[MD] subject / object logic

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Platt]
Note: This does not deny the reality of "self." It simply says value 
comes first. Thoughts are real, or what Pirsig has written here is an 
illusion.

[Arlo]
Thoughts are "real"?  I wonder if my thought of a glass of water will 
keep my from dehydrating?

But this is very close to accuracy. The "self" is a thought among 
thoughts, a "meta-thought" if you will, an organizer, a semiotic 
focal point of memory, a pragmatically valuable "illusion" that has 
allowed an emergent escape from biological patterns. And for that we 
should love our "selves". But the "self" is a "reality" no more than 
a memory of a painting, or the recollection of hearing a beautiful sonnet.

As if often the case, your ridiculous dichotomies point to two absurd 
and low quality poles. Acknowledging the reality of the "illusion", 
and acknowledging the illusory nature of the "reality" points instead 
to the Buddhist understanding of "self" and "world", which I add 
underscores the MOQ's understanding as well.