[MD] On Pragmatism

[plattholden at gmail.com]

Hi Bo,

Well, as I recall you and I both listed a number of principles of the MOQ 
way back when. So you were not always reluctant to adopt to the 
demands of the academy. If they want first principles, I say give it to 
them. At least it may open some of their stultified minds to the 
stunningly beautiful new world Pirsig brings to light.

You know, when in Rome . . .

Regards,
Platt     



On 17 Mar 2010 at 23:45, skutvik at online.no wrote:

> Platt, and all "fishes" in this pond.
> 
> 16 Mach you wrote::
> 
> > Excellent summary of pragmatism in today's NY Times by Stanley Fish.
> > The last few sentences should be enough to lure you into reading the
> > full article:
> 
>     "When pragmatism tells us there are no first principles, it not 
>     only disqualifies itself as a source of guidance and justification; 
>     it disqualifies the whole enterprise (of philosophy), at least in its 
>     more ambitious forms. What it leaves are the pleasures of 
>     doing philosophy, the pleasures of thinking about thinking 
>     freed from the burdensome expectation that we will finally get 
>     somewhere. Now there's an advantage and a gift to boot." 
>     (parens added)  
> 
> > According to Fish, pragmatists would dismiss the MOQ's first principle
> > of universal Quality
> 
> IMO all "isms" are part of the intellectual level's "philosophology"  that 
> had its origin in Greece and what was called SOM in ZAMM and which 
> the Quality Ideas was supposed to be a relief from. Thus pragmatism, 
> non-pragmatism, radical pragmatism ...etc. makes no difference, none 
> will recognize the MOQ. 
> 
> "First principles"!? There are no lack of such. Look to Ham's system 
> where Essence is a first principle yet is mired in SOMish by the fact 
> that even Essence springs from a subjective mind and as such his 
> Essentialism is a(nother)  theory ABOUT reality. The fact that there is 
> no subject/object - mind/matter - divide in the MOQ. That it only 
> arrived with the intellectual levels is still not grasped.  
> 
> Principles versus no principles" is an intern intellectual - academical - 
> disagreement, and the MOQ was meant to be a bomb under 
> Academy. At least by Phaedrus, but Pirsig of LILA started a disastrous 
> flirt with Academy, God knows for what reason, I thought for a long 
> while that he thought "....if I only can get a foot inside I can explode the 
> Quality bomb in their faces" But. no,  it proved false. Pirsig  arrived at 
> the Liverpool and received Dr McWatt's thesis  graciously and 
> declared DMB to be his heir. It's come to this. 
> 
> OK enough
> 
> Bodvar