[MD] MOQ Levels

[Christoffer Ivarsson]

God Afton

Heather wrote:

> SA:  Chris, what you might not know, or you may, I
> don't know, is that the levels do get better morally.
> Each level is good.  Each level is quality.  Yet,
> morally, the levels get better from inorganic to
> intellectual, and sometimes it seems Bo relegates a
> pattern to a lower level to keep his SOL
> interpretation better than the rest.  Bo confines the
> intellectual level to mean one event, the S/O
> distinction event.  Yet, I do have a question for you
> Bo, if you may.  You have mentioned that the S/O
> intellect can be regarded as not a split, but as
> integrated or something - I can't remember the exact
> wording.  So, do you see the intellect performing two
> duties?  One of splitting s/o and one of integrating
> s/o, and if so, then wouldn't this defining of s/o be
> different in respect to performance enacted?


I am young, and compared to a lot of you I am very new to this, but I firmly 
believe that a fundamental mistake is taking place here. I feel that the 
major criticism of the SOL is mainly based on some vague impression that if 
rationality (SOM) is the 4th level that would diminish the Quality of the 
other levels - that to recognize that would be saying that the other levels 
aren't as "Good". It is not really so. They are static patterns of Good, all 
by themselves, and nothing diminishes that. The SOL makes a quite clear cut: 
I think this is what Bodvar means, it doesn't leave anything, It doesn't 
harm anything, it's a tool, to make the MOQ work as good as possible. I 
think It might do just that. Nothing is lost, but a lot is gained. I think 
it is as simple as that.  I say, and do please challenge me on this, that 
most of the opposition to this comes from the misunderstanding of  the SOL 
diminishing everything that is not within the 4th level. It doesn't really 
do that. This is not advocating the SOM, this is not going back to a preZMM 
understanding, it is just making the MOQ run more smoothly.


> Chris, the SOL interpretation is just about what the
> identity of the intellect is.  This "depending on what
> level is the dominant" and such is Pirsig's original
> moq.  I don't know if "dominant" is a proper way to
> put it.  I would probably say the level is a certain
> pattern of value.  The brain can be biological, and
> the other levels, too.  It does depend on the what
> patterns are being referred to, and such.

And this is not in conflict with the MOQ as such. And it is not in conflict 
with regarding the SOM as the 4th level. There really isn't a problem.



IMO

Chris