[MD] The Level of Intellectual Quality

[Steven Peterson]

Hi Marsha,


> Greetings,
>
> Definition, connotation and history are intricately involved with patterning, and since the definition, connotation and history of the God-pattern is associated with  "an evil social suppression of intellectual and Dynamic freedom" it should be dropped.  Quality as presented in the Moq is a much better (untainted) label.

Steve:
I think this is true to what Pirsig was saying in the annotations.

But I also think this from Walter Kaufman's introduction to Buber's "I
and Thou" is consistent with the MOQ:

"[W]hy use religious terms?  Indeed, it might be better not to use
them because they are always misunderstood. But what other terms are
there?  We need a new language, and new poets to create it, and new
ears to listen to it. Meanwhile, if we shut our ears to the old
prophets who still speak more or less in the old tongues, using
ancient words, occasionally in new ways, we shall have very little
music. We are not so rich that we can do without tradition. Let those
who have new ears listen to it in a new way."

A less lofty example is the homosexual's reclaiming of the word
"queer." This word should have been dropped as a tool of social
oppression, but better yet, it was reclaimed as a source of unity and
pride.

Personally, I don't generally find use for the word God for talking
about my experience because I would be misunderstood to be referring
to a supernatural diety external to the universe, but not everyone
uses the word theistically, and I have no argument with those who use
it to talk about DQ, love, The Tao, the ground of being, our hopes for
the future of humankind, etc.

Best,
Steve