[MD] Consciousness

[Platt Holden]

Paco:

> > Platt:
> > > What are the "tool sets" of intellect besides science and reason?

Paco: 
> I add FAITH. Faith [of many levels of quality] comes in when reason and
> science cannot capture absolute truth. It allows intellect to go, in
> stillness,  beyond reason and science, to go beyond formal logicand 
> vison/network-logic to enter transpersonal (mystical, if you will) states,
> to enter DQ that creates buddha, sangha, and dharma.. This is not
> irrationality but reasonableness. Take the question of God. The existence
> of God cannot be proven or disproven by reason or science [although, I
> think, proofs for God's existence have an edge over proofs for
> non-existence]. Thus intellect's leap of faith -- non-scientific,
> non-rational and not irrational, but reasonable -- bringing along all
> other powers.  As the God in the Bible suggests: "Be stll and know that I
> am God." (Psalm 46:11).

Faith is not a product of intellect as defined in the MOQ since it widely 
exists at the social level. In fact, one could argue that religious faith 
is a value that holds society together along with, as Pirsig points out, 
celebrity. (Not surprisingly, the pope is a worldwide celebrity.)

In its pursuit of truth, intellect as defined in the MOQ has left society 
and its religious values behind. 

But, intellect has a blind spot. It often doesn't recognize that its 
vaunted rational initial premises are faith-based. The scientific 
worldview, for example, has a religious faith in the idea that mind 
magically emerged by chance from mindless pond scum. That Jesus
rose from the dead is equally believable if not more so. In the latter 
case, there were witnesses.   

One can conceive of and live in a world while disbelieving the scientific 
view and/or the Christian view of creation. But, you cannot conceive and 
live in a world disbelieving Quality. 

That's what the MOQ has going for it from the get go. Faith isn't required 
to support belief when disbelief is impossible.  

Regards,
Platt