[MD] The Art of Philosophy

[david buchanan]

Pirsig wrote:
“It’s been necessary since before the time of Socrates to reject the passions, the emotions, in order to free the rational mind for an understanding of nature’s order which was as yet unknown. Now it’s time to further an understanding of nature’s order by reassimilating those passions which were originally fled from. The passions, the emotions, the affective domain of man’s consciousness, are a part of nature’s order too. The central part.” — Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art

Marsha said (to Ron):
Isn't "passion" a loaded concept? I have never liked the use of the word.  ...But while rejecting "passion," I agree that all static quality is a construct from the "affective domain of man’s consciousness".


dmb says:
Apparently, you don't understand what Pirsig is saying. Your comment rejects and accepts the same idea at the same time. Your comment is contradictory nonsense. Since "the passions" and "the emotions" are just names for the "affective domain", it makes no sense at all to reject the former and accept the latter. 

As is often the case, your assertion can be defeated by simply quoting from the dictionary. 

affect 3 |ˈafekt; əˈfekt|noun Psychologyemotion or desire, esp. as influencing behavior or action. See note at emotion .
"Affect is a formal psychological term that refers to an observed emotional state." 

THE RIGHT WORDA feeling can be almost any subjective reaction or state—pleasant or unpleasant, strong or mild, positive or negative—that is characterized by an emotional response (: a feeling of insecurity;: a feeling of pleasure).An emotion is a very intense feeling, which often involves a physical as well as a mental response and implies outward expression or agitation (: to be overcome with emotion).Passion suggests a powerful or overwhelming emotion, with connotations of sexual love (: their passion remained undiminished after 30 years of marriage) or intense anger (: a passion for revenge).

Your assertion can also be defeated by quoting from an ordinary encyclopedia.

Affect (psychology)"Affective" redirects here. For other uses, see Affect (disambiguation).Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion.[1] Affect is a key part of the process of an organism's interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect" (APA 2006).
The affective domain represents one of the three divisions described in modern psychology: the cognitive, the conative, and the affective. Classically, these divisions have also been referred to as the "ABC of psychology", in that case using the terms "affect", "behavior", and "cognition". In certain views, the conative may be considered as a part of the affective,[2] or the affective as a part of the cognitive.[3]



Here's another word you might want to learn, Marsha.   Troll (Internet).  In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.