[MD] Does Quality exist?

[Redsky235 at aol.com]

Pirsig only concludes that Quality is basically existence after he's  
convinced himself that it exists.  If Quality does not exist, the rest of  his theory 
is invalid.  It's like saying God is equivalent to existence;  therefore, God 
exists.
 
To clarify my point: if we like certain things more because we recognize  
more Quality in them, i.e., because our experiences help us relate to these  
objects, then why do art connoisseurs differentiate between what's "good"  and 
what they "like?"  For example, a critic might concede that, when it's  all said 
and done, "War and Peace" is the superior text, but what the heck, he  likes 
that mainstream Dan Brown book more.  If he doesn't personally find  "Quality" 
in "War and Peace," he should dismiss it outright, but he  doesn't.  He finds 
something in there that he doesn't relate to, so it's  not a favorite, but he 
appreciates its "value."  On the other hand, a  casual reader might say, "War 
and Peace" bores me, so I don't like it.   It's not good."  How do you 
reconcile this?  Is the critic's opinion  more valid simply because he knows more 
about literature?  
 
But say there is no such thing as Quality (we're leaving the question of  
existence and reality aside for the time being).  The critic and casual  reader 
will still appreciate their favored texts for the same reasons, namely,  that 
they like the texts.  They can identify with the books.  However,  the critic 
admires the historical importance of the Tolstoy book.  He  can point out the 
precise form it's written in and he can analyze the  manner in which the author 
utilizes his language.  He will then conclude  that, based on these 
(arbitrary) literary criteria, that it is, in fact, the  superior tome.  This has 
nothing to do with any objective "quality," only  the objective criteria set down 
by the literary world.
 
In the latter scenario, Quality cannot be removed from the world because  
it's simply not there.  It sounds like trivia, but it seems that what  Pirsig's 
attempting to do on page 193 of ZMM.  "If you can't  distinguish between good 
and bad in the arts they disappear."  That's not  any intrinsic "quality" he's 
subtracting from the world, but rather man's  capability to decide what he 
likes and what he does not like, or what he  appreciates versus what he doesn't.
 
 
 
>This isn't a valid question at all; this is realised as soon as you  analyse
>the question. Quality is simply another name for Existence,  because you
>start all of philosophic inquiry with one assumption, that of  Existence.
>herefore, it is like asking "does existence  exist?".



**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest 
products.
(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)