[MD] The Menu/Reality issue

[Platt Holden]

Hi Bo, 

You wrote:

> First, many thanks to Platt and you for the vote of confidence in an 
> earlier post, I may sound like a Jesuit, but ever since my ZAMM's days 
> (mid seventies) I felt that here was a thinker that had the mind/matter 
> monster by its throat by making it Quality's creation and calling it 
> "intellect" in his first MOQ. But with LILA the selfsame intellectual 
> (level) had become somewhat diluted, meaning that the throat grip had 
> gone.

Love the image of Pirsig grabbing the "mind/matter monster by its throat" 
and then later losing his grip. Only one saving grace: he recognized the 
risk of challenging the monster. Debating with himself about writing a 
metaphysics he wrote;

"A part of it said, "Don't do it. You'll get into nothing but trouble. 
You're just going to start up a thousand dumb arguments about something 
that was perfectly clear until you came along. You're going to make ten 
thousand opponents and zero friends because the moment you open your mouth 
to say one thing about the nature of reality you automatically have a whole 
set of enemies who've already said reality is something else." (Lila, 5)

At least Pirsig found some friends here in moq_discuss, and to give him his 
due, his MOQ brought the monster out of the darkness into the light. Now 
it's up to us to tame it if we can. 

Best,
Platt