[MD] The hard question.

[Ian Glendinning]

Dan,

Pirsig reacting to a "definition" of value as vague, says as you quote
"there is nothing vague about value / value-judgement"

Doesn't change the fact that by definition it's vague, even though by
experience it's not.

ie is this not a point about definitions, rather than about value ?

Ian

On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 7:49 PM, Dan Glover <daneglover at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Marsha
>
> Your statement reminds me of this quote from Lila:
>
> "Explicit definitions when given, demonstrate the nebulous character
> of 'value,' " Blake and Davis said. "Here, for example, is the
> definition of 'value-orientation' in a 437-page book on value
> orientations:
>
> "Value orientations are complex but definitely patterned
> (rank­ordered) principles resulting from the transactional interplay
> of three analytically distinguishable elements of the evaluative
> process-the cognitive, the affective, and the directive elements-which
> give order and direction to the ever-flowing stream of human acts and
> thoughts as these relate to the solution of 'common human' problems."
>
> "Poor Kluckhohn, Phaedrus thought. That was his definition. With that
> lead balloon for a vehicle there was no way he could succeed.
>
> "The attack made Phaedrus want to get in there and start arguing. The
> statement that values are vague and therefore shouldn't be used for
> primary classification is not true. There's nothing vague about a
> value judgment. When a voter goes to the polling booth he's making a
> value judgment. What's so vague about that? Isn't an election a
> cultural activity? What's so vague about the New York stock exchanges?
> Aren't values what they're dealing in? How about the U.S. Treasury?
> Who in this world is more specific than the Internal Revenue Service?
> As Kluckhohn saying, values are not the least vague when you're
> dealing with them in terms of actual experience. It's only when you
> bring back statements about them and try to integrate them into the
> overall jargon of anthropology that they become vague."  [LILA]
>