[MD] Catching up to Pirsig

[MarshaV]

Hi Krimel,

I am willing to let go of purpose, Truth with a capital (T) is gone, 
how about The Good and all the little goods?


Marsha



At 09:47 AM 4/18/2009, you wrote:
>-KO
>in Chapter 11 i think Pirsig offers the MoQ as both an underpinning of
>evolutionary theory and as a philosophical explanation of teleology, and i
>can accept both: there is virtual teleology in human life.
>
>[Krimel]
>What Pirsig seems want in his account of evolution is similar to what he
>wants when talking about iron filings having a "preference". He wants a
>universe filled with purpose and free will, a universe that can in some
>sense be held morally accountable.
>
>One of the great tragedies of my life occurred when I was about four. My
>lifelong friend and companion TaBee had to be thrown away. As he lingers in
>my memory, he was maybe 10 inches tall, black and white and dingy. I presume
>that at some stage, outside of my ability to recall, he was clean and fuzzy
>and cuddly. I had cuddled him into baldness but even as his fur wore away
>and he lost an eye, he was my best friend. It was a harsh lesson learning
>that my best friend was not alive. He had no feelings. He could not talk
>back. He was immune to pain and had no sense of humor. My parents bought me
>a puppy but we lived in a city and the puppy ran out to the road. That was
>that. In the end the "death" of TaBee was harder than the death of that
>nameless pup. Sadly, no amount of rationalization then or now can breathe
>life and purpose into an iron filing or a teddy bear.
>
>-KO
>When i am between
>the horns of a dilemma it does not make sense to say that all those
>transient quarks that momentarily comprise me are working together on my
>behalf to find a solution to my problem - its  only slightly more
>understandable to consider that all my genes are together busy calculating
>to help me; no, it really only makes proper sense to say that 'I', the
>complete individual, is trying to come to a decision. In this sense, i
>think, we do have purpose and intention.
>
>[Krimel]
>We as creatures find it much easier to relate to other creatures. Preference
>and intention are so integral to our nature that we see them in everything.
>When my computer acts funky, and what computer doesn't, I swear at it. But
>this is just metaphorical. My laptop, which has replaced the bygone TaBee as
>my new best friend, does many things that are in fact "lifelike". I talk
>about it thinking and taking its own sweet time. But that is just the echo
>of my inner child. Any philosophy that attempts to imbue the universe with
>purpose and intent is just regressing to the intellectual equivalent of
>sucking its thumb.
>
>But the problem with this regression runs deeper. To use your example, let's
>say my genes and the cells that comprise me are all agents of free will with
>desires and preferences all their own. Those desires and purposes have
>almost nothing to do with me. My purposes and desires may be completely at
>odds with those of my genes. I might get a vasectomy and my genes can just
>blow it out their tiny spiraled asses. When I desire to drink too much, my
>brain cells are sacrificed like prisoners of war on an Aztec holy day. My
>purposes and desires take precedence over my cells and genes. Or if they
>decide to run amok and cluster into malignant tumors, their hopes and dreams
>can put an end to mine. There is little or no overlap.
>
>We have a long history of reading purpose and intent into the inanimate
>world. Ancient peoples made gods and goddess of forces of nature but in the
>end those forces are so capricious and at odds with human purpose that the
>tales of their deeds wind up sounding ironic. Whatever purpose and
>consciousness the timeless universe might have I am pretty sure it has
>nothing good to do with me. Seeing it as alive and intentional might help me
>feel kinship to it. It might give me some emotional security or the hope
>that if I can relate to it well enough I can sway its judgments and bend its
>will to mine. Like everyone else I am drawn to the Myth of Control. If I
>cannot control my fate perhaps I can suck up to the powers that do.
>
>It has been a hard lesson for humanity to shake loose of this illusion of
>consciousness in the inanimate world. I think it is childish to try to
>resurrect it.
>
>[KO]
>All this not withstanding the fact
>that there is no detectable trace of a wispy 'I' pervading my brain or body
>and therefore that 'I' is really illusory along with any will-power i appear
>to have. The wikipedia page on Teleology refers to this viewpoint as
>'intrinsic finality'.
>
>[Krimel]
>Right, there is that watered down version of teleology that would classify
>the Heat Death as teleology. Unfortunately I don't think that is the kind of
>teleology Pirsig is seeking to prop up. I think he is trying to construct a
>philosophical thumb to suck.
>
>But don't let me get away with ignoring your point about the illusory "I".
>"I" just don't have time for that ATM.
>
>
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Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.........
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