[MD] Empirical and Historical

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Platt]
Seems there are a number of MD contributors who have a "compulsive 
identification with intellectuality."

[Arlo]
Certainly not any who look to the Hippies, the last moral revolution, 
for guidance. As Pirsig said (and you blundered), the Hippie movement 
was a moral movement because it was against social AND intellectual 
patterns. But where your anti-intellectual zeal always derails is in 
its glorification and support of the dominance of social patterns. 
This "slow drift", modern conservativism, back towards the last 
static latch (social dominance of intellect) is hardly the way the MOQ points.

Indeed, as DMB continually points out, the MOQ as a "spiritual 
rationality" is a view that does NOT subjugate "amoral intellect" to 
the power of social patterns, but expands the capacity of the 
intellectual level, to correct its "defect". DMB has posted 
repeatedly those "intellectuals" who, like Pirsig, are behind this 
movement, beginning with other Hippies and Beats and continuing to this day.

Since you posted a Pirsig quote, where he mentions "intellectuals" 
that have trouble seeing quality, he writes.

"Squares [intellectuals], he said, because of their prejudices toward 
intellectuality usually regard Quality, the preintellectual reality, 
as unimportant, a mere uneventful transition period between objective 
reality and subjective perception of it. Because they have 
preconceived ideas of its unimportance they don't seek to find out if 
it's in any way different from their intellectual conception of it." (ZMM)

It fairly obvious that his condemnation is not "perfessers", but 
those who's S/O mindset prevent them from considering Quality. I'd 
hardly say that any "academic" here is guilty of any such 
transgression. And since Pirsig himself has both supported and 
offered thanks to these "academics" (namely Ant and DMB, since that's 
who I assume your charge was against), I'd hardly say any claim that 
these two "have a compulsive identification with intellectuality" has 
any merit whatsoever.