[MD] subject/object: pragmatism

[Platt Holden]

Hi Ron,  

[Ron]
> I feel he's in the right direction however I'd like to make
> It clear that I reject isolating any of the level components.

Agree. None of the levels or "zones of competing dominance" are isolated 
even though they are completely different and independent. I visualize  
them in a series of four differently colored interlocking circles as in a 
Venn diagram aligned vertically. Just as the biological level seeks to 
dominate the inorganic forces of dissolution (represented by the bottom 
circle) the social level attempts to control the biological forces of the 
jungle and the intellectual level erects barriers against the conform-or-
else forces of the Giant.  As Pirsig explains, "It's out of this struggle 
between conflicting static patterns that the concepts of good and evil 
arise." (Lila, 13)

[Ron}
> This is what I'm stressing by trying to gain a clearer
> Understanding of just what is meant by intellectual.
> And why it so easy to misinterpret it's meaning.
> Simply because culture is made up of intellectual concepts
> Constantly evolving by contributions from individuals.
> Let me clarify that this is a dynamic symbiotic relationship.
> Society is a collection of intellectual patterns agreed apon
> By a collection of individuals. What describes an intellectual pattern
> Is the value of the contribution to the social collection.
> I am not using this term to be reduced to the concept of a collective
> mind

In view of the competing differences between levels described above, I 
hesitate to characterize  the relationship between society and intellect as 
"symbiotic," meaning a cooperative relationship. Certainly society uses
intellectual patterns to acquire the necessities to keep the Giant in 
business, but then intellect shook off the Giant's grip in pursuit of  
truth. That this pursuit finds fruition in exceptional individuals like 
Newton, Einstein and Salk is undeniable. Even in realms above the 
intellectual such as the arts where truth transcends boundaries and 
definitions, the path is led by exceptional individuals like Shakespeare, 
Rembrandt and Beethoven.

The competitive tension between the social and intellectual levels is 
neatly summed up by Pirsig in Chapter 7 of Lila: "Everybody wants their 
children to be valedictorians, but nobody is supposed to be better than 
anybody else."  

The battle rages to this day. 

Regards,
Platt