[MD] Taking Words Seriously

[david buchanan]

Matt said to dmb:
...You've just implied that you _don't_ consider me a peer. ... I didn't take it as condescension (though now I'm not sure, given that to think I did was to say that you didn't think of me as a peer, see what I mean?). ...I was not asking you, personally, to explain to me what makes a good amateur. ...And, you do know you act like a teacher about Pirsig, right?  I've never quite understood that as a general rhetorical style in the MD. There are times when we might write exposition of Pirsig's philosophy, but none of us are novices.  ...the "see?s" that imply that if I _don't_ see that I was clearly violating them, then there's something wrong with my intelligence. .., it felt like I was trying to do calculus and you kept saying I was getting the algebra wrong, and trying to give me an algebra lesson, see?  And I was trying to convince you that I wasn't getting the algebra wrong. ...However, this isn't a class and there are no teachers. ...And yes, sometimes I do just monologue something obliquely relevant.  But I don't try and teach. (Or do I?  Do people think my rhetorical performances are infected by a persistent feel of me trying to teach everyone?  I do think about that, and wish they wouldn't have that quality.  I say things knowingly, sometimes, maybe often, but is that the same as teaching?  How does one present something they think they know while avoiding acting like a teacher?  I think it's possible, but I worry about unsuccessfully pulling it off.) ..., if you think that I just don't understand Pirsig on amateur philosophy, or the girl and the bricks, then our conversation is probably over because I'm not sure what else I can do at this moment to display my credentials. ...



dmb says:

So, basically, you just resent the idea that I could "teach" you anything. You feel humiliated by the suggestion that somebody might understand something you don't. Okay, but I think that's a personal problem, a matter of self-esteem, and it has very little to do with philosophy or anyone's rhetorical style.