[MD] On the Trend of the Intellectual, Part 1

[118]

What follows is part 1 of "On the Trend of the Intellectual".  I have
divided the complete essay in order to spare the reader, and allow for
periods of contemplation and response if such is the personality of
the reader.

Part 1: Introduction
The doctrine of ideas/theory of forms has a deep history which extends
beyond the Greek appearance of it.  This idea was in existence in the
Sumerian period 5,000 years before Parmenides.  A number of "myths"
and "god" from that period bring that in.  As such, the "gods"
represented both real occurrences (although embellished through
generational relay) and depictions of underlying ideas “exotericized”
as static form.

In metaphysics there is a tendency to form a correlative noun for much
more elusive (indefinable) principles.  This is, of course, present in
MoQ.  For example the four levels being one such case.  It would seem
that the abstraction of such principles as form has reached a period
in human development where such abstractions are taken as the
principles in themselves.  In MoQ terms, static quality predominates
over dynamic quality, and may for some individuals be all that there
is.  What is meant by this is that a specific form, as created by man
to depict that which is sensed, has replaced such underlying sensing.

In days gone by, the sun was not actually believed to be drawn across
the heavens by a chariot, for this would imply that such beliefs were
somewhat ignorant musings of the intellectual.  However, we can
consider that for many who did not want to spend the time (or did not
have the capacity for) contemplating such metaphysics, it was easier
to view such static representation as real. Among the adept, it was
known to be a metaphor.  In fact, there is good reason to believe that
such fables were actually more accurate than our current notion of
astronomy.  For such depictions are able to convey much more than
simple geometry and motion.

It is the metaphorical value which is of use in any designation where
"understanding" is suggested.  Underlying Form is more valuable than
Static form.  Plato's dialogues on the subject impart that meaning for
me.  That the earth revolves around the sun leaves most of what is
happening out, and the sun is relegated to some inanimate object as
fundamentally distinct from the human form.

Traditionally, such forms are presented because myths are stories, and
such stories are the best manner in which to convey such ideas.  The
underlying is replaced with the conversational, for communication
purposes.  This is no different to a love letter.  All of this is
ascribing a fixed idea (words) to that which is not fixed.  Much is
lost in this present age by the constant naming and assembly.  Most of
what is lost is the appreciation of Quality.  This is the March of Man
that Pirsig is concerned with.  This is the loss of Quality as an
embodiment.

In terms of what Plato brought to the manner of Western thought, it
may be more accurate to view this as part of a trend.  Many of the
Greek philosophers of the time of the Sophists were educated in
Egyptian philosophies (being right next door).  The Pythagoreans
belonged to a conservatorship of mystical knowledge.  For example, the
number 8 was of extreme importance to them.  This follows from the
Egyptian knowledge of Alchemy, where the progress of an individual is
represented by a triangle above a square forming a "house", which is
then transformed to an eight pointed star.  Certain modern disciplines
of alchemy "revere" such star.

The word Alchemy is said to come from the hieroglyphics meaning
"Egyptian Art" (http://www.levity.com/alchemy/faq.html).  While the
commonplace understanding of alchemy involves chemical transformation
(lead to gold), this is an uninformed designation used by the
non-initiated, for such transmutation is also a metaphor for
metamorphosis.  Much of alchemy deals with the Indefinable.  MoQ deals
with alchemy in the presentation of DQ and SQ.  The four levels can be
said to represent the material in the same way the square does in
alchemy.  It is not hard to decipher the three components of Alchemy
(body, mind, and spirit) into MoQ terminology.

The march of the human intellect is from the indefinable to the
definable.  Such definability is performed with Words.  Because
history is reduced by the present, such a march can sever ties with
more ancient knowledge.  The history of man is replete with learning,
forgetting and relearning.

The Egyptians recognized the power of words.  And those within the
intellectual class ("priests") understood that by creating words for
something one is considered to gain power over that which they
represent.  This was probably used for reasons of pride (the deadliest
of sins).  Such designator-based degeneration is of continual use, for
the same purposes, in modern "scientific" disciplines.  It is a march
from the subjective to the objective; from the esoteric to the
exoteric.

By naming the sun, it becomes relegated to the objective and trivial.
This is the result of living within definitions as the ultimate form
of understanding.  This is the trend of the dynamic being replaced by
the static.  This is the caution placed towards defining Quality for
those who do not understand the degenerative process of doing that.
If, on the other hand, such definitions are understood as akin to
making constellations from the stars, they can be used to relate
meaning, and can be extremely useful as such.  This translational use
is for the purposes of persuasiveness (rhetoric), and not for
"uncovering" some underlying truth.  For such object of Truth is a
creation of man resulting from his/her interaction with what is, and
is meant for "spreading the word", as it were.

Nothing of what the Greeks (circa 500 BC) pronounced was new.  The
teachings which come from the Vedic tradition (ca 1500 BC) speak of
Brahman and the resulting apparitions of form, which, as Pirsig
states, can be associated with Quality.  Many of the "properties" of
Quality are found in such old literature.  "Gods" represented a
"referring term" to indefinable experiences.  As such, these "Gods"
were static forms given to "experiences" of DQ.  DQ (or the "acts of
Gods") was much easier to understand as presented then, than the
manner in which it is presented in our modern culture.  We are doing
battle with the bewitchment of words and definitions.  In many ways,
MoQ deals with DQ in manners which lack the illustrative capability of
the imagination; after all it is a new translation.  As such, not much
can be said about DQ, except what it is not.  Even this is misleading
to the reader.

The trend has been therefore to reduce the power of the imagination by
increasing the use of words as representations.  The sun is now a big
ball of gasses made up with such and such, and there is the
combination of atoms going on that releases energy according to this
and that, which represents an average size star, blah, blah, blah,
which emits light maximally at such and such a wavelength, and so
forth.  This of course does not tell us anything about our personal
relationship with such sun, and has objectified it into a pile of
words.  True understanding is trending towards superficial analytical
meanderings.  The high country is replaced by the city.

Plausibility not Truth.

Mark

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