[MD] Rr: Zen

[Platt Holden]

Hi Chris, 

> >> [Arlo]
> >> Indecipherable code? Well, let me decipher this tough nugget for you,
> >> Platt. I-B-S-I stands for "Inorganic-Biological-Social-Intellectual". You
> >> know, Pirsig's MOQ. Contrasted with the I-B-I MOQ of Platt. Need help
> >> with that? Inorganic-Biological-Intellectual.
> 
> [Platt]
> > You forgot that I strongly support the police and military in keeping
> > biological forces under control. So as usual you're setting up a
> > ridiculous straw man.
> 
> But what you are doing is denying that the social level can be developed to
> service the development of the intellectual level and mankind in general.

Like Pirsig I see the social and intellectual levels in a battle for 
superiority. "The one dominating questions of this century has been, 'Are 
the social patterns of our world going to run our intellectual life, or is 
our intellectual life going to run the social patterns?' And in that 
battle, the intellectual patterns have won." (Lila, 21)

> You see the social level as a necessary evil and something that we should
> have as little of as possible. I am saying that it has been shown that
> social level can be made to work under guiding intellectual principles that
> does not prohibit Dynamic Development of the intellectual level, but rather
> helps this development.

I agree that the social level can be directed by the intellectual level to 
encourage intellectual development. The first step towards that goal is to 
prevent the social level from imposing conformity on the intellectual 
level. That's why Pirsig cited free speech and other laws protecting the 
individual as intellect vs. social patterns. 

Regards,
Platt