[MD] Reading & Comprehension

[Horse]

Here's the quote from Lila:

"The Metaphysics of Quality resolves the relationship between intellect 
and society,
subject and object, mind and matter, by embedding all of them in a 
larger system of
understanding. Objects are inorganic and biological values; subjects are 
social and intellectual
values. They are not two mysterious universes that go floating around in 
some subject-object
dream that allows them no real contact with one another. They have a 
matter-of-fact
evolutionary relationship. That evolutionary relationship is also a 
moral one.
Within this evolutionary relationship it is possible to see that 
intellect has functions that
pre-date science and philosophy. The intellect’s evolutionary purpose 
has never been to discover
an ultimate meaning of the universe. That is a relatively recent fad. 
Its historical purpose has
been to help a society find food, detect danger, and defeat enemies. It 
can do this well or poorly,
depending on the concepts it invents for this purpose."
[Lila. Chap24]

Unfortunately, it looks like you've got it wrong Platt because this says 
nothing about "thinking" being a biological function. What he says is 
that intellect (thinking) pre-dates science and philosophy. He also says 
that inorganic and biological patterns are objects ("Objects are 
inorganic and biological values") so how can thinking be an object as 
you seem to believe? Can you poke it cook it or whatever else you might 
do with a lump of material stuff?
Pirsig says quite plainly that thinkings historical purpose was to 
"...help a society find food, detect danger, and defeat enemies." and 
that it (Thinking/Intellect/Intelligence) is part of the evolutionary 
process of the MoQ. That it was prior to intellectual patterns breaking 
free from domination by social patterns does not mean that it was not in 
itself a separate level prior to the emergence of science and philosophy 
when it finally started to break free from the domination of social 
patterns.
This also undermines your and Bo's idea that SOM is the Intellectual 
level (what you and Bo would see as science and philosophy etc.) because 
it existed prior to these as is pointed out in the above section of Lila 
- "....intellect has functions that
pre-date science and philosophy [SOM]". How obvious is that?
So how can SOM be the Intellectual level when intellect, intelligence, 
thinking etc. all existed before these were around?????
This is one of the many reasons why SOM as the Intellectual level makes 
no sense and why both you and Bo have got it so completely wrong as 
Pirsig has stated on numerous occasions.
As far as I can see, your motives for supporting Bo's interpretation are 
political not metaphysical, as shown by the last sentence in your post 
and Bo's motives are egotistical shown by the way he tries to convince 
others that Pirsig, the originator of the MoQ, is incapable of 
understanding his own work.


Horse



On 29/04/2010 16:45, Platt Holden wrote:
> Platt]
> Sadly, you win the prize for obvious nonsense.
>
>   The  misconception you suffer from is that "thinking" is the same as the
> MOQ Intellectual Level.
> In the MOQ evolutionary moral order, "thinking" is a biological phenomenon
> that first occurred long before the advent of the S/O Intellectual Level.
> It's primary purpose, as Pirsig explained, was to "help society find food,
> detect danger, and defeat enemies." It invented concepts to accomplish these
> purposes long before the ancient Greeks decided on the S/O concept which
> gave birth to the Intellectual Level. Since then, SOM has become an "end in
> itself" and is "screwing everything up," evident as today's socialist Greece
> goes down the tube with other European countries blindly following the same
> morally-vacant SOM downward path.
>    

-- 

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"... Hunter S Thompson