[MD] MOQ and the Future: An Inquiry into Usefulness

[Ham Priday]

On 11/17/09 6:56 PM, Joseph Maurer wrote:

> Hi Ham and all,
>
> In the face of undefined gravity it is not a huge leap of faith to
> analogize the experience of a rock falling, or atoms in fixed orbits.
> Essence on the other hand clouds the perceived reality by
> mistakenly denying motion in reality apart from itself.   Imho
> Pirsig correctly identifies motion in the levels of evolution.
> Evolution is a simple, brilliant explanation for levels in existence.
> From that start it is relatively easy to comprehend the one and the many.
>
> Essence on the other hand is tied to divinity and is totally
> incomprehensible while resting on the shoulders of an author
> who proposes that evolution is not a change in existence,
> but simply independent nodules of essence.

You're right that it doesn't take a huge leap of faith -- or much 
intellect -- to imagine a falling rock or atoms in orbit having experience 
and making choices.  Such "analogies" are not philosophy, however.  They're 
childish notions that resurrect the animistic mythology of our forbearers.

You're wrong that I deny motion or change in the empirical reality that we 
call existence.  Pirsig's levels are a pleasant euphemism that has no 
special significance for me.  I see no objective evidence to support the 
theory that "higher levels" (social and intellectual) dominate "lower 
levels" (biological and inorganic), or that evolution is a progression 
toward some ideal Goodness.  Nor do I understand any philosophical advantage 
in arbitrarily dividing the universe into a system of levels.

On the other hand, I see much to be gained in understanding experiential 
existence as an awareness/otherness dichotomy.  For one thing, it places the 
individual self distinctly in the realm of subjectivity, allowing the 
objective world to be recognized as a value construct of the self.  It 
supports the principle of man's autonomy and freedom on which the 
enlightened nations of the world were founded.  And it offers a plausible 
purpose for man's existence, namely, the realization of essential value, 
which by the power of his reasoning can direct himself and his fellow man 
toward a more authentic and moral society.

Best regards,
Ham