw here? If we dismiss that
> "Quality" is "betterness" and consider it "amoral", why even call it "Quality"?
> What is "revolutionary" about a philosophy that posits a "moral man"
> interacting with an "amoral world"?
> 
> As I said last time out, "betterness" is only problematic when it is applied to
> the MOQ's levels from a detached, external, human perspective. Often the levels
> are in conflict, as when an asteroid pummels the earth's "biosphere". In such a
> case, what is good for the inorganic patterns is often devastating for
> biological patterns. And while that asteroid lacks biological, social and
> intellectual "morality", it IS inorganic morality. I don't think this waters
> down the word at all. In fact, what it does is argue against the S/O dichotomy.
> 
> It makes no sense to me to call something "Quality", and then claim it is
> "amoral" and has nothing to do with "betterness". Quality is by its very
> conception a recognition that "some things are better than others", that is
> they have "greater Quality". 
> 
> I dunno, this whole need to separate "man" out from the "world", this
> reification of the same-old S/O dualism baffles me. I mean, with Ham I get it,
> he is actively arguing _against_ the proposals of the MOQ, S/O dualism is
> fundamentally important to his philosophy. But this is something I would say is
> truly critical to any revolutionary understandings Pirsig gives us, and to be
> honest I'm not sure what the point of the MOQ would be without it.
> 
> Or maybe its just me having a bad day...

You must be because I couldn't agree with you more. :-)

Platt


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