[MD] The Word is Not the Thing

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Bo]
Wonder what Arlo and Steve say if they spot it?

[Arlo]
Arlo would say that he agrees with Pirsig, that the MOQ is just 
another finger pointing at the moon. Arlo would say that "S/O" 
interactions begin at the social level, inherent the very act of 
symbolically encoding experience. Arlo does not see S/O patterns 
(which, as he just said, begins at the social level) as the "problem" 
of intellect, but the consideration of their PRIMACY. The MOQ, as all 
symbolically encoded understandings, simply says that a better 
intellectual pattern than one that sees the S/O split as primary, is 
one that sees Quality as primary.

Thus, Arlo does not "fault" intellect for extending S/O encodings 
that begin at the social level, but rather a SOM that elevates this 
S/O distinction to being primary. Arlo sees the MOQ as, also, 
extending S/O encodings (by virtue of it being a symbolically encoded 
pattern) but denying their primacy. Instead the MOQ points to a 
primacy that precedes the S/O distinction.

But it, like any and all other symbolically encoded descriptions, can 
only "point", as the "ineffible" (to quote Platt) is always and 
everywhere only approachable through metaphor/analogy. As such, Arlo 
sees the intellectual level as that which considers the socially 
began S/O encodings as "things" in and of themselves. SOM-intellect 
concludes they are "real", the primary distinction of the world. 
MOQ-intellect says they are secondary, illusions cast out of a more 
primary event, Quality.

But Arlo doubts you are genuinely interested in what Arlo has to say, 
as he has been down that road before. Since Arlo does not agree with 
Bo, it invariable leads only to comments about how stupid Arlo is not 
to recognize the genius of Bo.